Return to Ritual
The Black Biretta makes thoughtful comments on a post by The Cafeteria is Closed on the cover story in US News & World Report: You won't see such articles in most diocesan newspapers, yet ironically, in a secular periodical like U.S. News & World Report we get a glimpse into a profound truth on sacred worship. Indeed, the NEED for ritual transcends religion. Human nature is oriented toward ritual since it reminds us that we are hylomorphic beings (body & soul; material & spiritual; matter & form; for those who slept through Aristotelian Philosophy 101). Ritual is the prescribed set of symbolic actions, clothing, artifacts, gestures and words which are done consistently and intentionally. By using symbols, man, who is physically confined to space and time, is nevertheless able to transcend the spatial-temporal limits and thus connect the past, present and future. Even people who may have a personal dislike or disdain for routine in general still have an inner l