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Why Are Churches Illuminated Like Shopping Malls? - By Maestro Aurelio Porfiri

A Catholic should pay attention to what should happen before Mass starts.

At the entrance there is Holy Water, a reminder of baptism, which disposes us for accessing the sacred mysteries.

By entering the church we cross the threshold which separates the profane from the sacred.

In the church we should pay attention to space and light. We should feel transported to the light that is at the end of the nave, the tabernacle and the altar.

Unfortunately, many churches are illuminated like shopping malls but if everything is illuminated, the importance of light and space is lost.

We need to understand that we are welcomed into another dimension which is sacred.

This is more than what I found in a liturgical booklet published by an Italian diocese which said that "we discover that Mass is welcoming". Well...

The time before Mass should not be empty. The organist could play a prelude presenting the themes of the songs that will be sung. I realize, it takes a good organist to do so.

Practicing some refrains can also be adequate.
GChevalier
Ça tombe bien : je suis organiste. Petit problème : ils ne veulent plus d'organistes. Mais ça reviendra.
Dr Bobus
Superb observation. A priest friend and I have wondered why every corner of every church must be illuminated.
The interior beauty of Chartres Cathedral was the lofty beauty of the windows set within the darkness. The stone walls needed cleaning, but historicism took over, producing whitened walls in an attempt to make the church look the way it was in its first years. An artistic amnesia to erase …More
Superb observation. A priest friend and I have wondered why every corner of every church must be illuminated.

The interior beauty of Chartres Cathedral was the lofty beauty of the windows set within the darkness. The stone walls needed cleaning, but historicism took over, producing whitened walls in an attempt to make the church look the way it was in its first years. An artistic amnesia to erase the hundreds of years between the creation of the building and today.

Now standing amongst the white walls is like standing in an empty swimming pool on a sunny day.