It is time for my monthly book review! Anne Bender, a longtime user of the library, recommended this next book on the Salzmann Library Facebook page a month ago (I invite you all to follow her blog, “Imprisoned in my Bones”). The book Anne recommended, “The Church Building as a Sacred Place: beauty, transcendence, and the eternal,” by Duncan Stroik, Liturgy Training Publications, is a little bit on the pricey side, but an excellent read.

Here is the review from the Amazon website: “For decades, Duncan Stroik has led the renewal movement in Catholic church architecture and its reengagement with tradition. Once a lone voice crying in the wilderness, he has since become a leading educator and practitioner, a man whose name is almost a household word and has proven that large, beautiful, traditional Catholic architecture is indeed possible today. For this reason, this book is almost as much a collection of primary source readings about Stroik's role in the New Classical movement as it is a primer on church architecture itself.” – Denis R. McNamara.

The book has 23 essays, covering topics ranging from church modernism and modernity, to renaissance and renewal, also, principles of church design, and a critique of modern iconoclasm. Richly illustrated, the pictures allow you to follow along, and sing praise. One of the author’s architectural examples is not too far from here either, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse.  So please find a copy, and enjoy the sacred architecture.
As always, if you have any ideas and comments for things I could change, please let me know.

As always, if you have any ideas and comments for things I could change, please let me know. If you have any books that you have read or have read the books I mention, please leave a comment. We here at Salzmann also want to know what people are reading. Comments are always appreciated – anything I can do to make this better I will strive my best to accomplish.
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