Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart

I had the opportunity, today, to visit the new Roman Catholic Cathedral in Houston, the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, which opened in April 2008. First impressions: they need a parking lot. I circled the place three times before finding somewhere to park. And it's not terribly well sign-posted either. If the Cathedral didn't have a pretty impressive tower, I'd have shot straight past it. Of course that may tell you more about my navigational skills.




The only piece of literature I could find was the parish magazine, which contained a zillion adverts, and a very interesting Christmas wish list.
www.sacredhearthouston.org/documents/cathedral_wish-list.pdf
If, for example, you have a spare $800 in your back pocket you can buy them a Little Gem Magnolia tree (the cost includes planting, but even so). Paving stones, for the parish hall (two feet square) are a snip at $300. Unfortunately, they need 400 of them.
It would be easy to complain about construction costs, and to suggest that the money should have been spent on the poor, of whom there are so many in downtown Houston. Of course, Judas tried this line of argument, and it didn't work out too well for him (John 12).

On the other hand, God is always worthy of the best that we can offer to Him. At a time when so much church architecture seems to be ersatz, it is refreshing to see a building that, one hopes, will be there for many, many years.



If anything it is surprisingly austere, almost art deco, particularly in the soaring columns which line the impressive nave.


Most of the Catholic cathedrals I have visited have been baroque, overladen with too much decoration for my taste. Houston's new cathedral is straight, clean, and vertical, pointing straight up to God. It's bright and airy. The stained glass is wonderful. Only the statues in the side chapels could be described as a little garish. All in all, I am tremendously impressed.



This does not mean that I have lost sight of the significant differences between Catholicism and Reformed Christianity. Neither does it mean that I believe that all churches have to cost $39 million, or that there is not a case to be made for balancing spending on self with spending for others. I hope that, in time, the cathedral will become known as a center of service, a sanctuary for the needy, much like the Mediaeval cathedrals of Europe. I'm sure that it will. Similarly, I hope that they will provide simple materials about the Christian faith for the many visitors they will doubtless receive.




However, they have made a tremendous beginning. The Co-Cathedral speaks of permanence and beauty in a world dominated by the anti-values of impermanence and ugliness. I hope that it stands for many centuries, bearing witness to a living faith and to a God who does not change.