Beauty is Never Necessary

“Beauty is never ‘necessary,’ ‘functional’ or ‘useful.’ And when, expecting someone whom we love, we put a beautiful tablecloth on the table and decorate it with candles and flowers, we do all this not out of necessity, but out of love. And the Church is love, expectation and joy.”

– Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World

Image: Still Life with Red Macaw, Spanish School, c 1650, Bowes Museum (via artfund.org)