How the Beauty of Catholicism Can Inspire Your Next Event
“I wept at the beauty of your hymns and canticles, and was powerfully moved at the sweet sound of Your Church’s singing. Those sounds flowed into my ears, and the truth streamed into my heart: so that my feelings of devotion overflowed, and the tears ran from my eyes, and I was happy in them” (St. Augustine, Confessions IX.6, describing his experience with the beauty in Milan).
A Little Backstory
As a boutique event planner, my work has taken me all over the globe. One event I orchestrated year after year for a key client was in La Ville-Lumiere (the City of Light). Autumn in Paris is magical. The city drips with beauty. The majority of the tourists have returned home, and the rain begins to fall, which makes the city sparkle even more.
Prior to landing this gig, Paris had never made it to a list of places I wanted to visit. However, work called, and I made the trip across the pond, full speed ahead. I took advantage of the extensive and historic culture, including getting to know the locals so they could assist me in executing a magnificent and haute couture event each year. Paris grew on me.
When I was contracted by this client, I considered myself a low-grade spiritual seeker. I didn’t know what I was seeking, and it was never in the forefront of my mind. It was a sidebar to my life—except when things got challenging. Then, I would get on my knees and pray.
The truth is, I envied people who talked about a personal relationship with God, but I didn’t really know what that meant or how to make it happen. And, I didn’t really have much knowledge of theology. I was raised Catholic but fell away from the Church in my college and adult years. You name the path; I tried it. Nothing stuck nor felt really true.
It was on my third work visit to Paris that God placed the conversion cornerstone that eventually led me to my deep metanoia into the Catholic woman I am today. Paris spoke to me. And I heard Him.
The Beauty of Our Sacramentals Changed Me
As the event planner, “behind the scenes” while I walked from location to location, Paris was whispering to me (I now know it was the Holy Spirit!).
The whisper encouraged me to step inside the majestic churches that crossed my path while walking the streets of Paris, to find a place to kneel and pray. Inside each church, the beauty of our sacramentals worked on me: the incense, the candles, the statues, the artwork, the stained glass, the ornate altars, the glorious tabernacle, the antique pews and kneelers, the domes, the classical architecture … and, oh, that sweet silence.
Bishop Robert Barron has written and spoken a great deal about this topic. I agree with him that sometimes beauty can be a more effective evangelization tool than any intellectual argument: “Don’t tell them what to think or how to behave,” Bishop Barron says, but “show the beauty of Catholicism, and that has evangelical power.”
In many cases—particularly “in a postmodern culture so instinctively skeptical of dogma”—“the best evangelical strategy is one that moves from the beautiful to the good and finally to the true.”
Without a shadow of a doubt, it was the beauty of Catholicism, seen through our sacramentals, that started this change in my character and outlook on life.
Looking to Our Sacramentals for Event Planning Inspiration
The sacred Scriptures and the sacred traditions of our Church contain so many nuggets of wisdom that we can infuse into our paid work in the world. Drawing from my personal experience, with my metamorphosis in developing a personal relationship with God, I can see that they inspire how I approach event planning.
The beauty of sacramentals is intentionally created by God to be transformational. Sacramentals sanctify us to help us gain the most benefit from the sacraments (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1667). Their evangelical power for people who are not yet Catholic can be transformative, even if they are not clear about what they mean.
Similarly, in event planning, with intentionality and discernment, we can encourage a transformation by “setting the stage” for change to happen. We do so by intentionally infusing simple beauty throughout the attendees’ experience.
3 Things to Keep in Mind When Planning an Event
The overarching objective to a successful event is to ensure that the attendees leave having gone through a change in perception or a transformation. So, the first step is to pray for clarity on the transformation (or feelings) with which you want your attendees to leave. Then, throughout your entire planning and implementation process, ask yourself three questions.
1. Keep It Simple
Our sacramentals are timeless—not too ornate and not flashy but traditional, classic, full of energy and deeply moving, noble, and solemn. Events are often unsuccessful due to the fact that there was just “too much.” These events may be over budget and wasteful of time. When you are deciding on decor, swag, handouts, number of activities or speakers, and the event flow and overall content, remember to keep it simple.
Ask yourself: What do I need to let go of so I can simplify this event?
2. Your Venue Choice Matters
Even many non-Catholics agree that when they enter a traditional cathedral, they can feel something special. Nailing down where you’re going to hold your event is the most pivotal question of the entire event-planning process, and it needs to be decided well in advance. The venue choice often affects the date and is often one of the largest line items in your budget. You want your venue to be convenient and cost-effective, but do not discount the overall feel.
Ask yourself: Does this structure embody a feeling that will aid in attendees’ transformation?
3. Insist on Silence
The silence we experience inside of a church changes us, and our surroundings inside the church shape our experience in that silence. Our eyes choose where they go: Some people will be drawn to the older woman in the back pew praying the Rosary, others to the altar server lighting the candle, others to the sun peeking through the stained glass, and others to the person they know across the sanctuary. God speaks to each of us in the ways that get our attention, and they are often different for different people.
Event hosts know that every minute at an event is valuable, so they often fall victim to the belief that every minute needs to be planned out to teach or do something productive. However, the opposite is true: The top culprits of an event that doesn’t transform its attendees are too much stimulation and not enough intentional space set aside for organic change to occur.
Ask yourself: Have I intentionally set aside time and space for silence at my event?
While this article undoubtedly has a corporate event planning slant, these principles can be applied to any event or gathering, including parties in your home, family dinner, holiday festivities, and more. Happy planning!
Aimee Arnold is a Boutique Event Strategist for Small to Mid Sized businesses. Her professional experience in marketing, operations, and hospitality spans a handful of industries and has taken her all over the world. Depending on the season, she can also be found foraging wild mushrooms with her husband for homemade pizzas, latin dancing to live music, or cross country skiing off the grid or stand up paddleboarding with her dog. While active in the church in her youth, as an adult, her mass attendance slowly dropped off and eventually became nonexistent. After experiencing the beauty of the sacramentals in a variety of the magnificent churches around the world, like a magnet she was drawn back to consistent mass attendance, and she now encounters Christ in a way she’d never before experienced. Connect with Aimee directly on Instagram, LinkedIn, or at AimeeArnold.com.