The Divine Vagina

May 29, Conception Abbey, Conception Mo.

I went to Mass in the big church - a basilica, really - this morning. It's Trinity Sunday, by the way, which doesn't mean much to me; I never understood the Trinity any more than anything else about the Catholic church. But they have in the front of the church a great painting of Mary surrounded by her aura. I've been here before, and I refer to this painting as "the Divine Vagina," because that's what it looks like if you squint.

I also went into a room at the back of the main church that I had a heavy experience with two years ago. The only thing in the room was a picture of Mary - not the divine vagina but a typical Mary-in-the sky-on-clouds. When I was here before, I felt that the room had a strong spiritual charge, like a force field. I didn't feel the force this time, but there was a book of Scripture open on a little altar in front of the picture, so I went up and read a passage. It was about being lonely and not having a wife: "A man without a wife will always be a restless wanderer." I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP. Remind me to tell you about my experience of  a statue of Mary at New Mellery Trappist Monastery outside of Dubuque, Iowa.