Rambling Spirit’s Foundation, Inspiration and Mission

Catholicism is not just another religion. Nor is it just another way of seeing things or just another way of life. Catholicism has built civilizations, so a Catholic media company ought to cover all dimensions of civilization.

One of the biggest challenges for any media “empire” is to avoid becoming ideologically spun or bent. The use of the phrase “media empire” is common in the American lexicon because many Americans get the sense that most media conglomerates are controlled by one emperor-like media guru, or at least no more than a few powerful people.

That’s why I envision a media culture made up of as many independent voices as possible. We need the diversity of independent voices to accurately present the mosaic of the Catholic Church. If we sway from that diverse and catholic foundation, it certainly is possible for Catholic voices to be manipulated by worldly, carnal, and devilish temptations. To believe my words though, you have to first believe that Catholicism is not an angle, but the honest pursuit of truth, goodness, beauty and life.  

When starting Rambling Spirit as a general interest magazine for young adults 13 years ago, we recognized this challenge of identity we’d have to face. If we simply called Rambling Spirit a Catholic publication, we knew it would most likely be pigeonholed into the subcultural category of Catholic publications, and only attract Catholics who are interested in reading such. Also, if we stuck to just those topics exclusively connected to Catholicism, like the papacy, Church news, the Virgin Mary, Catholic saints, etcetera, we'd be leaving out so much. We did not want to create a fan club of all things Catholic to be distributed only among Catholic communities. We didn’t want to be an echo chamber. We didn’t want to just talk to other Catholics, because that wouldn’t be much different than talking to ourselves.        

Our voices are designed to communicate ideas beyond ourselves, so a Catholic voice ought to reach beyond Catholic circles.        

Rambling Spirit passionately applies the Catholic worldview to as many subjects as possible. It takes a Catholic approach to a variety of subjects, but it doesn't explicitly express its faith on every page. Our faith is the subtext. The Church is our often-unseen inspiration and foundation. We intend to win our readers over through love, and most of the time love doesn't draw attention to itself because its concern for the beloved is paramount.        

Some of the greatest literature, works of art, and scientific discoveries in the world bloomed from the minds of people with a Catholic worldview. These great minds allowed that worldview to influence their approach to their particular fields of study. Their faith was implicit, not explicit.

Writers like J.R.R. Tolkien, Flannery O' Conner, G.K Chesterton and T.S. Elliot offered a genuine response to modernism with the Catholic undertones in their writing, which were disguised in their works so as to attract a larger audience. They promoted Catholic ideas without directly presenting them, not in a deceptive way but in a subtle and modest way.        

Astronomers like Copernicus and Galileo, scientists like Gregor Mendel (founder of genetics) and Monseigneur Georges Lemaitre (who came up with the Big Bang Theory) were faithful Catholic revolutionaries who questioned the way we see our world while maintaining their faith. Many Italian Renaissance artists can be added to the list too. Even William Shakespeare, who some argue was an underground Catholic, integrated Catholic themes into his work.^[1]

There's nothing exclusively Catholic about any of these people's contributions to Western Civilization, but their faith was still an integral part of their genuine contribution to our culture.        

Catholics are immensely diverse in their customs, their ideas, ways of life and philosophies. It's impossible to find a better focus group than just a group of Catholics, because of their diversity. We are ordinary people trying to live out an extraordinary faith, and that translates into quite a kaleidoscope of creativity.

The word catholic—meaning universal—is the best adjective for describing what a Catholic is. Catholics have tried out every philosophy, they've experimented with extremes to the Right and Left. They have strongholds in every country. And the most beautiful part about it is, after all of their journeys far and wide, so many of them reach the same conclusions and see that their Mother Church was right all along.        

Covering only those topics that are exclusively Catholic would be the least Catholic thing we can do. Our interests vary more than the stars. They're so diverse that no moniker can encompass them all. Perhaps once people notice how authentic, universal, eclectic, eccentric, familiar, and timeless the worldviews, customs, cultures, and interests of Catholics are, then they'll notice how we're just like them, and how nothing really captures their desires more than the rambling, exploratory mind of the faithful throughout the world.        

The Church is like a parent who wishes the best for her children, but at the same time tells them that they can be whoever they want to be. The Church says, 'You are my children. Go out into the world. Search for truth, goodness and beauty; search for life. But remember that I will always love you, will always be there for you, will always be shining through, trying to reach out to you through the beautiful, truthful and good things that you find in the world. And remember that you can always come home.'        

Rambling Spirit attempts to capture those tangible examples of truth, goodness and beauty, and show how all of us are searching for those things whether we acknowledge it or not. The Church, more than anything else, more than anyone else, has done the hard work of bringing to the world what is true, good and beautiful. That is also the mission of Rambling Spirit, and since that is its mission it can be nothing other than Catholic.

Read more essays like this one in my new book, A Guide for Rambling Spirits.

Featured image imagined with Midjourney.

This article was originally published on the Rambling Spirit Blog on 11/11/2013. It was edited and reposted on 5/10/2016 and 11/15/2018.

^[1] Read Joseph Pearce’s The Quest for Shakespeare (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2008) if you’re interested in a strong defense of Shakespeare’s Catholicism