Sacramentality, Mediation, And Communion

In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, Flannery O’Connor uses grotesque and flawed characters to reflect her own faith on the Roman Catholic Church. Set in the rural South during the 1950s, O’Connor takes readers on a journey from a satiric family comedy to a brutal cold blooded murder. An analysis of O’Connor’s use of religious symbolism and foreshadowing through characters and setting will be conducted in order to better understand her views and faith of the Catholic Church. This paper will also argue the belief that religious wisdom is the key for moral guidance.

Flannery O’Connor believed in the power of religion to give new purpose to life. She saw the fall of the old world, felt the force and presence of God, and her allegorical fictions often portray characters who discover themselves transforming to the Catholic mind. Though her literature does not preach, she uses subtle, thematic undertones and it is apparent that as her characters struggle through violence and pain, divine grace is thrown at them. In her story “Revelation,” the protagonist, Mrs. Turpin, acts sanctimoniously, but ironically the virtue that gives her eminence is what brings about her downfall. Mrs. Turpin’s veneer of so called good behavior fails to fill the void that would bring her to heaven. Grace hits her with force and

Flannery O´Connor is consider as one most influence Christian American writers of the XX century and author of the story revelator story “The Enduring Chill” as part of the book “Everything That Rises Must Converge.” Flannery O´Connor is known overall for being a Roman Catholic writer, who in her stories explores the complexity of morality and ethics through a Christian worldview. A faithful example of this work wrote a year before of his death is “The Enduring Chill,” a story developed in a Farm in the time of Slavery on The United States (Andretta). This Southern Gothic style story stablishes its plot mainly in the spiritual and corporal affection of the twenty-five years old prideful protagonist and Asbury Fox and the conflict with his sixteen years old mother. The story positions Asbury as the victim a villain of the story, that surrounded of pain looks for significant moment in his miserable life. However, in an unexpected final at the “deathbed” of Asbury, he ended up achieving the redemption by the grace of God through the Holy Ghost.

Flannery O’ Connor was a woman whose literary merit compares to no other. O’ Connor passing away before her 40th birthday is nothing short of a tragedy. She was a woman of conviction in a profane world. “I believe too that there is only one Reality and that that is the end of it, but the term, “Christian Realism,” has become necessary for me, perhaps in a purely academic way, because I find myself in a world where everybody has his compartment, puts you in yours, shuts the door and departs. One of the awful things about writing when you are a Christian is that for you the ultimate reality is the Incarnation, the present reality is the Incarnation, and nobody

Religio-historical objects are things of crafted pieces of writing that reveal the realities of religious subjects through the perspective visions of their author (C.J Bleeker). Compared to an artist who has a muse, writers also have a “muse” something that influences their writing. Whether it is a personal experience, religious belief, or common morals writers derive the context within their writing from many different aspects of life. One thing most authors derive their ideas from is their religion or just any religion that interest them. Authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Flannery O’Connor, writings often include many allegories and symbols to religious faiths.

Flannery O'Connor remained a devout Catholic throughout, and this fact, coupled with the constant awareness of her own impending death, both filtered through an acute literary sensibility, gives us valuable insight into just what went into those thirty-two short stories and the two novels: cathartic bitterness, a belief in grace as something devastating to the recipient, a gelid concept of salvation, and violence as a force for good. At first it might seem that these aspects of her writing would detract from,

THEO 2040 THE SACRAMENTAL LIFE INTEGRATIVE ESSAY Sacramentalism is the experience of God through the natural word. The experience in which God uses any part of the natural world to reach out to you. And you are reaching out to God using the natural world.

Flannery O’Connor’s philosophy of writing was directly related to her life and roots as a Southerner, a Catholic, and a woman. One of the Southern traditions that O’Connor used most in her writing was local customs and manners which make people laughable. “Exaggeration of characteristics and of incidents is one cause of our laughter in O’Connor’s stories” (Grimshaw 89). She would regularly expose the hypocrisy of character’s thoughts by exaggerating their ridiculous actions in moments of distress causing readers to feel both horror and humor at the same time. Also present in most of O’Connor’s work, is her Catholic faith with regards to her vision of grace and the devil. Her view of faith was complete in the sense that it had a beginning, middle, and end, but she wrestled with Protestantism and depicted hypocrisy and intolerance when she found them (Grimshaw

Communions or relationships are set to be peaceful and universal. Many discoveries such as eating together can be made through this act,“communion”. Foster discusses that communion can also be seen when “substance is taken into their bodies in a shared , almost ritualistic experience” (Foster 11). In similar ways in “Brave New World” , Ford’s celebration began with the consumption of soma tablets which was “passed from hand to hand and with the formula, I drink to my annihilation”(Huxley 81). This demonstrates that the soma(drug) is a powerful sacrament that is used in the World State to show the powerful influence they have towards technology and science. As the soma kicked in the people began to feel more vibrant with compassion and “ a sensation

Throughout history, literature has served as a prominent tool in the examination of social values, ideas, and dreams. In addition, literature has provided a vital connection between historical, social, and political events. Through the incorporation of religious principles and philosophies, writers have discovered a way to portray different time periods, characters, feelings, and most importantly God.

Flannery O’Connor was an American author who often wrote about characters who face violent situations. These situations force the characters into a moment of crisis that awakens or alters their fate. Her short stories reflect her Roman Catholic faith and frequently discuss questions of morality and ethics. O’Connor’s Catholic upbringing influenced most of her short stories, often accumulating criticism because of her harsh portrayal of religion. O’Connor incorporates the experience of a moment of grace in her short stories to contribute to the meaning of her works and to represent her faith.

The Eucharist or communion has been celebrated for over 2000 years in the church; however, the frequency of the practice varies greatly across churches. For example, the non-denominational church that I grew up in, celebrated communion every Sunday with consistency and the focal point of each service. (It was so routine I could quote what was going to be said.) Now, I am part of a church that celebrates communion once per month as a conclusion to the sermon. Another major difference between the two churches is who is welcome to participate in communion. For instance, my first church greatly expressed that only those who profess Christ could partake and must not receive communion in an unworthy. Evidently, the church’s view of Atonement (Penal Substitution) influenced a memorial view of communion. Also, the leader’s interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:29 influenced this approach to communion. As our weekly reading pointed out, “Most who take the Memorial View do not have a place for grace in their theology beyond salvation” (Peterson 3). Therefore, during

Christians' Celebrations of Holy Communion There are many different ways in which Christians celebrate Holy Communion, depending on the denomination of Christianity, in which they belong. Holy Communion is one of the seven sacraments found in Christianity. A sacrament is an outward physical act with an inward, deeper meaning, which can be obtained through various, specific rituals. In the case of Holy Communion, which is also known as the Eucharist meal or Mass, Christian worshippers believe that they receive the body and the blood of Jesus Christ, through the act of eating the bread, which symbolises Christ’s body, and by drinking the wine, said to be his blood. This sacrament originates back to

Salvador Dali’s painting, The Sacrament of the Last Supper (oil on canvas, 65 ¾ x 105 ½ in., c. 1995), has become one of his most iconic paintings from his “late” period. This painting portrays one of the most famous scenes from the Bible, the Last Supper, depicting the twelve disciples eating their final meal with Jesus. This scene has been created many times throughout history by many different artists. However, through Salvador Dali’s use of equal symmetry, the uncommon setting he chose and the interesting perspective and focal points, he was able to recreate a completely unique version of this common biblical scene while adding his twist of surrealism.

In Michael J. Himes captivating and influential piece of work on the ‘The Mystery of Faith’ (2004), he argues that “the sacramental principle might be expressed in this way: If something is always and everywhere the case, it must be noticed, accepted and celebrated somewhere sometime.” (Himes 2004, p.13). I whole heartedly agree with this statement as I believe God is a pure and powerful spirit which creates wondrous and extraordinary things in our world out of the goodness of his soul. This act clearly exhibits the presence of God and his grace, “The whole of creation exists because it is engraced...If one lost grace, that is, if one ceased to be loved by God.” (Himes 2004, p.12). There are seven great communal sacraments which are present in church and are closely linked to the church’s life and these sacraments celebrate Gods creation and