McGrath Institute Blog

Twirling and leaping across the floor, I almost laughed out loud with the joy of doing what I love. I am a ballerina. Now, to be clear, I’m no professional—I gave up those aspirations long ago. I stopped doing pointe work after high school. I’ve only seen a few ballets in person. But ever since my first class as a toddler, ballet has been one of my greatest passions, an activity I pursue simply because I love doing it. For me, ballet will always be an art form in which I feel at home.

At what point do we become too old to read fairy tales? Ideally, never, according to Dr. David Fagerberg, professor of Liturgical studies in Notre Dame’s Theology Department. We outgrow fairy tales because they seem simple, and it’s not until we return to them with our own children that we recognize their depth and ability to transport us to another world. Adults would do well to recover the fairy tale, suggests Fagerberg, who is particularly popular for his classes on the fiction of C.S. Lewis. Featured in the McGrath Institute’s annual Lenten lecture series this past year, Fagerberg addressed what Lewis hopes for us to find in Narnia.

“Do you have any questions I can answer for you before your Confirmation?” This is the standard question I ask my sophomores in high school to conclude their Confirmation interview. Typically, I get a quick “Nope, I don’t think so,” or “What time is rehearsal again?” But the young man sitting before me looked up seriously, “Well, yeah, actually, one small thing—Jesus is the Son of God, right? But he’s also God? I’m just a little confused by that whole thing.” 

In every piece of music, there are changes. The tempo speeds up, the pitch drops down, smooth notes become choppy, and after a loud crescendo comes a blissful and quiet release. If music is a journey, then my life story in music could be a symphony.

I first encountered “As Kingfishers Catch Fire” in a homily. While I don’t fully remember the homily itself, this poem has stayed with me ever since—enough that I even bought a book of Hopkins’ poems. I keep coming back to it because it helps me to recall and envision the grace-filled life that God desires for me.