A pleasant surprise

Andrew Sullivan, of all people, seems to endorse the idea of canonizing Chesterton.

I am of two minds about canonizing Chesteton. On the one hand, I think it obvious the man was a saint. I already pray to him on a regular basis and assume that I need his intercession a lot more than he needs mine. So it would be a wonderful thing to see him raised to the altar for much the same reason that you cheer when all the citizens of Minas Tirith follow the King in kneeling before the hobbits in their humility. The exaltation of the humble is always a beautiful thing and Chesterton was nothing if not a humble man. So I would be delighted to see him accorded the honors he so richly deserves.

On the other hand, I sort of worry that canonization will turn him into a plaster saint and that the starchiness that goes with pious officialdom will somehow distance him from us. I know that’s a stupid worry, but who says irrational worries have to be smart?

Whatever the Church winds up doing will be fine with me. I will always see GKC as one of my most cherished elder brothers in the faith.