Sacramentals are described as sacred signs; they belong therefore to the world of symbol and meaning. In our contemporary society it is common to say that there is a crisis of religious symbolism; at the same time our societies can be powerfully moved by secular symbolism. National flags, for instance, speak profoundly to many people. Symbols are material things or images that point to a meaning beyond themselves. Very often their meaning or suggestiveness lies in their power to speak to us at various levels: they not only communicate some information, but they touch us at the level of feeling. In symbols we can find both growth and decay. Religious symbols can degenerate into magic, if their spiritual or theological meaning is no longer communicated; they are thereby reduced to something like a charm that might bring good luck.
I’ve also discovered over the decades that some folks find Teresa easier to comprehend than John; I fell in that category early on and to a certain extent I still feel a certain kinship with Teresa while I truly appreciate and value John’s logic. That’s why it is so wonderful to have their collected works on my hard drive, indexed, in the original Spanish and in two English translations. I can study, compare texts, and hone my own skills as a translator. When I researched Fr. Cliff’s pedigree, his studies at Salamanca and coursework at the Teresianum certainly equip him to write on the Spanish mystics.