Beauty as an essential element of the Sacred Liturgy
                          "Oh Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house" (Ps 26:8)

The human being takes delight in those things or people that seem beautiful, that are pleasant or attractive in any way.

Beauty can be a feature that is found on the outside and that can be seen in the shape, size, expression, texture, color, etc., both in the detail, and mainly, as a whole, in the object seen as a whole.

The response or behavior of people before the beautiful is contemplation, somthing that goes beyond mere observation, because in it not only is it observed but it produces a feeling of satisfaction, admiration, ecstasy, of being in taste, to feel good.

To contemplate it is necessary to observe, look at detail in detail what seems beautiful, and even what does not seem so beautiful to the naked eye.  For this reason, beauty is also something that is discovered in objects.

Beauty is related to other values such as love, however, in human relationships, the internal becomes more important because it enriches people.

Beauty can be cultivated.  In the history of the human being has impregnated his works with the sense of the aesthetic.  He seeks that his created works have beauty; musical works, painting, poetry, construction, sculpture, etc.  Where many times it is taken as a refernece to nature (sounds, shapes, colors, beings, etc.)

in the Post-Synodal Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, Benedict XVI writes: "Beauty is not a mere decorative element but an essential part of the liturgical action because it is an attribute of God himself and of his revelation:  (No. 35).  Beauty, therefore, is not merely external, but on the contrary, is inseparable from the liturgy.  It is one thing to say this in the abstract, but to understand it in concrete reality is much more difficult.

I would like to focus on the Liturgical Beauty.  Specifically in three points:

A- The liturgy must be Christcentric:  If the liturgy is to be beautiful it can only be beautiful because Christ himself is the center of celebration and sacrifice.  Christ is beauty itself: "It is not only the outer beauty of the aspect of the Redeemer that is glorified, but in Him the beauty of Truth appears, the beauty of God himself who draws us to Himself and, at the same time He captivates with the wound of Love, the sacred passion (eros), which makes us capable of moving forward together, with and in the Church, his Bride, to meet the Love that calls us."

B- the liturgy must be located in the immemorial and sacred Tradition of the Church.  There is a difference between the Tradition of the Church (capital "T:") and the traditon of the church (lowercase "t").  Both have things in common but they are different and they can never enter into contradiction.

Tradition with the capital "T" refers to the universality of the Church in its Foundation, Apostolic Succession, Sacraments and its liturgy as a unifying point.  The other with lowercase "t" refers to the customs of different peoples.

To be sure that the liturgy is centered on Christ, it must be located in the sacred Tradition of the Universal Catholic Church who is itself: ONE-HOLY-CATHOLIC.

C- Be drunk with beautiful music.  The profound connection between beauty of listening and the liturgy that we celebrate should draw our attention to all the works of art that are put at the service of the celebration.  Everything related to the Eucharist should be marked by beauty, such as liturgical music.

Breifly this is the concept of the Bethany Ministry in Annunciation Parish that I have created.  The idea is to keep together the beauty and harmony of our liturgies in relation to the beauty of our temple.  In other words, that the decoration will be in keeping with the Season and the Liturgical Norms of the Universal and Diocesan Chruch of which we are an active part.

The leader of the "Bethany Ministry" in Annunciaton Church is Daniela Ferrara, Susana Schmitt, Kathy Tanis, Joan Miller, Patti Mistrick and Nancy Pierinelli.