Bread Grows in Winter: Finding Hope in a “Leaky Ship”

Bread Grows in Winter:
Finding Hope in a “Leaky Ship”

By Marge Hynes, Writer

“If you think you have fallen out of love with Catholicism, read Bread Grows in Winter . . . Can we still trust the ‘leaky ship’ of the Church? Yes, we can, and yes, we must.“
—from the Ignatius Press jacket copy for Bread Grows in Winter by Ida Friederike Görres

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Have you ever found yourself wondering: What is happening to the Church I love?

You are not the first to ask. Ida Friederike Görres was wrestling with that very question back in 1970. As it turns out, this “winter” is nothing new.

Who Is Ida Friederike Görres?

Before she became something of a “lost Catholic classic,” Görres was a woman who loved the Church enough to speak honestly about her.

In a 1971 eulogy, Pope Benedict XVI (then Joseph Ratzinger) described her as insightful, brave, and faithful. That description feels exactly right once you encounter her letters, lectures, and essays. She carries the sharp honesty of Flannery O’Connor, a refusal to sentimentalize or sugarcoat, along with the theological depth of Romano Guardini, who insisted that faith must be lived, not merely studied.

And yet Görres is entirely her own.

Thanks to translator Jennifer S. Bryson and Ignatius Press, her voice is finally reaching English readers.

Bread Grows in Winter

This edition includes a foreword by Erik Varden, a thoughtful introduction, and six core essays:

1. Our Image of Christ: A Letter
2. Demolition Troops in the Church
3. Faith: Skeleton or Body?
4. The Spirituality of Studying Theology
5. Remarks on Celibacy
6. Trusting the Church

Each essay grapples with the fallout of the Second Vatican Council and the questions many laypeople faced during that time of upheaval. Görres offers not cynicism, but clarity.

Reading her, I was reminded of The Song of the Lamb and To Heights and Unto Depths. Each of these books, in its own way, points to the same truth: we do not solve the mystery of the Church. We enter into it.

The Church is a Body

One of Görres’ most striking insights is her warning against reducing faith to a “skeleton,” a structure of ideas without life.

It is a temptation I recognize immediately. I want clarity. Clean answers. A system that always makes sense.

But Görres pushes back. Faith is not something we manage. It is something we live, something we receive, suffer, and are shaped by.

She does not pretend the Church is picture-perfect. In “Demolition Troops in the Church,” she names the confusion and destruction plainly. Yet she refuses despair, choosing instead to remain where Christ has promised to meet us.

A Church with Memory

In “The Spirituality of Studying Theology,” Görres presents the Church as something far richer than a merely human institution.

The Church, she argues, lives not only horizontally, in the present moment, but also vertically and historically. She carries memory, what we call Tradition, not just as ideas but as lived reality expressed in practices, institutions, and communal life.

And that memory matters.

Without memory, there is no recognition. Without recognition, there is no relationship. Without it, even language, and therefore communion, breaks down.

To “demolish” these forms, she suggests, is to erode the very framework that allows us to recognize Christ at all.

Faith That Survives the Winter

Görres describes Christian virtues such as celibacy, chastity, and reverence as “fields of plants in the midst of a water shortage.”

What is needed, then, is not comfort but depth:

• Heft of character
• A faith that withstands pressure
• A love not dependent on cultural approval
• A trust that does not collapse when the Church looks painfully human

She does not offer easy answers. She offers perspective.

Again and again, she invites us to step back, to see the Church not only in its present struggles but across time. Not just horizontally, but vertically.

Should You Read This?

If you want a book that looks at the Church and still says, I trust in God’s faithfulness, then, yes, this one belongs on your shelf!

“I do believe, help my unbelief!”
Mark 9:24

Want to Go Deeper?

Listen: Tune into an upcoming episode of A Resounding Yes, where we sit down with Jennifer S. Bryson to talk about bringing Görres to life for a whole new generation. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Fio.

Read More: Revisit our reflections on Entering the Mystery: The Song of the Lamb and To Heights and Unto Depths; both echo this same call to rediscover what it means to be fully human in Christ.

Learn more about Jennifer S. Bryson at her website. She also runs a website dedicated to Görres, www.idagoerres.org, where you can learn more about the writer’s life and work.

If you’re building something rooted in truth, beauty, and goodness, Paloma & Fig would love to help bring it to life. Learn more here.

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With over eight years of experience and a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing, Marge Hynes is a dynamic writer whose portfolio spans SEO-driven copywriting, journalism, and marketing—a versatile skill set that allows her to craft compelling content for Paloma & Fig’s projects.

Marge’s Catholic faith serves as the cornerstone of her work. She approaches storytelling with thoughtfulness and a deep appreciation for the Lord’s own creative power. Her love of the written word shines through in every project, helping clients articulate their message with clarity, heart, and purpose.

When she’s not writing, Marge can be found leading praise and worship, diving into theological books, or exploring the great outdoors with her loyal dog, Augustine (Auggie for short).