Spiritus Christi

 
(Paphiopedilum)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What's on your mind this morning?
JOE: I was just reflecting on yesterday's field trip.
CALLIOPE: Where to?
JOE: Spiritus Christi Mental Health Center in Rochester.
CALLIOPE: What prompted that?
JOE: Several things. I had wanted to see what they were doing. I have considered volunteering there. Mostly I went since I committed myself to doing so as part of my involvement in the Mental Health Board in Genesee County.
CALLIOPE: What did you discover?
JOE: A unique undertaking. As far as anyone knows, they are the only such operation in the country.
CALLIOPE: Tell me more.
JOE: They have two full time employees. All of the psychiatrists and therapists volunteer time to see patients. They are funded by Spiritus Christi Church donations and a second hand furniture shop. They don't have to deal with any of the state, federal or insurance company regulations and treat uninsured and underinsured patients for free.
CALLIOPE: I never hear of such a thing.
JOE: Neither have I before discovering them.
CALLIOPE: Are you still planning to volunteer?
JOE: I want to see how things go with Americorps first. But that's a story for tomorrow. Talk with you then.

(Gull over Dunkirk)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I wonder if you could tell me more about your visit to Spiritus Christi Church.
JOE: I'd be glad to. It's been on my mind ever since Sunday morning.
CALLIOPE: Please proceed.
JOE: I was raised in the Catholic Church and then spent nine years in the seminary and monastery.
CALLIOPE: Hence your book, Young Man of the Cloth.
JOE: Exactly. By the end of my time there, I became hopelessly embroiled in controversy about how life in the monastery should be and ended up leaving.
CALLIOPE: And then?
JOE: I discovered that my concerns about the direction of the monastery was part of a larger concern about the direction of the Catholic Church which I also eventually stopped attending.
CALLIOPE: Then what happened?
JOE: I drifted for a while and eventually discovered Unity Church where I felt comfortable for quite some time.
CALLIOPE: Yes?
JOE: I still felt some nostalgia for the Catholic Church in which I was raised but conflicted about the rigidity and other aspects of the church. Then I discovered Spiritus Christi, a church in the Catholic tradition but stressing the joy of redemption rather than a punitive, controlling stance.
CALLIOPE: Now what?
JOE: I want to make sure this is all I hope it is based on my initial impression. One step at a time. Talk with you tomorrow.

 

(Lisbon Skyline)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe How are you today?
JOE: Quite well thank you.
CALLIOPE: Any surprises this weekend?
JOE: One. Carol and I finally decided to try Spiritus Christi Church.
CALLIOPE: What kind of church is it?
JOE: More or less Catholic but without much of the rigidity.
CALLIOPE: You mean things like female priests and inviting non-Catholics to communion?
JOE: Exactly.
CALLIOPE: What was it like?
JOE: Returning home after many years. The experience brought me to tears.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: I felt pushed out of the monastery many years ago for asking too many questions. Eventually the Catholic church's rigidity became too stultifying for me and I finally left.
CALLIOPE: And now you are back?
JOE: Not quite. Spiritus Christi is out of favor with the powers that be but has recreated a Christian community much like the one that existed in the first days of the church, or at least how I imagine it to have been. Talk with you tomorrow.