For some reason I couldn't manage to post a comment on Mark's blog, so I sent him an email, which I post here because in his reply Mark said it was a point worth making:
I am a Catholic - Jesuit trained. I attend Mass mostly every day (I am an aging man who sinned a good deal in youth and must make peace with my maker). My hero is the Abbe Mugnier, Proust's friend, who, asked if he believed in Hell, said of course he did, it is a doctrine of the Church. "Of course," he added, "I don't necessarily believe anyone is there." The Church provides a language, a vocabulary, a doctrinal and symbolical map, as it were. But practicing the faith is an art. You might write something that honored all the rules of meter and rhyme, but it would not necessarily be a poem. Indeed, it likely would not be a poem. I happen to be very fond of the current Pontiff, especially regarding his approach to liturgy. But he is only the Vicar of Christ. Jesus remains the head of the Church. This is how those of us on the inside see it.
Am I correct in figuratively interpreting your point in this way: Jesus Christ, as son of God, is the absolute destination for the soul, but the Church is merely the vehicle (and like all vehicles, there are mechanical problems and operator error that sometimes interfere with the journey to the destination).
ReplyDeleteNote: I could not quite "unpack" and understand Mark Vernon's point, so I settle instead for attempting an understanding of your point.
Postscript:
ReplyDeleteI would note that I may not be expressing myself clearly, and I would note that the point I am attempting to figuratively assert--journey to God via Christ--is much better articulated by Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
Hi R.T.- "Jesus Christ, as son of God, is the absolute destination for the soul, but the Church is merely the vehicle." Sounds about right to me. I cannot exaggerate howmuch I admire Pope Benedict. But he did not die on the cross for my sins. He would, I am sure, be the first to admit that. I fear that those who do not share our faith do not understand that we are not smug about it. I am a sinner. I pray for God's mercy. That is the core of my faith.
ReplyDelete