Poetic Knowledge
- Jan 26
- 4 min read
John 1:14
“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.”
I’m reading this book for my Homeschool Moms book club called Poetic Knowledge by James Taylor. One of the things the author talks about is the beauty and experience of the Catholic faith. He mentions that at the time of the Protestant rebellion Catholics began having to defend the teachings of the faith, so sermons and education of Catholics began to shift to a more apologetic style, where folks were being taught the arguments for why the Catholic faith is true. And yes, of course, this is good and important and information we should know, but what this did was shift us as a Church away from the experience of the faith… prior to the Protestants splitting off, Catholicism was understood as the truth, and when one can just rest in truth, one has the ability to then shift energy towards simply experiencing the faith - which is really when our Catholic faith is the most beautiful- yes it’s wonderful that it’s logical, but it is at it’s core, a full body, spiritual, mental, emotional, physical experience. I mean think about the faith of a little child- I think about my kids- all they know right now is Catholicism- that is their truth, that is their worldview, they’ve never had to question it. I haven’t yet taught them to defend the dogmas of the faith, but simply to just rest in what those dogmas mean for them… and so for right now they have this beautiful childlike faith and understanding where they don’t have to question or doubt, they can rest in this confidence of truth and go above and beyond into expiencing the faith with their senses and mind and hearts…
Here’s an example of what I mean… a dogma of the faith is the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist… I can take a Bible study and I can read the best authors and I can talk to a priest and come away with an understanding of the concept of why Catholics believe in the True Presence. But have I truly come to know the dogma of the True Presence? Now what if I enter a 600 year old cathedral in France early in the morning… I see the beauty of the Gothic architecture all directing me farther into the sanctuary, stained glass windows let in just a little bit of colored light as the sun begins to rise, but it’s still mostly dark. I’m distracted by the detail on the ceiling as I look up when I notice that everything is leading me towards the center, an intentional focal point, the altar, even the air in the cathedral seems to know that the greatest of all miracles occurs here. On the altar is a monstrance with the Eucharist inside. Eucharistic adoration has just begun. I take my seat, running my hand along the carved wooden pew, and breathing in the smell of the Frankincense as the priest incenses our Lord on the altar. Little old ladies, a handful of nuns from the local convent, and some men from a seminary there on pilgrimage all in the rows in front of me, kneeling down, heads bowed, with a respect and humility that seems entirely foreign to our world today. There are candles lining the altar on both sides- their light flickering off the gold plated monstrance. Those present begin to sing O Salutaris Hostia and the sound reverberates through the open space the way it does in those old cathedrals- as if angels themselves were present and adoring. I feel something stir deep in my being, in my soul, a profound peace, reverence, and awe. I’m there in that space but I’m touching the fringes of Heaven.
I could have absolutely no familiarity with the Catholic faith, I could speak any language, be any age, and know, in that moment with all my heart that that is not a piece of bread in that monstrance. I have experienced the dogma of the Real Presence. The author of the book I’m reading would call this “poetic knowledge”. I now have a poetic knowledge of the Real Presence. Of course this is just one example, our Catholic faith is filled with these beautiful Truths just waiting not only to be learned but to be experienced.
My challenge for you this week is to have a poetic encounter with some aspect of our faith. Spend time looking at a piece of sacred art, paint or draw a holy image that means something to you, sit in silence with Jesus in the tabernacle, pray the rosary while walking in nature, or you know what, just something as simple as stand in the warm sunshine and close your eyes and know with all your being that God loves you and created this whole beautiful universe to prove it.
Listen to this reflection in audio form here:
