On Hierophany

One example of hierophany is the apparition of angels.

This is a new word I overheard this morning. It occurs

when the divine realm manifests — or the word intrudes — 

into our quotidian realm. The natural one, an untidy

fleshliness of the ordinary. Or the sacred and profane

is another way to say this. I asked whether it is a hernia,

and the answer was no. A herniated condition is viscera

on viscera — a disc, organs, the skin, or nerves. Besides,

such a comparison would be profane. A figure of speech

already exists, I said, in a hieratic silence of cursive

writing long ago dead. Not long ago, those two phrases

dwelled in separate worlds. I dare you to use the word

hernia in a poem, said a friend. So I not only used

the word, I invited God into language. Or God existed

before language, while God is also the word. Remember,

all theophanies are forms of  hierophany. However,

the converse is not always true — not all hierophanies

are theophanies — or God visible in our world.