"Let me make an honest confession. In the course of a half century, I have seen more Catholic corruption than you have read of. I have tasted it. I have been reasonably corrupt myself. And yet I joy in this church—this living, pulsing, sinning, People of God. I love it with a crucifying passion.
Why?
For all the Catholic hate, I experience here a community of love.
For all the institutional idiocy, I find here a tradition of reason.
For all the individual repressions, I breathe here an air of freedom.
For all the fear of sex, I discover here redemption of my body.
In an age so inhuman, I touch here the tears of compassion.
In world so grim and humorless, I share rich joy and earthy laughter.
In the midst of death, I hear an incomparable stress on life.
For all the apparent absence of God, I sense here the real presence of Christ."
-- Fr.Walter Burghardt, SJ
H/T to my good friend Jeff, who sent this along to me.
More of Fr. Barron's AWESOME upcoming Catholicism movie:
Marc is excited for it too!
Here is one more good and short read: Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and the Energy of Existence
Happy Monday!
Thank you for this preview clip and the quote! Sometimes when I can't put certain things into words I am very pleased to find others already have.
ReplyDeleteI am so pumped for Catholicism! I've been waiting for it for a year... can't wait for it to air on PBS!!!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a must-see!
ReplyDeleteI Barron's book, now I know there is a movie; thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to welcome you to the Catholic Blog Directiory and invite you to participate in Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival, a weekly gathering where Catholic bloggers share posts with each other. This week's edition is at http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com/2011/08/sunday-snippets-catholic-carnival_27.html