Florence March , 6 2013

Firenze, Florence , city of art and culture. Just prayed before the tombs of Michelangelo , Machiavelli , and Galileo in the church if San Croce. In their tombs was combined the painful realities of political manipulation, the collision of science and theology, and the genius of an artist. Somehow they all fit in with this magnificent basilica and they each have a place in our church.

It seems to be an instinct of myopic religiosity to want to eliminate all paradox and tension. Isn't the whole of the gospel a wondrous paradox? We receive when we give; we find when we lose ; we find life when we die. A paradox is a statement that is seemingly opposed to, and yet perhaps is, true. One holds together two opposites in order to unveil the truth.

So many want religion to be clear, concise, and unambiguous. No argument here. But religion must encourage us to delve deep within the clear statements of truth to discover a reality and meaning beneath the surface. The statement that God is One but with three persons is a true statement but totally inadequate. God can never be defined or pin pointed in creed or doctrinal statement. The human mind can never fathom " one in three" a statement of Truth but never the last word. The last word is always Christ, the Word of the Father.

As I say in San Croce I felt so much at peace knowing I belong to this massive church, filled with men and women having the courage to go beneath the surface of life and immerse themselves in the Reality that is the foundation of our church, our religion and our faith : a God Who do loves us that His entire Being, to use a very awkward word, is one of continuous outpouring of LOVE into our hearts.
God 's love is what empowers us to forgive " seven times seventy" ; to "love those who hate us"; to "pick up your cross" ; to love one's neighbor as one loves God and self" to feed the hungry and cloth the naked.

This huge basilica of San Croce is nearly empty but filled with the spirits of those who have gone before us and the handful of us living this life as pilgrims. We are all going in the same direction. We have our deep questions of faith and we are searching in the midst of paradox. The beauty if it all is that we all somehow belong ; let God figure it out.

Michelangelo was told he couldn't produce something beautiful from a flawed piece of marble. He defied his detractors and chiseled out the Pieta. I believe this story is truthful. If it isn't , it should be. If we can accept as truthful so many of the "stories" of the saints and the historical identity of certain bone fragments , I will believe this story of Michelangelo and his huge block of marvel.

And the greatest artist of all is God, who chisels away at the human heart recreating us all into works of art. Somehow I smell a paradox buen camino. Padre