On a recent trip to Montreal with fellow seminary students from Tyndale Seminary, we visited St. Joseph's Oratory, which I would naturally call a "cathedral" but apparently the correct term is "basilica", since cathedral refers to ornate type non-Catholic churches. It was a beautiful, amazingly designed church. There's a wall there covered with crutches, from people who were healed within its walls. We all walked around sort of in awe of all this magnificent building represented as a testament to God.

I felt somewhat torn though, as we entered the second of two large worship halls. (The first can be seen in the picture above.) On one hand, this all seemed like sort of a waste of time and money. God doesn't care if we worship him in a grand hall, small local church, movie theater, or back alley. Couldn't the millions of dollars it cost to built this basilica be put to better use elsewhere?

On the other hand, just walking into this church gave a sense of reverant awe that is missing from most Protestant churches. It just has a different feel, while Protestant churches generally feel plain, the Catholic churches just feel more … holy? Of course, there's nothing holy about the building itself. But somehow, going to church in a movie theater and watching the screen (as great as Bruxy's sermons may be) seems to be missing that sense of awe that is often an appropriate way to approach God.