My cyber-friend Marc has sent me an interesting quote from an article in a 1966 edition of “The Critic” that I would like to include in the louie collection.First of all, try finding out about this magazine, “The Critic”. I can find absolutely nothing on the web. The Rev. Robert Hovda was a leader in the movement to revise the Roman Catholic liturgy during and after the Second Vatican Council
The section from "The Critic": Feb.-March, 1966 pg. 75 : the reviewer, Hovda, quotes Merton and writes [of Merton]:
"The true foundation of self-denial, he makes plain, is not to "liberate the soul," but to clarify God's will in our regard and unify our beings (body as well as soul) in his service. He points out how the struggle between Christ and the Law is a continuous and present struggle, not merely a historic phenomenon. "Christianity is precisely a liberation from every rigid legal and religious system."....
Here's a search hint for you: "'The Critic,' was the magazine that had been published in various formats by Thomas More Association of Chicago beginning 1942 to promote Catholic reading, culture and education."
ReplyDeleteThanks, Larry. I found a book on a site with articles, humor, and satire from The Critic, named "A funny thing happened to the Catholic Church". I think I might order it.
ReplyDeleteThose years were such a rich time for Catholicism - at least for those of us who liked the artistic, literary and cultural side of the Church. Ah, but to have a magazine like Jubilee these days. The NCR doesn't even come close.
I have felt like my church has been in exile these last 20 or 30 years. I don't think I'm alone, either. A lot of us out here who can't seem to find our way back to what passes for Catholicism these days. Maybe the way is not back, anyway.
Hi Beth,
ReplyDeleteI didn't know anything about Fr. Hovda- that was interesting and made me want to learn more.
I feel that struggle between Christ and the Law progressively in my own experience. Maybe between Christ and the Media too, which is part of the Law?
Wish the pope was Anthony Quinn at the end of "Shoes of the Fisherman" - sell the Church's possessions and give the $ to the poor.
I think that you're very right about the Media being a manifestation of The Law, Marc. The Law: that to which we all must be beholden, the idolatry of our time.
ReplyDeleteBenedict may surprise us, but I'm not sure he will become radical like St. Francis. That would be some example for the rest of us!