HOW ELSE but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?
Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol
I love this Victorian Era Dandy.
He sure knew how to tweak the cheeks of the most dour matron to entice a guilty smile.
He spent time in Reading Goal (Jail) for corrupting a youth and offending the pride of the Marquis de Queensbury (ironically the Marquis was a no-holds-barred barroom brawler when it came to the legal ring).
In our day Oscar would be guilty of the crime of sexual abuse because his young lover was not only a male but a tender-aged young'un as well.
So while I love the rascally heart of this strangely spiritual prodigal profligate, I in no way see his imprisonment as a martyrdom or an undeserved punishment.
But I do love his twinkling wit and his life long battle with the angels.
Apparently the man who wrote 2 of the most beautiful and spiritual children's stories ever devised (The Selfish Giant and The Happy Prince) was caught by those angels as he lay dying in Parisian exile.
He received entrance into the kingdom through the water of Catholic baptism, the prayer of contrition, and the priestly administration of last rites .
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
I for one (if I make it) will delight in meeting this rascally sinner in the garden of paradise.
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