The Church: Unlocking the Secrets to the Places Catholics Call Home
From the bestselling authors of The Mass, an insightful and practical guide that explores the architectural and spiritual components of the Catholic Church.
Your local church is not only a physical place, but a spiritual home. In this thought-provoking book, Wuerl and Aquilina illuminate the importance of the Church in its many guises and examine the theological ideas behind the physical structure of churches, cathedrals, and basilicas. How is a church designed? What is the function of the altar? What does the nave represent? What is the significance of the choir loft? With eloquent prose and elegant black-and-white photography, these questions and many more will lead to answers that illuminate the history and practicality of Catholic life.
Truth be told, I have been meaning to read The Church since March of this year. Unfortunately it became lost in my TBR and only resurfaced this month when I was going through it.
After reading The Mass and The Feasts by Mike Aquilina and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, I was immensely excited to see how they would tackle the subject of the Church. One of the things that I really enjoyed about this one was how they took every little aspect of the church itself and the meaning behind the big and little things therein.
If like me you're really into learning more about the Catholic faith, and also kind of nerdy, then this is the book for you. I don't now about you, but I enjoy seeing the history and Biblical reasoning behind the design of the Church. While my current parish doesn't have a dedicated chapel since they're still collecting funds to build it, it really makes one appreciate the beauty and usefulness of some of the older churches. I really enjoyed seeing how every aspect of the church was designed with purpose. A purpose that not only brings one closer to Biblical history but also to the early churches.
After reading The Church, I really wish that as one grew up in the church that catechist and parents would take the time to explain the different aspects of the church building and the reason it was designed that way. There is just so many interesting aspects of the church itself and how it ties into the the faith we profess. Another reason that I found it to be so fascinating is that in the early ages, before reading was widespread, the paintings and frescoes of a church helped to convey the story of Jesus and make it accessible to those unable to read, so, that it's still carried forward today is pretty awesome.
Okay moving on! What I also liked about The Church was the way it was written. While it covered various aspects of the church and why the features were implemented, I liked that the descriptions did not get bogged down and overly technical. It just reads very well and garners one's interest very quickly. Again, Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Mike Aquilina do an incredible job bringing vast amount a knowledge together in one highly readable book.
Final Verdict: The Church- A wonderful, insightful and fun read about Catholic Churches! This book is anything but boring!!
The Church earns
this book was received from the publisher for review consideration. All thoughts are my own.
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