The Universal Church: A Response
Regarding Wimsey's beautiful post of August 5: "The Universal Church"
"The Catholic Church has walls as wide as the world and a dome that covers the cosmos." Homer
The praise for Wimsey's description of her view, her vision, from the balcony of the church -- "Christ the King" -- in the small, remant outpost of Christendom, is indeed sincere. Hers was a beautiful vision. I shared six weeks as a grad student in theology with Wimsey and my other co-bloggers, and we had the privilege and pleasure of getting to know an array of nuns of varied habits and backrounds and personalities. To a woman, the ones I met were bright and engaging and attractive and fun. They were a true highlight of my stay at Christendom College. Many, perhaps most of them, were young, in their twenties and thirties; the ones who were older were still young.
They are not flawless, not without blemish -- to overromanticize them would be to lessen their allure and their loveliness. They need our prayers, and they have mine. I would consider myself truly blessed to have their prayers, and even hope to have their friendship. They gave me increased hope for the Catholic Church, these brides of Jesus, each of them in a marriage with him that is exquisitely unique; in the eyes of this Bridegroom, no other bride exists but that individual nun, that irreplaceable and irresistable woman, in an intimacy that is both profound and informal, both impassioned and innocent. And this Bridegroom -- in the mutual joys and sorrows with his beloved spouse, in the sharing of intense struggles and inspiring successes -- is ever-faithful, ever-vigilant, ever-tender, ever-considerate. Not a bad life, for those gifted with this call, the sweet beckoning of the Bridegroom.
There is something else that I would like to say. I love the Catholic Church! -- with its walls as wide as the world, its dome that covers the cosmos; its spaciousness and its closeness; its formality and its familiarity. Within this Church, there is a wonderful diversity, a remarkable mosaic of souls, indescribably beautiful. This Church is all-inclusive: Everyone is invited within its shelter, one and all, if only that soul is searching for goodness and beauty and truth, which are the components of love; and if only that soul has an openness to the God who is love, who is goodness and beauty and truth.
One gets sentimental when talking about one's family, however defective its members, however deformed by sin. In the Catholic Church, we are brothers and sisters in Jesus, with bonds stronger than blood, and we are family. I pray that we Catholics will always stay together, will always comfort and encourage each other, will always cling to our big brother, Jesus, in the Church that he founded as our haven and our home.
"The Catholic Church has walls as wide as the world and a dome that covers the cosmos." Homer
The praise for Wimsey's description of her view, her vision, from the balcony of the church -- "Christ the King" -- in the small, remant outpost of Christendom, is indeed sincere. Hers was a beautiful vision. I shared six weeks as a grad student in theology with Wimsey and my other co-bloggers, and we had the privilege and pleasure of getting to know an array of nuns of varied habits and backrounds and personalities. To a woman, the ones I met were bright and engaging and attractive and fun. They were a true highlight of my stay at Christendom College. Many, perhaps most of them, were young, in their twenties and thirties; the ones who were older were still young.
They are not flawless, not without blemish -- to overromanticize them would be to lessen their allure and their loveliness. They need our prayers, and they have mine. I would consider myself truly blessed to have their prayers, and even hope to have their friendship. They gave me increased hope for the Catholic Church, these brides of Jesus, each of them in a marriage with him that is exquisitely unique; in the eyes of this Bridegroom, no other bride exists but that individual nun, that irreplaceable and irresistable woman, in an intimacy that is both profound and informal, both impassioned and innocent. And this Bridegroom -- in the mutual joys and sorrows with his beloved spouse, in the sharing of intense struggles and inspiring successes -- is ever-faithful, ever-vigilant, ever-tender, ever-considerate. Not a bad life, for those gifted with this call, the sweet beckoning of the Bridegroom.
There is something else that I would like to say. I love the Catholic Church! -- with its walls as wide as the world, its dome that covers the cosmos; its spaciousness and its closeness; its formality and its familiarity. Within this Church, there is a wonderful diversity, a remarkable mosaic of souls, indescribably beautiful. This Church is all-inclusive: Everyone is invited within its shelter, one and all, if only that soul is searching for goodness and beauty and truth, which are the components of love; and if only that soul has an openness to the God who is love, who is goodness and beauty and truth.
One gets sentimental when talking about one's family, however defective its members, however deformed by sin. In the Catholic Church, we are brothers and sisters in Jesus, with bonds stronger than blood, and we are family. I pray that we Catholics will always stay together, will always comfort and encourage each other, will always cling to our big brother, Jesus, in the Church that he founded as our haven and our home.
posted by Homer @ 1:24 PM
2 lightning strikes
2 Comments:
Thank you for the acolades! How very kind of you!
It was quite an experience sharing those few weeks with all those religious.
I am just now finally truly reading the different posts. Steve, you write with such eloquence and beauty. I am so very moved. I wish I had more time to devote to writing. Thank you for your reflections.
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