We should not love the symbols of religion. We should love through the symbols. The symbols of religion are like corrective lenses for the human condition. When we love the symbols of the sacred instead of the sacred itself, religion leads us away from reality instead of into it. When we fall in love with ideas like “God”, or “Jesus”, or “heaven” — any human understanding of the Mystery; when we think we’re supposed to hold onto the images themselves, then when life changes it can tear our hearts out. This is why the Second Commandment warns us not to worship our images of the sacred. Religion is a bridge, woe to those who try to make of that bridge a home.
The whole concept of falling in love with the symbols is making so much more sense to me.
How did we miss it all these years? How did we lose the meaning of what the symbols
were/are for? How did we fall in love with the symbols?
Never-mind. Thank you for the perspective!