A Religion of Ritual - Essay Example

Catholicism: A Religion of Ritual Catholicism is filled with mystery that is expressed through thebelief in Christian principles. The events of the Last Supper and the crucifixion provide a historical setting from which the most important rituals of the Church are based. The mythology of the resurrection is a powerful event that supports the way in which sin is handled within the religion. Through strong doctrines and rituals, the Catholic Church has created a method of structure within which the members are provided a conduit to God through the priests. In the end, the social structure of the Church provides a sense of security within which the worshipers are able to find connection through the practice of their devotion. Through the element of the experiential understanding of the events that occurred in Christianity to formulate the Catholic system of beliefs, none is more powerful than the Doctrine of the Eucharist. During the event of the Last Supper, Jesus taught the disciples how to celebrate communion with God as he split his bread and told his followers that this was his body, and then gave them wine telling them that this was his blood. In the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the preferred version for Catholic members (Stravinskas 129), the passage states: 26. While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body”. 27. Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying “Drink from it, all of you; 28. this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. (Mathew 26:26-29 Revised Standard Version). This event is the core of the Mass that is celebrated every day within the Catholic Church. The Mass is a recreation of partaking of bread and wine as symbolic of sharing in the body and blood of Christ, a communion that established the new covenant as Christ was about to be sacrificed for the sins of all men and women. The most important experience in the Catholic history is that of the crucifixion of Christ and the subsequent resurrection. Christ was crucified and three days later, he is said to have risen from the grave, reflecting the newness of life after sins have been washed away. According to Ramsey, there is a relationship between the story of the crucifixion and the beginning of the Christian life of an individual. He states that “There comes first the response of faith in Christ crucified, when the believer recognizes his impotence and failure and lays hold upon God’s act of love for him in the death of Christ” (28). Therefore, it might be said that the two most important experiences in the history of the Catholic church are the crucifixion of Christ and the resurrection and the event of the Last Supper where the way in which to celebrate and commune with God was revealed. The mythical event that gives the most power to the Catholic religion is in the resurrection of Christ after the crucifixion. The resurrection is indicative of the belief that as Christ rose, he was purified and went to heaven to join his Father. The death of His body was the act of being sacrificed for the sins of all of mankind, with the resurrection being the cleansed soul from which there is no longer sin. According to Borg and Wright, the meaning of the resurrection is to affirm that Jesus was the Messiah that was prophesied and in coming back from the grave, He proves that He is the son of God (126). The resurrection is an important part of the mythology of Christ in that this act, above all the other miracles that are associated with his life, is the one act that could not be explained as having any other connotation than that He is the Son of god. There are many doctrines within the Catholic Church. The Nicene Creed is the most commonly known creed from which Christian doctrine is established. The Creed was set forth during the Council of Nicaea which took place in 325 ACE. The doctrine of the Trinity was established within this document, identifying the Son as “begotten of the Father before all ages” and the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and Son” (Grudem 34). It is agreed that the Trinity makes up one God, a concept that is often explained by an egg which is made up of a yolk, a white, and a shell, but all three still the egg. The doctrine of the Eucharist is the statement in the belief that the sharing of the body and blood of Christ puts one into communion with God. Other doctrines include the doctrine of the Word of God, the doctrine of the existence of God, the doctrine of Man which includes the creation of man, and the doctrine of Redemption. The ethical structure of the Catholic church becomes tied to the rituals of confession. The basic ethical beliefs are based on the Old Testament recitation of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were brought down to the Israelites from Moses after he communed with God on Mount Sinai. These Ten Commandments make up a system of beliefs on behavior in the way that men and women should and should not relate to one another. Sin is the result of disobeying these Commandments. Confession is the act of going to a priest and listing out those actions that one has committed that are against the will of God. After confession has occurred and a conversation about those sins has taken place, the priest gives the individual penance from which the act of carrying it out will provide forgiveness for those sins. The problem with confession is that it runs contrary to what the intention of the death and resurrection of Christ was meant to accomplish. According to the belief system, Christ died for the sins of all men, but the Catholic Church brings the sin back to rest upon the shoulders of the one who has committed those sins, requiring penance to be performed in order to attain forgiveness. Furthermore, there is a belief that as long as you confess your sins, it doesn’t matter what you do during your week. A man can be a murderer, but confess his sins at the end of the week and be absolved of his responsibility for them. Without a direct connection to God, it is difficult to hold someone personally accountable for their actions. Baptism is a the ritual symbolic recreation of the death of Christ and the resurrection after that death. In the Catholic religion, Baptism is performed near the birth of a child in order to protect the soul should death come. Baptism consists of ’sprinkling’ the infant with water, symbolizing the death, which is often through full emersion of adults in other forms of Christianity. Fundamentalists believe that infants cannot be baptized because baptism requires faith, but Catholics believe that infants are as close to being pure and without sin as possible, thus in baptizing them “we baptize infants, thought they do not have sins [of their own]: so there may be given to them holiness, rightiousness, adoption, inheritance, brotherhood with Christ, and they may be his members” (Keating 180). The action of taking communion during the mass is held through a series of ritualistic behavior. The priest prepares the body and blood of Christ through blessing the bread and the wine, which is most often substituted for a wafer and grape juice during the service. The members of the Church line up and make their way to the priest, kneeling before him and accepting the wafer and a sip of juice as symbolic of taking part of the table of Christ. There are many rituals that are involved in the mass. There has been a great number of changes within the saying of the mass, which once was held only in Latin, therefore leaving the members of the Church mostly in the dark because they did not know the language. However, it is now done in the home language of the Church, allowing the participation of the congregants to be done in full knowledge of what is being said. There is repetitive chanting that takes place during mass, intended to affirm the relationship with God. The priest heads the recitation. The mass consists of a homily which is given on a topic that the members of the Church can take with them in order to gain a valued lesson from the experience. The service is intended to provide the congregant with a religious experience that is based on the comfort of the ritual and the teaching of the priest in order to act as a conduit between the member and God. The fellowship within the Church is strong, including a moment during the mass where the priest instructs the members to turn to one another and shake hands, showing trust and social love between the members. There seem to be many problems with the way in which members of the Catholic Church worship. They seem to be focused only on their confession and their participation in mass once a week, leaving the rest of their time free to live outside of the direct communion with God. In Islam, life is dedicated to daily communion with God, a great respect shown in all actions that are done from the clothes that are worn to the regular prayers that are offered unto God. However, the Catholic members of the Church do not seem to have a need to have their whole lives dedicated to God, unless they have taken vows and entered the Church through either a the priesthood or a nunnery. Through understanding the rituals that are involved in the Catholic Church, it is clear that ritual can be very important in giving some people a sense of God. Islam has its rituals that bring the attention of the individual back to their devotion, and many of the rituals that the Catholic Church participate in appear to bring their people to God. The separation that is provided by the priest has the effect of creating a conduit that most people may not feel when they do not celebrate their relationship with God through daily devotion. It is clear that there are many ways in which other religions celebrate their devotion and that it is not necessarily a part of their daily lives. While there are a great many differences between Catholicism and Islam, the one similarity is in the strong ties that are developed between the worshipers in both religions. The sense of community is strong within the cultures, creating ties that provide safety and security through their mutual interests in worship. References Borg, Marcus J, and N T. Wright. The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2007. Print. Grudem, William A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. New York: Zondervan, 2009. Print. Keating, Karl. Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians". San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1988. Print. Ramsey, Michael. The Gospel and the Catholic Church. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. Print. Stravinskas, Peter M. J. The Catholic Answer Book. Huntington, Ind: Our Sunday Visitor, 1990. Print. Read More