Rites and rituals

Lent 2020 - Day 15

Every religion has its own rituals and its own rites. Roman Catholicism has its sacred Seven Sacraments - rites (baptism, confirmation and marriage being rites of passage, Holy Communion preceded by Penance, the taking of Holy Orders, and finally the last rites). Ritual can mean making the sign of the cross (a gesture which differs between Western and Eastern Christianity), it can be ritual purification as in Judaism and Islam. Rituals mark differences between religions and their denominations. Fundamentalism in religion is often manifested by extreme adherence to ritual.

If participated in, rituals should not be empty. They should be conscious, accompanied by a mind focusing on an aspect of human spirituality, metaphoric or symbolic; too often worshippers are merely going through the motions, paying lip-service, automatically complying with social norms. Participation in ritual ought to deliver a higher state of enlightenment.

Ritual - presenting Mystery as Spectacle

Superstitions and ritual often go hand in hand in anthropology; a sign of the cross can ward off back luck that might occur as the result of seeing a solitary magpie, a behaviour once common across Europe. Good luck, along with eternal salvation and peace of mind, is something worth connecting to the supernatural for. Rites and rituals can help with that.

Organised religions have developed rites and rituals over the centuries, offering certainty and comfort. Devout people may have their own daily rituals around prayer at set times. But how often do they genuinely feel that they have engaged in meaningful contact with the metaphysical? Some indeed will have, and do so frequently. But for others - the ritual brings comfort, rather than genuine spiritual insight.

This is not about religion or being religious. Some people go to church each week, but they do so because they feel that one should go - a social ritual - rather than this being an active form of seeking contact with God, a chance to enter an exalted state of existence.

Prayer is a two-way communication with God; it requires a sincerity and an openness to the return channel. It can happen when you create the right conditions - a calm mind unfocused on the worldly, a readiness to listen to that inner voice. Some people need ritual for this to happen, familiar magic words that open the door to a spiritual state. Others can let their consciousness attain that state readily.

Now, if you were building a religion from scratch, what would yours be?

In my case, walking (my 10,000+ paces daily) is a bit ritualistic - it is more than getting from A to B while exercising the body - it is a time for collecting thoughts and contemplation. The need to hit that magic figure every day might be seen as a bit obsessive, but I see it as duty to keep fit. My annual spiritual quest, coupled with self-denial, is an annual ritual; again it serves body and soul. Many of my daily rituals and dietary observances were introduced into my life during Lent and stayed there (cutting out confectionery, cakes and biscuits, doing physical exercises the whole year round rather than just for the 46 days of Lent). A recent ritual for me has been my weekend retreats to the działka, to my personal space, to the peace of the countryside.

Those of us who seek our own paths towards higher levels of enlightenment, of awareness, have a need for personal ritual - it is worth pondering on the rites and rituals in our own lives.

This time two years ago:
From the origins of conscious life to us, and beyond

This time three years ago:
Changing Jeziorki, late winter

This time six years ago:
A night of musical enchantment

This time seven years ago:
A selfless faith

This time eight years ago:
Ul. Profesorska after the remont

This time nine years ago:
Lent kicks off again, for the 20th year in a row for me

This time ten years ago:
Half way through Lent