Rituals

In the Introduction of Christian Symbol and Ritual Cooke and Macy ask us to look at the rituals we have incorporated into our daily lives that help structure our day. Two opposing rituals sprang to mind.  The first is my daily quiet time in my sunroom at sun rise.  It is here that I greet God in my day.  I sit, read, pray, ponder, journal, write letters and wait for God to show me all of His beauty through the wonder of creation.  The sun peeks through the trees in purples that change to pinks and peach, the birds visit the feeder, cats, dogs, flowers, butterflies all wander in and out of my view much like the Discovery Channel or Nat Geo only this is my reality and I feel sanctified by it.  It is the epitome of grace. It is my favorite time of day and the time in which I am most present to God.   The second ritual that sprang to mind was this weekend’s arrangement for my husband and I to meet the parents of my daughter’s boyfriend.  This is a first in our family and I was feeling nervous and anxious.  I couldn’t help but think how in days gone by this ritual may have involved us offering goats and sheep for our daughter rather than sharing a friendly meal over pizza as we broke through the awkwardness and began to learn about one another.  Both are rituals and serve a purpose yet each are experienced very differently.  The latter experience functioned to bring two families together and initiated the beginning of a relationship between the two families. It was for the most part a practical, social endeavor.  The first ritual, the sunroom ritual, embodies what Hugh St. Victor described as sacramentum. “Anything at all that mediates the divine presence to humans would be a sacramentum.”(37)   Later Cooke and Macy say that a sacrament meant any symbol or ritual that God chose to mediate salvation to humans. (38).  This changes the definition a bit in that my sunroom ritual, I think, sanctifies  but does not necessarily mediate salvation.  If a Christian ritual or sacrament has  the sole purpose of salvation, then that implies more of a church ritual with Jesus as the symbol of salvation.  I think we need many rituals.  Some that are individual and bless us in our journey with the Creator, and some, for us Christians, that mark the paschal sacrifice which brings salvation.

One other idea that really struck me and comforted me  is the discussion of grace (50).  “The proper response to grace is thanks, not guilt. Guilt still implies that some how people ought to deserve grace. The point of grace is that it’s free, undeserved and wonderful”.  This  is the true gift of Jesus’ sacrifice.  That beyond our human striving and faults, we are given the ultimate gift of being beloved and are offered salvation.  Can a ritual give us salvation?  In and of itself, it cannot but it can remind us of this gift and give us the opportunity to accept the love of the Creator and through his Son receive salvation.

I think that spiritual direction would be an opportunity for people to examine the meanings of their own rituals and how they do or do not bring them closer to God.