Robert_Wild_-_Catherine_Doherty_Servant_of_God

1934. This means that Catherine was one of the first in
the 20th century whom the Holy Spirit chose to begin a
journey towards an ecclesial community, a new expression
of the Church.
One of the signs that Catherine was destined to create
a new and life-giving expression of the Church is the fact
that it was her love for the Church, her desire to make the
Church more beautiful as the Bride of Christ, that formed
a deep part of her motivation. It’s possible to help the
poor, work for racial justice, and be involved in all the
aspects of the lay apostolate, without the renewal of the
Church being too much in the forefront of one’s motivation
(except in a general way). But Catherine always experienced
her vocational call as a longing to make the
Church everything She was meant to be.
Already in England (1919–20), before she came to
Canada, she was given an understanding of the Church
that formed part of her inmost love for Jesus. In a public
talk once she said:
As I grew up I began to understand the Christian idea of
the Church. At some point, somewhere along the line, I realized
who and what the Church was. I was young, I was in
England, and I read something. Suddenly, like a flash, I realized
that she was the Spotless Bride of Christ. I saw her clad
in the King’s robes, beautiful and glorious. This vision stayed
in my heart like a warm, consoling thought: the Church was
the Bride of Christ, spotless, without blemish, shining, radiant.
As scripture says, ‘The King’s daughter is decked in her
chamber with gold-woven robes; in many colored robes she
is led to the King.’ (Ps. 45:13–14) Yes, my imagination was
working overtime. I know that she wasn’t clad with just anything.
She was something so holy, so precious, something you
should die for. This is the Church.
Yes, I understood. I understood the Mystical notion of the
nuptials of the Christian with his God. I cannot explain it.
It’s beyond explanation. But because I entered into the mys-
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