Liturgy, Symbol and Ritual

 

The conversation of symbols with cloth and paint is the mark of expression from me to others. I have often claimed to be a self-taught fiber artist. But, really, my instructor has been God who has planted in me the gifts of desire, curiosity and ability to use His designs in nature, humanity’s appropriation of fibers grown from the Earth’s soil, with the addition of sunlight and water, so many who have shared their gifts of talent and time expressed in classes, books and magazines, and many art mediums displayed in numerous venues, indoor and outside.

I have opened my posting with a picture of the Lenten art quilt presently displayed in St. Ignatius Chapel on Loyola’s campus. It is one in a series of Liturgical arts cloths placed during the year in the Chapel. They were created in collaboration with a traditional artist in my faith community. Recognizing the particular “seasons” of the Liturgical year is part of the Christian rituals expressed in the change of colors, vestments, and readings of the liturgies in churches that return year to year to the cycle of the waiting for the Messiah now and at the second coming – the end time.

As noted by Cooke and Macy, “rituals aid interaction” (4). In this case, the art cloths invite those praying during a liturgy or a visit to the Chapel to enter a scene of travel or journey, “to choose a skiff and travel to the Easter shore;” a “shared experience” of “insiders” discussed by Cooke and Macy (11, 35), here, of Christians who recognize hope, transformation and renewal during Lent in preparation for Easter, a celebration of our salvation through Jesus (49).

Of course, if the art cloth were placed in a secular environment or viewed by one without knowledge of Lent and Easter, the viewer may simply enjoy or just see boats on water, a flame, and words that begin with “re-.“ And that is fine, too. My goal is to not hit someone over the head with meaning, but to provide comfort, inspiration and interest in something different and new. Each of us comes to a ritual or symbol from a unique perspective. While we may share a Judeo- Christian or Catholic background, where we are in our lives probably shapes what we are seeking or accepting from a ritual or symbol. In this way, “perceptions and understandings of reality shape human reality,” and, perhaps, “symbols actually shape our reality,” as suggested by Susanne Langer, the American philosopher (Cooke and Macy, 7). It is in our growth as maturing Christians we may choose to use our freedom to accept God’s wisdom through our “belief in the power of” the Holy Spirit and reject evil in our world and “join together and support one another as [we] work to bring justice and peace into the world” (49).