Shepherd me, O God

This is a lovely post from a man who is, with his whole family, crossing the Tiber to Rome. I don’t normally post to such links, because I don’t feel my job here is to “convert” any Christian to Roman Catholicism, but the heartfelt spirit behind these words…well, it’s just beautiful to read. As always, an encounter with a convert brings me to renewed appreciation of the treasures of the Church, and makes me grateful. If I ever told you how much I have learned from our converts…well…someday I will sit down and write that story.

But today – read this one

H/T Julie – who adds:

I remember visiting the Basilica of Notre Dame in Montreal and watching a young woman ask her husband what was wrong. The church was incredibly beautiful and he had been brought to tears just by being there. He told her he was “having a moment” and we knew what he meant … he had been feeling God’s glory communicated through the beauty created to honor Him. I get that feeling from nature but I think it is a special calling to get it from man’s works made to honor God.

My elder son was in Italy a few years ago with some chums and he reported back something very similar to me – that all of his friends – brought up “barely” Catholic, and in modern, stripped down, “felt banners and no art” churches – were having intense reactions to being surrounded by so much beauty. More than one friend told him they had never felt “in the presence of something great…” before, as they were in those Roman and Florantine and Tuscan churches, even the small ones. We need to bring back some of that splendidness.

Julie also has some terrific things to share about her recent marriage retreat which sounds…just wonderful! I meant to link to it yesterday!