Bad Catholic, who has left Patheos and now lives on his own, describes my chosen faith and what is so spellbinding about it:
Catholicism is not a football team that wins points every time an argument is made in its favor.
The Church communicates itself, not by virtue of a lack with in itself, but by an overabundance. It is not a cup that craves the assent of intellects in order to be full. It is full, and it spills over, wherever
we allow it to. Evangelization, the communication of the Holy Faith, is not the needy, desperate, grasping of an organization that thirsts for members. It is the self-communication and shining-forth of that beautiful body we call the Bride of Christ. The fundamental question of the efficacy of any person “preaching Catholicism” is not simply whether in all arguments the Church emerges victorious, but whether the Church is beautiful in victory, revealed as she is — lovely, holy, sane, sound, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
To convince a man of something as wonderful as the fact that the sun shines, it is not enough to persuade him by argument and polemic: Place him in its rays until he feels the heat on his cheeks.
we allow it to. Evangelization, the communication of the Holy Faith, is not the needy, desperate, grasping of an organization that thirsts for members. It is the self-communication and shining-forth of that beautiful body we call the Bride of Christ. The fundamental question of the efficacy of any person “preaching Catholicism” is not simply whether in all arguments the Church emerges victorious, but whether the Church is beautiful in victory, revealed as she is — lovely, holy, sane, sound, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.I hope in some way, some small way, I'll occasionally do this. I'd settle for rarely doing it.
I'm glad to see Marc is back online.
Most glad.
