“Catholics live in an enchanted world, a world of statues and holy water, stained glass and votive candles, saints and religious medals, rosary beads and holy pictures. But these Catholic paraphenalia are mere hints of a deeper and more pervasive religious sensibility which inclines Catholics to see the Holy lurking in creation. As Catholics, we find our houses and the world haunted by a sense that the objects, events, and persons of daily life are revelations of grace. […] This special Catholic imagination can appropriately be called sacramental. It sees created reality as a “sacrament,” that is, a revelation of the presence of God. The workings of this imagination are most obvious in the Church’s seven sacraments, but the seven are both a result and reinforcement of a much broader Catholic view of reality. And Reality.”

— Andrew Greeley, The Catholic Imagination, 1-2. (via thirstygargoyle)