Host: Are rituals important?
Rock Schuler: Rituals are important because they are the conduit by which the spirit is constantly fed it into our life. Rituals uphold us in times of stress, in times of hurt and pain. When we have undergone a loss, when we are mourning, when we are grieving, when we have been terribly disappointed, when we have suffered a great tragedy, we can hang on to life through rituals.
Even if we undergo the rituals we just go through it by road if you will. Nevertheless the ritual itself has an inherent power that is feeding us, that is sustaining us, that is nurturing us. St. John at the cross found this one. He went through what he calls his dark night of the soul. He was going to through a time when he felt God was not present to him. He could not see or understand God anywhere. He felt God no longer loved him and yet he continued his prayer life. He continued his worship life and when he came through that dark night of the soul to the light on the other side; he saw how those rituals sustained him in his time of need.
Rituals also enhance our celebrations. When we have the birth of a child, we have brought a new life into our family, when we are getting married, when we celebrate something joyous in life of people we love, rituals can greatly enhance that joy and they give meaning to the celebration itself.
This is why we have rituals associated with great events like the birth of a child or the marriage of a couple. Rituals put us in touch with the joy that is God s fundamental desire for us
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