Oh Grace, I love all of this - so, so much. The Church continues to be my school of paradox...where we ourselves are walking paradoxes, aren't we? Beloved images of God, yet also bags of bones. I feel like our modern culture tries to shy away from anything vaguely reminiscent of memento mori, and there's a big loss in that. Thank goodness for the Medievals! How beautiful and inspiring to see fear as a grace. I think of St. Francis calling Death by the title of Sister...
(Also, it really doesn't get better than vintage Halloween greeting cards.)
I really enjoyed this newsletter, and that poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins that you quoted in your Fathom piece is one of my favorites. You gave me a new perspective on his words!
Oh Grace, I love all of this - so, so much. The Church continues to be my school of paradox...where we ourselves are walking paradoxes, aren't we? Beloved images of God, yet also bags of bones. I feel like our modern culture tries to shy away from anything vaguely reminiscent of memento mori, and there's a big loss in that. Thank goodness for the Medievals! How beautiful and inspiring to see fear as a grace. I think of St. Francis calling Death by the title of Sister...
(Also, it really doesn't get better than vintage Halloween greeting cards.)
always been a huge fan of memento mori, wretch that I am...
I really enjoyed this newsletter, and that poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins that you quoted in your Fathom piece is one of my favorites. You gave me a new perspective on his words!