Friday, February 19, 2010

When is Religion Not Religion?

I was taken by the last paragraphs of Fr. Dwight Longenecker's recent blog post, When is Religion Not Religion?


... full blooded Catholic religion engages in an interaction with the other world. Through the celebration of Word and Sacrament we believe that the once for all sacrifice of Christ on the cross is brought into the present moment and applied to the needs of human souls for their eternal salvation. This essentially religious act is the ladder between earth and sky. It is the linkage point between heaven and earth. God comes down as he always does, and transforms the human soul. Through this miracle in the heart of ordinary life the soul is opened to something called 'grace' which is God's own power poured forth. This action of faith and love defeats the powers of darkness, brings Christ's forgiveness and healing into the here and now and plants the seeds of hope that will transform the soul, transform the family, transform the church and transform and redeem the world.
This is real religion. Everything else that is great and good springs from this, and nothing--not even that which is great and good can ever replace it.

Click to read the entire article

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