Statues of Mary, Joseph and the saints do belong in the church. Also the stations should be on the walls. If you have 100 or 200 people during stations where in the world would they have this devotion?
If your a faithful Catholic who actually understands your faith you don’t concentrate on statues. I go to a traditional NO parish and the people are very devoted to Christ. Before and after Mass they go to the communion rail and adore our Savior on the altar.
Modern churches looks like a barn to me, no different than a fundamentalist church. All the beautiful art in our churches just bring you closer to Christ. I am tired of hearing that we focus on Mary more than Jesus, because I really haven’t seen it. The rosary is about Christ’s life and of course Mary is involved in his life.
Most Catholics understand the position of Mary versus her Son. Of course there are exceptions.
If someone really objects so strongly against the honor we give Mary maybe they need to search their hearts and see if they are being led to a protestant church.
Why should a minority of people who seem to be hostile towards her and the saints dictate what the Church believes. Anyway from other posts I have seen statements made that really upset me regarding our Holy Mother. Maybe they don’t have the correct understanding of what the Church teaches. I don’t know. But some of the posts remind me of posts I see on a very anti Catholic board, and it is disturbing to see the same here from Catholics.
Yours in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Bernadette
I’ll explain my posts so that, hopefully, you’ll see that I’m not “anti-Mary.”
Many of the older Catholic churches are quite elaborate and filled with beautiful statuary, images, stained glass, etc.
Many of the newer (1970s and 80s) Catholic churches are quite stark, and perhaps only have a few images in the nave.
Some Catholics consider the “new” Catholic churches “inferior” or “Protestant” and urge people like the OP not to attend these parishes.
THAT’S what my posts refer to–the attitude that the statues are important enough that people should flee churches that have few statues.
As long as the bishop allows a Catholic church to remain open, the people who are part of that parish should attend that church, even if it is plain-looking by their standards. **Catholics should not be so attached to decor, architecture, etc. that they are unable to worship at Mass in a plain, modern-looking church building. **
I attend two parishes on a regular basis because I play piano. I am a MEMBER of a parish with a very modern-looking Catholic Church. It’s mainly bricks, and only has two images–the Crucifix (life-sized and very realistic) and the Holy Family (again, life-sized and very realistic). We have a “stylized” version of the Stations–pretty, but not the beautiful classical scuptures that some churches have. (We actually have two Stations, because one is outside in the midst of a beautiful garden (that just got nominated for a Community Garden award).
The other parish I attend has 18 images of the Blessed Mother, along with 12 saint images, life-sized, and stained glassed windows, numerous images and depictions of the patron saint of the parish–it’s a feast for the eyes.
I like both church buildings. Because of my busy and often harried life, I really like the plain modern church–it’s very peaceful, and the thousands of bricks, all laid in perfect order, make me remember that our God is a God of order.
But I also like the ornate church because it is very beautiful. (I know other Catholics who say it’s too “busy.”)
As for not honoring Mary–I think you would find that my “plain” parish honors Mary. The Rosary is said before every daily Mass. We do a May crowning. The Legion of Mary has a strong presence in the parish. Her image is in the lobby. We have a 24/7 Adoration Chapel where many visitors and adorers pray the Rosary. The recent “40 days for Life” included a large number of participants from that parish, many of whom prayed the Rosary during our prayer vigils. We sing Marian hymns often. I could go on, but the point is, devotion to Mary is not a question of how many images of her are in the nave, but rather, how much we love and honor her in our hearts and pray for her intercession and help on a regular basis.
I take that expression to mean constantly looking for a church and a priest and a congregation that suits all of your tastes, and moving on when something there grates on your sensitivities (I mean something that in itself is not wrong or an actual abuse). As a Protestant I used to hear things like “Oh, I don’t go to X church any more because i don’t like the new pastor”.
