Truth, Beauty, Goodness
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Archbishop Listecki


Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
 

 

The date June 1 is a special day in my personal history. It was on that day in 1975 that I celebrated my first Mass in my home parish of St. Michael in South Chicago. It was also my mother and father’s 26th wedding anniversary. My assignment as a deacon was at a different St. Michael Parish, this one located in Orland Park, Ill., a southwestern suburb of Chicago. Many of the parishioners that I served made the trek to the east side for my first Mass celebration – in fact, the choir from St. Michael of Orland Park sang alongside choir members of my home parish.

The suburban parish was typical of the more modern depictions of post Vatican II architecture. Many of the younger members of the Orland Park community didn’t have much of an experience of the beautiful Romanesque or Gothic churches of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Needless to say, many of the members of my deacon parish were bowled over by the beauty of my home parish, St. Michael. It was built to be a cathedral.

Now, I know that one can exaggerate claims of beauty, especially when they are experienced in the formative years of a young boy. You can get into those silly boyhood claims, “My dad is stronger than your Dad” or in my case “My Church is more beautiful than your Church.” However, St. Michael’s on 82nd and South Shore Drive is exceptional. Please check it out for yourself in Denis R. McNamara’s book, “Heavenly City: The Architectural Tradition of Catholic Chicago,” pages 66-70.

The philosopher Plato taught often about truth, beauty and goodness. For me, the impact of truth and goodness would come to be appreciated early on in my young life. Beauty and its impact, however, would come to me much later as I began to appreciate how beauty could open the eyes and elevate the spirit of anyone whose senses were delighted by the experience.

My friends from Orland Park were often treated to “eye candy” that let them know God uses us to express a foretaste of the glories yet to come. God will use everything in this world, such as our intellects, our senses and our experiences, to draw us closer to Him.  It is this good and gracious God that gave us the gift of faith, helping us to understand His presence in a Church, a community, a family, a couple celebrating their anniversary or in a first Mass surrounding us with His beauty.
 
Tomorrow, I will say extra prayers for the two St. Michael parishes that have painted the beauty of their lives on my spirit and, of course, for my mother and father for sharing in God’s plan of creation.

In His Son, we see a beauty which is undeniable and indescribable because it is the mystery of His love that brings us together in a way we could never have imagined. Because of Him, there is the “beauty experienced” in the manner we LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Note: This blog originally appeared as the May 31, 2016 "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.

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