What is the Sacramental Imagination?

Before I start posting my deep thoughts on my favorite media--namely literature, film, and television--I'll begin by explaining what this blog is all about.  As a devout and practicing Catholic, I see the world differently.  It's difficult not to, actually.  In fact, Andrew Greeley, author of the book The Catholic Myth: The Behaviors and Beliefs of American Catholics, explains that "Religion is imagination before it's anything else" (38).  

As a Catholic, I imagine and understand the world looking to God as a "central symbol":

The central symbol (of religion) is God.  One's "picture" of God is in fact a metaphorical narrative of God's relationship with the world and the self as part of the world...  The Catholic "classics" assume a God who is present in the world, disclosing Himself in and through creation.  The world and all its events, objects, and people tend to be somewhat like God.  (Greeley 45)

And this, friends, is so true.  It is impossible for me to read a book, watch a film or television show, or even listen to a song without feeling God's gentle tappings on my shoulder.  As I take in media, I'm looking for this sacramental imagination, this symbolic and metaphorical understanding of who God is and my relationship with Him.  Viewing media in such a way is called what Greeley defines as "analogical imagination", meaning that understanding one type of reality directly corresponds to understanding another.  By the way, this analogical imagination is exactly why Catholics use so many symbols during Mass and other sacraments:  candles, water, oil, statues, etc.  The word "sacrament" in it of itself is indicative of this understanding because it literally means "a sign of the sacred."  In other words, sacraments are visible, tangible signs of an invisible reality.  

These ideas and explanations are all very much simplified and summarized, but they are essential for understanding my blog.  In short, here are the basics:

• God is in all things waiting to speak to us--if we have only the sensitivity to listen.
• God speaks to me predominately through media.  Books, movies, music, and television are just modern-day parables.
• By understanding my favorite stories, I better understand the One Great Story and its divine Author.

And so it begins!  This blog, while personal in nature, is intended simply to share my thoughts with all of you.  Enjoy.