Spiritual hunger

[dreamer_easy]

"The priests knew I wasn't a Catholic. They simply fed me along with everyone else... Instead of being denied communion unless I converted, I was given communion until I felt strong enough to convert. The nourishing quality of the Eucharist, freely offered to anyone who's famished, has always been a central metaphor for me. I don't partake because I'm a good Catholic, holy and pious and sleek. I partake because I'm a bad Catholic, riddled by doubt and anger: fainting from severe hypoglycemia of the soul. I need food. God doesn't place conditions on the hungry. She feeds first and asks questions later."

- Nancy Mairs, in Ms September/October 1993, in an extract from her book Ordinary Time