Words Worth Noting - January 6, 2024

“For better than three decades, [Fr. Marvin] O’Connell was, by all accounts, an imposing presence in the classroom and a highly productive scholar. However, he was not so imposing that an occasional student couldn’t resist taking what might be termed a blue book liberty. In response to an essay question on the theology of Martin Luther an unnamed student came up with a ten-word ‘essay’ that, in his teacher’s estimate, captured the ‘contradiction that lies at the heart of Lutheran salvation theology.’ And here it is: ‘I’m not OK. And you’re not OK. But that’s OK.’”

Chuck Chalberg reviewing Telling Stories That Matter: Memoirs and Essays of Father Marvin O’Connell in Gilbert The Magazine of the Society of G.K. Chesterton Vol. 26 # 4 (March-April 2023)