History and Presence

Orsi (Between Heaven and Earth) argues that God’s presence in the world—seen insistently in Catholicism’s emphasis on the real presence of Christ in Communion—has been devalued since the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinking routinely privileged the symbolic over the real, linking the corporality that characterized Catholicism to “savage” religions practiced by indigenous peoples. Since then, Christian thinking has relegated presence—Virgin Mary sightings, for example—to phenomena that must be explained away. To counter this, Orsi recaptures God’s breaking into the world through stories that range from tales of saints, such as Bernadette, to common people who directly experienced divine intervention. In one particularly compelling chapter, Orsi describes the shattering effects of priest abuse on survivors, for whom holy presence has collided with evil. Overall, the book does an excellent job of explaining both the difficulties and values inherent in recognizing God in the world. Though Orsi does not need every example he uses, he builds a dense and compelling case for embracing a God walking beside humans, and deftly weaves story with theory to support his points. (Mar.)