Where Have You Gone, Michelangelo: The Loss of Soul in Catholic Culture

by Thomas Day

The bestselling author of Why Catholics Can't Sing returns with another brilliant and witty portrait of American Catholic culture that is sure to offend - and delight - almost everyone. Catholics, writes Thomas Day, have been so busy arguing among themselves about the ordination of women, what the Church can or can't tell them to do, and similar "hot" issues that they haven't paid attention to a real crisis in their midst - the disappearance of their cultural "soul." In the rush to make the Church more modern after Vatican II, U.S. Catholics have developed one guilt complex after another about their cultural heritage, especially in liturgy, architecture, and music. Day takes the reader back and forth across the pre- and post-Vatican II divide, from the Latin Mass to the latest liturgical experiment, from the isolationist Church of the past to the trendier-than-thou parishes of today. With an eye for the bizarre development, he examines Catholicism's identity crisis by focusing on the visual symptoms, especially in the arts. As a corrective, Day seeks a return to a sense of Mystery and a vision of Christian community that is unified in its diversity and uplifting in its expression. He combines historical and theological background with striking vignettes and anecdotes, and leavens his argument with wit. Where Have You Gone, Michelangelo? may contain enough wisdom and humor to help bring Catholics into the next millennium.

Genres: Catholic

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 1993

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Bob Lundquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is happening to Catholicism? Was Vatican II a precursor to its troubles or a cause? What did the council set out to do? For many, the biggest change was the virtual elimination of the Latin Mass. Masses can now be said in the local language. This is fine and dandy, but what happens when a Catholic visits a Polish parish in Poland? Or even in my case, when an American visits Winnipeg and sits through a Mass in French? The language becomes insurmountable. Sure, we know what section of the Mass we are in, but how can we know which version of the Eucharistic prayer is being used? How can foreigner follow a Mass not in his native language? Too bad, so sad?

This is one example of Day’s book where he excoriates some legacies of Vatican II that panders to the great unwashed. This includes dumbing down the liturgy, conformity to a single person’s whim whether that person is a bishop or a pastor, the use of contemporary composers to supplant many old hymns. When I was a kid, I attended Masses in Latin and I would have been good to attend such a Mass anywhere in the world. Sure, I did not have fluency in Latin, but I picked up a lot from the bi-lingual missals that were available: English on one side and Latin on the other. It was fun to see the English and Latin compared and try to figure out how one language translated to the other. Day also addresses issues surrounding architecture and singing. He sees these as dull and predictable. So, generally, the book does not care for how the Church has become formulaic and thus lost its soul.