As the pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in downtown Bowling Green, I often remind parishioners that we are called to do three things. First – to worship as a community, second – to care for the poor and third – to evangelize. Evangelization is the universal call to every Christian to go to the ends of the earth preaching the gospel.
At the end of 2021 the parish concluded a restoration of the historic St. Joseph Church. The building was first constructed in the late 1880’s by then pastor Fr. Joseph DeVries. During our initial phases of the renovation, the parishioners at St. Joseph wanted the church to appear as it did in 1889. Over the past several decades it had taken on a few different transformations and no longer looked as it did originally. The process of restoration encompassed a great deal of planning and fundraising but what we now have is something truly inspiring and, of course, beautiful.
Today one of the great joys of being at St. Joseph is seeing people’s faces when they first walk into the church. To glimpse the St. Joseph lilies painted high on the ceiling as many would have seen them in the late 1800’s is truly uplifting. We encounter people throughout the country traveling through Bowling Green for vacation, to visit the Corvette Museum and there are many new families moving to our wonderful city, as well. As I mentioned, their first gesture is to look heavenward, which is what a church’s architecture should always do – direct our souls to their final destination.
As I said in the opening, we are called to evangelize and we do that in many ways. Often, we begin with truth. But we live in a relativistic world where the individual defines truth for themselves. One might say, “Who are you to tell me what truth is? I have my own truth. I have the right to decide for myself.”
We might then move into a kind of moral superiority. We evangelize by telling others how they should live their life. Right away their hackles come up and that is that.
So where should we begin? From my recent experience, I would say start with beauty. Read Dante’s Divine Comedy or some other great work of literature. Listen to Mozart. Many have proclaimed that because there is Mozart there is a God. St. Thomas Aquinas gave many proofs for God’s existence. Another may be that you cannot compose a symphony at the age of eight and ascribe it to just chemistry or biology. Go see the Sistine Chapel or come to St. Joseph in Bowling Green (not that they are comparable).
I am a big fan of the Rocky Mountains and I love visiting them as often as I can. The vast beauty of those mountains draws me in. I want to see more – I want to see every inch of them – I want to investigate – I want to feel the cool air in the evenings when the sun goes down, I want to drink the water that flows from those life-giving streams, I want to watch the animals as our ancient ancestors once did, ultimately, I want to become one with the mountain. I want to go on an adventure and all that begins with the initial beauty of those majestic peaks.
I believe that is why we start with beauty. We, as ministers to the people of God, are always looking for ways to get people in the door, so to speak. We know for ourselves the depth of truth that encompasses our faith and how it can set us free from the chaos in our world. We know the joy that comes with living our faith as God has created us to live, understanding that we can only comprehend ourself when we do so through humility in the face of God.
We at St. Joseph Church have experienced over this past year a bit of a revival. As I said, there are many new faces and families, which is wonderful. None of that is because the Catholic Church has changed any particular teaching – for she has not. It is not due to the charisma of the pastor or because of the teaching authority of the church. I believe it is because the church has been restored to its original glory. It is a beautiful place to worship and it directs the liturgy, our music, our souls to something more than the individual, more than any particular teaching. It directs us to God and there’s nothing more beautiful than that.
-by Ryan Harpole, pastor
