Sacred Desire
Researching Amazon.com for titles for the CCL bookshelf, I chanced upon Andrew Greeley’s, “The Catholic Imagination.” In this lively and engaging book Greeley discusses the central themes of Catholic culture: Sacrament, Salvation, Community, Festival, Structure, Erotic Desire, and the Mother Love of God. He distills these themes from the high arts of Catholic culture and asks: Do these values really influence people’s lives? He then goes on to root these behaviors in the Catholic imagination.
The chapter on “Sacred Desire” got my attention. Greeley asserts “Catholics have sex more often, they are more playful in their sexual encounters, and they enjoy sex more (than other Americans).”
Makes sense to me…in Catholic schools there is an emphasis on sports. People who are physical enjoy and value their bodies; and also admire and appreciate the bodies of others. Our theology focuses on the body as an important source of pleasure and sin and love. A lot of our religious art is very sensual–and even in Communion itself–when we take the body of Christ on our tongue, in our mouth, aware of Christ’s presence within us.
God is present in all Creation, and much of Creation is sensual and sexual.
March 7th, 2007 at 5:21 am
I Have been convinced that Jewish people have sex more often. Sex is considered a Mitvah and is especially blessed on holidays, double Mitzvah.