The English writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton (aka, G.K. Chesterton, b. May 29, 1874 – d. June 14, 1936) had a tremendous love of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He wrote an entire book of poetry about her, and references to her are strewn throughout his writings. When he detailed his conversion to the Catholic Faith, he noted that she was the pivotal influence in this momentous decision. Chesterton was a defender of the Catholic Faith and of Tradition in a time when the foundations of the Faith and of modern society were being rocked by novelties and innovations of which, he said, as writers before him have said as well, none were new. They were only the old fallacies dressed up to suit the tastes of the moment. He had, and presented to the world, a “full” view of the past which he never sloughed off, but linked this view with the world around him. One of his famous quotes from his book, Orthodoxy, reflects this:
When I fancied that I stood alone I was really in the ridiculous position of being backed up by all Christendom.
Lovers of Catholic Tradition are not alone. There is a heaven filled with fellow Tradition loving friends, a Kingdom not of this world. Hopefully G.K. Chesterton is a member of this Kingdom, drinking with his friends around the table that never ends, in the land of Love.
