He is an earnest worshipper of the Virgin, but a bold and vigorous hater of monks and abbots.
This is not necessarily the case with the worshipper of aniconic or unshaped gods.
And having the god thus at hand and imprisoned in matter, the simple-minded worshipper can punish him if his prayers are left unanswered.
Sacrifice was believed to exert an influence on the deity which is quasiphysical, and in sacrificial feasts God and worshipper are in mysterious union.
The worshipper feels himself in the immediate presence of God, and enters into physical relations with him.