Pastoral Ministry

Tuesdays at 7:45 P.M. March 16, March 23, March 30, April 6, April 13, April 20 202

This on-line lecture series explores the history of art in the context of the liturgy, specifically works designed to elevate the mind, heart, and spirit during the Mass. The class will study the glittering mosaics in the baptisteries and apses of Ravenna and Rome, the dazzling vaults and stained glass of the Gothic cathedrals, the triumph of linear perspective in Renaissance altarpieces, the majestic, raised altars of the Counter-Reform and the soaring Baroque baldachins. Learning about the construction, style and meaning of these objects, students will see how, over many centuries and in differing forms, art was used to enhance the experience of the Eucharist and evoke the mystery of the sacraments. Following these classes, participants will discover how beauty is an essential force for persuading the faithful during worship to look not down at the distractions of this world, but to raise our eyes and hearts to things divine. This course celebrates the great continuity from Byzantine glitz to Caravaggio’s shadows with the aim of sparking a discussion of how to draw the gaze of the faithful upward today.
Sign up now!