“An agnostic friend of mine eventually converted to the Catholic faith. She received religious instruction from a devout and simple-minded nun. They were discussing the story of the Annunciation, which presented some difficulties to my friend. At last she said to the nun, “Well, anyhow, I suppose that one is not obliged to believe that the Blessed Virgin was visited by a solid angel, dressed in a white robe?” To this the nun replied doubtfully, “No, dear, perhaps not. But still, you know, he would have to wear something.”
Now here, it seems to me, we have a great theological truth. The elusive contacts and subtle realities of the world of spirit have got to wear something, if we are to grasp them at all. Moreover, they must wear something which is easily recognised by the human eye and human heart – more, by the primitive, half-conscious folk-soul existing in each one of us, stirring in the depths and reaching out in its own way towards God.”
Evelyn Underhill (1875 – 1941), Anglo-Catholic writer on mysticism, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection
Artwork by El Greco
Chorlton Unitarians 