The Reed of God

Elena Vidal has done an excellent job in summarising the life and theology of Caryll Houselander. Any book of hers to be found is a treasure, and she provides one of those remarkable lives that are obviously attributable to God's grace well-received.

Born to a pair of attractive, extroverted and athletic parents ill-equipped to deal with a homely,introverted and artistically-sensitive child, throughout her childhood and adolescence Caryll endured protracted sieges of psychological and physical suffering. Caryll's relationship with her mother was a particularly difficult one. Always impulsive and erratic, yet capable of great generosity on her own terms, Gertrude Houselander was the classic type of Englishwoman who could treat animals and assorted misfits with great tenderness and her own children with massive insensitivity.

And yet through it all, God will provide. Not only would the wounds be dressed and soothed, but their very presence would be the foundation of a heroic empathy that could have grown no other way. All things can work together unto good, as the Scriptures promise.

I liked especially the irony that was revealed, in that she well understood the tragedies in the world and yet never lost her biting wit. It seems to be a wide-spread Catholic attribute: to be able to chuckle at ourselves while weeping all the same.

This should encourage many who have lived through trials or have witnessed the deficits in the lives of so many others. We can pray like mad for children who endure much, while resting in the confidence that God can make something of it -- something beautiful and life-giving. For where there's life, there's hope.

Comments

[elena maria vidal]

Thank you for the link, gsk!