Joseph Pearce
What is true of architecture, art, and music is equally true of literature. Throughout the history of Christendom, great literature has paid homage to sacred liturgy and the sacraments.
Author’s Note: On the evening of Wednesday, September 25 I was honoured to give the keynote address at the opening of the annual conference of the Society for Catholic Liturgy in Houston, Texas. I spoke from the scantiest of notes, as is my wont, which means that the written text of the address does not exist. I thought, however, that it would be good were I to flesh out the notes into a fully-fledged essay, reflecting what I said at the conference, while the talk is still fresh in my mind. The following is the fullness of the fledging….
Considering that the sacraments and the liturgy have always been at the sacred heart of Christendom, it is little surprise that the greatest creative works of Christian civilization have reflected this. Architectural edifices soar heavenwards, churches and cathedrals serving as glorious tabernacles enshrining the Blessed Sacrament and the holy sacrifice of the Mass. The greatest masterpieces of art reflect the key moments of the life of Christ, which are themselves the key moments of the liturgical year: the Nativity, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection and the Ascension. Sacred music has been composed as a handmaid to the Church’s liturgy: Gregorian chant, polyphony, and the great musical settings of the Mass.
What is true of architecture, art, and music is equally true of literature. Throughout the history of Christendom, great literature has paid homage to sacred liturgy and the sacraments.
The Beowulf poet was almost certainly a Benedictine monk who was probably writing in the late seventh or early eighth century, making him a contemporary or near contemporary of St. Bede, that other great Benedictine of Anglo-Saxon England. » Read More
https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2024/10/liturgy-literature-middle-ages-joseph-pearce.html