Sometimes people say things, often in rather casual conversation, that stick with us. They are “words that crackle,” to borrow from the theologian David Power. One such phrase came from an artist friend. She said, “Good art is a moral choice.”

Good art is a moral choice. Not a great way of making a living. Not the road to undying fame. Not the path to thunderous applause. Not what necessarily looks pretty or makes people happy. Good art is a moral choice because it points, as people of faith believe, to the One who is the Good, the True, and the Beautiful.

I thought of those words often these past few weeks—the two weeks after that storm that wreaked such havoc in our buildings. The preschool, St. Lawrence basement, the rectory, the organ. All those water infiltration situations provided challenges. And I am personally grateful for all the folks who pulled together to clean up, to figure out the fix, to do the repairs. You were so very much there when the parishes needed you.

But, one of the challenges will remain with us for some time—the pipe organ. The pipes, located in the loft at St. Boniface are just fine. But the water in the console pit—the control panel for that magnificent and complicated instrument—finished off the electronics.

We’ll move on with repairs and rebuilding. It’ll take time. But, if we want to give God the best—and that’s the artists’ moral imperative—we need to do it and do it well. It’s complicated. We need to talk to the insurance people and the organ technicians. We want to continue the work that began two generations ago—to sustain an instrument that leads to the contemplation of God’s beauty.