The Catholic Spirit An Anthology for Discovering Faith

The Catholic Spirit An Anthology for Discovering Faith Through Literature, Art, Film, and Music

Unit 1: What We Believe Creation and the Nature of God

“God’s Grandeur” “God’s Grandeur is a poem about the way the beauty of the natural world reveals or reflects the glory of God. Gerard Manley Hopkins was a nineteenth century convert from Anglicanism who became a Jesuit priest. Although not a single one of his poems was published during his lifetime, he is recognized today as one of the great British poets.

“The Teacher of Wisdom” is a religious short story which explores the psychological reality that we must not know God with our minds, we must also love him with our hearts. Oscar Wilde was one of the greatest 19 th century English writers and a death-bed convert to the Catholic faith. A humorist, he once said, “The only think I can’t resist is temptation. ”

“Pigeon Feathers” is a young man’s encounter with God through a realization of his own mortality. John Updike was a popular and successful Pulitzer Prize-winning American author of fiction.

“The Creation” is a poetic account of the Genesis creation story in the form of a sermon to a black congregation. James Weldon Johnson was an African-American “Renaissance man” who was active in the “Harlem Renaissance” of the 1920 s and 30 s.

“The Burning Babe” is a poetic portrait of Jesus Christ which combines his Nativity and Passion. Robert Southwell was a Roman Catholic Jesuit martyr in Elizabethan England. He was a member of the school of poetry which is now called “Metaphysical” along with writers like John Donne.

“Parker’s Back” is a fictionalized working out of the implications of the heresy that one can “worship in pure spirit. ” The truth is that we are material and spiritual beings: both dimensions are important. Flannery O’Connor is regarded as the greatest American Catholic fiction writer. Her stories explore the stark reality of original and actual sin in the world.

The Journey of the Mind into God This selection from The Journey of the Mind into God is about how God is present in creation and how creation speaks to us about God. St. Bonaventure was a brilliant philosopher, theologian and mathematician. He led the fledgling Franciscan order after the death of St. Francis of Assisi.

Icon of the Holy Savior – Artist Unknown Seeing with the Artist

The Creation of Adam – Michelangelo Seeing with the Artist

Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints - Raphael Seeing with the Artist

And Veronica is Still Among Us with her Veil of Compassion - Georges Rouault Seeing with the Artist

The Black Christ – Ronald Harrison Seeing with the Artist

Looking at Film City Lights (1931)— Directed by Charlie Chaplin The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1966)— Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini