Well Said: The Real Force

He felt helpless in the grip of this alien ritual, out of joint with his time. The confessional might have been a direct pipeline to the days when werewolves and incubi and witches were an accepted part of the outer darkness and the church the only beacon of light. For the first time in his life he felt the slow, terrible beat and swell of the ages and saw his life as a dim and glimmering spark in an edifice which, if seen clearly, might drive all men mad. Matt had not told them of Father Callahan’s conception of his church as a Force, but Ben would have understood that now. He could feel the Force in this fetid little box, beating in on him, leaving him naked and contemptible. He felt it as no Catholic, raised to confession since earliest childhood, could have.

Stephen King, 'Salem’s Lot

I don't know about "naked and contemptible." But I do know that I was struck by these words: "an edifice which, if seen clearly, might drive all men mad."

It almost sounds Lovecraftian but if one considers how unprepared humans seem to be to see an angel (they always have to say "do not fear") and the angels are simply messengers ... well, then there is something to needing to go through Earthly boot camp and then the purification of Purgatory in order to even to be able to take in the Heavenly reality.

Not what you expect from a horror novel but this is one of King's best.