I first saw the link to these pictures on Ad Orientem. It’s the renovation of St Joseph’s Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, KY. I was confused at first because I thought the “before” picture was on top while the “after” picture was on the bottom. I was mistaken. The top picture is what the church looks like now. It appears to be devoid of crucifixes or anything of the symbols that existed previously. What is the sacrifice of the Mass without the symbol of our Lord suffering and dying? It is still the sacrifice of the Mass, but the congregation does not see what earned our redemption. I believe they would not be as mindful of the price of our redemption without those symbols present.
Here’s something you don’t hear often: suffering matters. Christ’s suffering matters most of all. There is no rising without dying, no Glory without the Cross. For each one of us that means a true cross. I’m speaking of a “true cross” in the sense of the cross Christ gives each of us to bear, not a cross we build for ourselves. What a silly burden the planners of that renovation took upon themselves – the old sanctuary “was deemed unworthy of the ‘new liturgy’ and needed to be made adapted to ‘the spirit of Vatican II’…….”
What folly it is to remove the symbols of that which unifies the world in the love and mercy of God in the interest of being inclusive. I suppose that’s what they meant by “the spirit of Vatican II.” The world has known nothing more inclusive than Christ’s sacrifice. That is the spirit of Vatican II. That is the Good News.