Bavaria:
On Wandering in a Catholic Landscape
By Tamara Isabell
PHOTO CREDIT: Migdalia Mass
he German word for hiking is ‘wandern,’ which brings to mind the
cheerful act of wandering and the serendipity of discovery. Pope Benedict has called his native Bavaria “a land so beautiful that it is easy to recognize that God is good and be happy.” To wander in such a lovely, well-ordered landscape is to inevitably encounter God.
To think of a natural landscape as “well-ordered” might seem strange to Americans, as our forests loom with a particular sort of dark and thorny wildness, but in Bavaria one does not encounter such trials. Bavarian land is blessed with gentle slopes, curving streams, and a verdant glow of health.
The Bavarians, over the eons, have fitted themselves into this benevolent order and have developed the virtues to preserve and enhance the land. Villages are tucked discreetly into the particular dales where they ought to go, with no urban sprawl.
Artful forest management has rendered the woodland hospitable to humans and wild creatures alike. Everywhere one sees evidence of man having been inspired by God’s bountiful Providence, and his respect and deference to that Providence.
What more perfect setting for Catholicism to flourish in? We know the Faith takes hold everywhere, but one gets the sense it is bound to happen in such a place where the material world so clearly reaches out for and testifies to,
His glory.
T
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