Wednesday, September 21, 2022

day no. 16,039: poetry and piety

“It was the *Catholic poetry and piety that filled common life with something that is lacking in the worthy and virile democracy of the West.” -- G.K. Chesterton

Poetry and piety fill ordinary days with extraordinary purpose. The Christian faith alone can elevate the washing of feet to a work of art. It can translate the wiping of noses and bottoms into the conquest of generations. Christianity is affection for the good, the true, and the beautiful. Thus, a rich culture of poetry and piety is produced and appreciated by it. Democracy pivots upon the personal preferences of its people. Since these are always shifting, their foundations cannot hold. It is built on impotence. You cannot pass along that which cannot last. The virility of the world is mass producing contraception. The intelligence of the West is getting straight A's in ignorance. And that which cannot go on forever... won't; while that which is resurrected can never end.

*while Chesterton most certainly here used the term "Catholic" to refer to the Roman Catholic Church, I am taking it as shorthand for Christendom a la the Apostles' Creed, "I believe in the holy catholic Church." 

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