Sarah Goldsmith- Glimpsing the Profound (Landscapes of the Sacred)

While reading Belden C. Lane's Landscapes of the Sacred, I came across a line that really stood out to me. Lane was explaining how ordinary objects serve as masks to the sacred, and he wrote this about ordinary objects, "One begins to suspect that the contemplation of any ordinary thing, made extraordinary by attention and love, can become an occasion for glimpsing the profound" (69). This idea is actually very engaging to me. That any object can lead to a spiritual interaction under the right circumstances.

This idea is similar to the idea of sacramentals. These are physical objects that help us to experience God. For example, Holy water is just water that has been blessed--attention and love has been given to the water. However, at the church doors (except for when there is COVID) you bless yourself with the water. This brings you to a liminal space that allows for you to enter into communication with the sacred. These ordinary objects are not limited to those used by the church.

Personally, one of my favorite places is the beach house we go to every year . Inherently there is nothing special about a beach house , however, the beach has been home to some of my favorite memories growing up. We stay in this house with up to six other families at a time. One of these regular attendees described the beach house as a commune. We live together for a week looking out for each other in every way possible. I think of beach week as a glimpse of heaven. We all spend the days with one another and in the evenings we all gather for a feast or dinner together. This house is nothing special, but it provides me a glimpse of the holy.