La Sagrada familia altar
Posted on 04/06/2026 12:26:49 AM PDT by Cronos
the life of Japanese sculptor Etsuro Sotoo offers a striking witness to how stone itself can become a path to faith.
For Sotoo, whose decades of carving at Spanish Barcelona’s Basilica of the Holy Family, known as Sagrada Familia, have shaped one of the world’s great sacred spaces, the slow, humbling work of sculpting stone ultimately led him to encounter the God whom Antoni Gaudí — Sagrada’s iconic architect — served, and to enter the Catholic Church through baptism. .
Studying the life and vision of Sagrada’s legendary architect — and a spiritual giant — not only shaped his artistic path, but ultimately led to his conversion to Catholicism.
“Faced with the responsibility of continuing the work I was commissioned to do at the Sagrada Familia on my own, I realized the only way to see what Gaudí saw was to stand where he stood — and that’s when I realized Gaudí was looking at God,”
That realization proved decisive — to understand Gaudí’s art, Sotoo had to understand the faith that shaped it. His encounter with Gaudí’s work became the spark of his conversion to Catholicism.
“A little research into Gaudí reveals that, although he alone holds seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, each of his works is entirely unique,” .
“Yet they all share a common spirit: every architectural creation is crafted with a delicate sensitivity in every detail, In that sense, then who is the owner of the Sagrada Familia? God. So how can we make God happy? Just as a child wishes to make his parents happy, doesn’t God’s true happiness lie in seeing people living together in harmony and happiness? I believe Gaudí intended to build cathedrals as instruments for people to be happy, and that’s my hope as well,”
(Excerpt) Read more at osvnews.com ...
La Sagrada familia altar
In the title I misread “Gaudí” as “Gandhi” which led to all sorts of ecumenical style confusion for a few seconds.
I’ve read Gandhi’s “the story of my experiments with truth”
It is interesting that he was heavily inspired by Tolstoy who was in turn influenced by Christ. Tolstoy’s “The Kingdom of God is Within You” affected Gandhi a lot. Tolstoy’s application of “turning the other cheek” provided the structural backbone for Gandhi’s non-violent resistance against British rule.
Gandhi also talked about hie he found profound resonance in the teachings of Jesus, particularly the Sermon on the Mount. Gandhi famously stated that the Sermon “went straight to my heart.” He admired the Christian ideal of voluntary suffering and sacrifice for a greater cause. The New Testament’s focus on the “least among us” reinforced Gandhi’s commitment to the “untouchables” (whom he called Harijans or “Children of God”) and the marginalized.
What got me to read Gandhi was his statement
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ”
“What got me to read Gandhi was his statement
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ””
Hence my mind’s question - how many of them new Catholics are actually Christians? Hell - is the Pope even a Christian?
Are you? How would we know?
You sound demented, seek help.
Ease your mind. It is not our call, but God's. Only he can read the heart of a man.
It was a valid question - do you believe that all who claim to be Catholic are actual Christians? If so, you are the demented one...I grew up in the Catholic church - the truth opened my eyes and I was saved by the Blood of Christ in a non-denominational church - after I shook the dust off my feet and left the travesty the Church of “gimmee dat, gimmee dat, gimmee dat money, or you’ll rot in Hell”.
I know - same can be asked of the “we” you asked for - and the question is just as valid i either direction.
No...it was a self serving one.
God chose Peter to lead his Church, not some off-brand minister in a converted theater.
Your issues around that seem purely psychological...you have a problem with authority.
Some might call that a lack of faith...
LOL!
Simeone else was saying none of the apostles were married and that’s why the so-called Church demanded only unmarried (supposedly) celibate men could be priests - but Peter, the rock the church was built on, had a mother-in-law who was healed - so he was married. And the Church itself didn’t start to enact the unmarried/celibate crap until some 340 years or so after the Resurrection - and then made it official in 1100 something - and it was all based on not having heirs that might have claim to some of the church’s precious money and nothing to do with piety.
That so-called “off-brand minister” actually preached The Word and the glory of Jesus’ precious gift to us - something those “priests” never did - and he did it in regular clothes instead of all the pretty (and expensive) finery today’s pharisees use to instill a sense of awe in flawed, mortal men.
My faith is in Jesus Christ - not some fops who put on a show and tell me I’m going to Hell if I don’t chip in my weekly ante.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.