ABSTRACT
How does faith feel? The question, I think, is surprising in its simplicity, and rich in complexity. For some, the answer will be deeply personal. The feeling of faith is known through a personal encounter: ‘Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine’, as the old gospel hymn puts it. For others, it is the sense of smell – incense, polish, flowers, and so forth – the redolence of tradition and renewal, in which the olfactory imagination combines with liturgical rhythm. For others still, what is felt is set aside from what can be known – through taste or touch, or through apparently rational confessional statements.
