New York City, N.Y., May 9, 2018 / 16:12 pm
By now, you have likely heard that the theme of this year's Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala was "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination." I will admit: when I first heard this, I winced. I'm not really sure what I was imagining, but it certainly wasn't what paraded down the red carpet on Monday night.
To my surprise, I wasn't offended by the vast majority of the dresses-instead, I felt a little sad that contemporary fashion designers seem to appreciate the "Catholic imagination" more than some of today's church architects.
The Catholic Church could benefit from taking a fresh look at some of the "imagination" that was on display on Monday. No, I am not talking about Rihanna's dress, or Lana Del Rey's-but perhaps something like what Blake Lively, Darren Criss, or Priyanka Chopra wore. By focusing only on the people who went over the top, we do ourselves a disservice-we ignore the interest and wonder fostered by pieces of art inspired by the beauty of our faith.
I grew up a parishioner in a church that was built in 1988, during the so-called "dark ages" of Catholic design. The church is nearly indistinguishable on the outside from the Congregationalist church across the street. Aside from the sign out front, there's nothing about the building that screams "Catholic," or even "I am different from that other church over there."