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Horizons of the Sacred: Mexican Traditions in U.S. Catholicism. Edited by Timothy Matovina and Gary Riebe-Estrella. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2002. 189 pp. $19.95.
Horizons of the Sacred: Mexican Traditions in U.S. Catholicism is an important volume, with essays that consider a range of Mexican American religious practices, written by leading Latina and Latino scholars. Together, the six essays by Timothy Matovina, Karen Mary Davalos, Lara Medina and Gilbert R. Cadena, Luis D. León, Roberto S. Goizueta, and Orlando O. Espín offer a compelling narrative for understanding the individual and collective dimensions of Mexican American spirituality, worship, and identity in the United States. They focus on Mexican American devotions in the Southwest and Midwest, and provide an excellent exposition of the social, political, cultural, and religious scope of several communities' pursuit of social justice in various sectors of life, especially as they are informed by Catholicism.
The authors narrate and recount various forms of religious expression in different contexts, the multiple ways and the various levels through which persons give meaning to religious events and practices that not only express their beliefs, history, and culture, but also, in other salient respects, their various ethno-racial identities and gender dynamics. Each of the authors considers practices within a specific community of worship, and locates these customs within the parameters and systems of belief, healing, and understanding that are particular to a given group's practice. While all of the studies engage different forms of Mexican American religious traditions, there is a particular focus on healing and devotion as kinds of activism in the United States. The space of the Church and the public sphere are thus construed as places where oppressed communities can develop bonds that allow them to express their spirituality, faith, and politics.
By exploring several forms of religious devotion, the authors attempt to capture the complexity of Mexican American history, culture, and identity in this country. In light of their different methodologies, the authors share several characteristics: they investigate religious traditions as practical forms of survival through religious organizations and groups; they look at private and public rituals as forms of community activism; and they probe various practices such as Guadalupan devotion, Day of the Dead celebrations, and the performances of the...