The Power of Ritual

When my cousin Jackie called on a recent Friday morning, I knew the news was not good. He called to tell me that my uncle Jack, who had been ailing, passed away. I went home for my uncle’s funeral, which took place at my home parish, St. Vitus Catholic Church in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Before the funeral, I felt sad and anxious. Uncle Jack was also my Godfather and my last surviving uncle. But when the liturgy began, I started to feel more at ease. The familiarity of the prayers and the symbols and the gestures brought me great comfort. The structure of the rituals helped me to stay focused. The community that prayed with me reminded me that I was not alone in my grief. When the liturgy ended, my spirit was uplifted and my soul was at peace.

As my mother used to say, “Death disrupts everything.” When someone dies, whether imminent or unexpected, life is thrown into a tailspin. The future, once thought to be secure and certain, is anything but. Life is in chaos. These are the times when we count on our liturgical rituals. The familiar patterns and structures of the liturgy give us a sense of order when life is disordered. The ease in which we can pray our prayers, recognize our symbols, and enact our gestures brings us peace. When our foundation is shaken, ritual gives us a structure on which to lean.  When we don’t know which way to turn, ritual gives us a direction. When we don’t know what to say, ritual gives us the words. When we feel we are alone, ritual forms a communal embrace.

This is why, when national tragedies happen, such as the attacks of September 11, 2001, or the recent shootings in Orlando, many people flock to church. They believe they will find the order for which they seek in the familiar framework of liturgical ritual. Ritual gives us the reassurance we need even in the darkest moments of life.