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How to (Not) Make the World Sacred: Congar's “Sacred Pedagogy”
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2024
Abstract
Fifty years ago, Yves Congar voiced concern over what he considered a serious point of confusion in the post-conciliar Church, namely, the meaning of “the sacred” in Christian faith and mission. This essay details Congar's diagnosis of the problem and explores the continued relevance of his constructive response, or, what he calls “sacred pedagogy.” For Congar, the world is not sacred in itself, because the body of Christ is the only sacred reality. Yet the world can become sacred, if we approach it “pedagogically,” as filled with signs that can lead us to grace. In the end, however, all present experience of the sacred will be transcended in the eschatological kingdom of God.
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- Copyright © 2018 Provincial Council of the English Province of the Order of Preachers
References
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70 Congar, “Where Does the ‘Sacred’ Fit,” 124; emphasis original.
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