LONERGAN DREAM

Not long after my 35th birthday I had a powerful dream in which I met the distinguished theologian and philosopher Bernard Lonergan, who in the dream appeared bald. He had just written a massive new book, dealing in some way with love. I told him it was a providential sign that I was meeting him and now I would have to read his work: I originally wasn't planning to do so for many years.

In the dream vision Lonergan's book turned out to be a complex mosaic of many fields, many kinds of knowledge. Surprisingly, the final chapter of the book consisted of the text of a musical score for Bach's B Minor Mass, long a favorite of mine: specifically, the "Credo" section. As I traced out the notes of the score and heard the music in my mind, I saw something and felt something I had never grasped before and I suddenly began to weep with the deepest feeling until I woke up.