FORMATION IN RITUAL STUDIES: TOWARDS A BETTER APPRECIATION OF CATHOLIC SACRAMENTAL SYSTEM

For a long while, the Roman Catholic sacramental understanding has been built upon Thomistic philosophy that is foundational on Aristotelian metaphysics. This approach to sacraments and sacramentality often obscures seeing sacraments as what they really are: rituals. More than ever before, there is need, both in understanding and in practice, to have recourse to ritual dimensions of sacraments. Liturgical acts are essentially ritual actions and as such deserves such a consideration. However, In the wake of the post Vatican II liturgical reforms, Romano Guardini (one of the fathers of modern liturgical movement), in his open letter to a German conference on liturgy in 1964 made an apt remark that worths considering in the formation of 21st century priests. He remarked that despite the ritual and textual problems that come with the reform, “the central problem seems to me to be something else; the problem of the cult act or, to be more precise, the liturgical act. As I see it, typical nineteenth-century man was no longer able to perform this act; in fact he was unaware of its existence.” This essay therefore argues for the need of incorporating ritual studies into the formation of contemporary seminarians for a better understanding and practice of liturgical acts. The essay argues that ritual studies posits an invitation to a renewed understanding of sacrament and sacramentality. The ministers of the Word and Sacraments must be aware of the rituals they make, the inherent symbols, and how the symbols speak to the assembly that partake in the ritual actions. Also, needless to say that liturgical catechesis will become more common and effective, only if the teachers understand deeply the rituals they make, since nemo dat quod non habet.

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