EVERY morning, it’s the same ritual for millions of people: have a shower, get dressed, pour a cup of coffee, eat breakfast, brush teeth, etc. When they come home, it’s often another rhythm: open the mail, change out of work clothes, start supper, etc. Furthermore, human life is marked by other “traditions”, whether it is setting up a Christmas tree, baking a turkey at Thanksgiving, painting one’s face for game-day, or placing a candle in the window. Ritualism, whether it’s pagan or religious, seems to mark the life of human activity in every culture, whether it is that of neighbourhood families, or that of the ecclesial family of the Church. Why? Because symbols are a language unto themselves; they carry a word, a meaning that conveys something deeper, whether it is love, danger, memory, or mystery.

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