Becoming Catholic is not adopting some specific valid ideas. It is joining a concrete, living reality, a fiery and cumbersome one, with a very specific agenda. That reality has a bad name: 'The institutional church'; for it is not a club of like-minded friends, or a coterie of the perfect; it is a nation used by Christ as his body in order to remain truly present at the heart of mankind. As a nation, it is inextricably involved in real history. Joining it means accepting to participate with it in history, to take on its agenda.
From On the Lay Vocation (published in Godspy)
Posted by Tom at September 8, 2004 11:05 PMWow, this is great. Been rereading Thomas Merton's THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN recently. Merton is obviously influenced by Maritain and others when it comes to seeing the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. I like how that quote you shared made a distinction between rules and a more organic relationship in a body. That is what it's all about. Merton bears this out. Thanks for posting this.
As always, yours, Bill
Posted by: Bill at September 25, 2004 05:23 AM