All I Possess

One thing I’ve discovered is that I am not a ritual person.

I was always OK with the temples, almost as an intentional defense. Like “Some people think temples are weird, but I won’t! I’ll understand it! I’ll be righteous!”

I always had explanations for everything. I took pride in that.

“The modern world has lost touch with rituals. Catholics still do rituals! They’re traditional. Rituals aren’t weird, just unfamiliar.”

Then at some point last year I started thinking differently about the sacrament.

They say it’s the most important part of church — it’s the reason we have church; everything else is just extra.

…except when we have a special meeting going on, it’s the first thing they dispense with.

Everything else is still there (songs, prayers, announcements, sustainings, speakers) but the sacrament is missing.

Interesting, considering it’s the “most important thing.”

So I decided to not care so much if I missed it one week. After all, they miss serving it to us, at least 4 times a year. And nobody even notices.

Things are actually more meaningful if you don’t do them so frequently.

How would you feel if Christmas was every weekend?

It probably wouldn’t be special anymore.

It would just be …. routine.

But see, that’s exactly how I feel about rituals at church.

They’re just routine.

Auto-pilot.

You can so easily do them with your body, with your brain being somewhere else completely.

At The Well where I go, communion happens every few months. And you don’t just take it; the pastor tells you about it and gives an inspirational short message about Jesus while you do so. And then we all take it together at the same time.

So touching.

So meaningful.

But you know what they do every week? They say the salvation prayer. Which is essentially taking the sacrament. It’s the equivalent to the Mormons taking the sacrament every week — both of these things are about giving your life to Christ.

But at least for me, I just find it to be so much more meaningful when it’s in spoken words rather than silence.

(Sorry, my mind tends to wander….)

And I love the fact that we all say it together. There’s a beautiful feeling of unity.

So yeah, silent rituals aren’t really my thing. Then again, having a new take after doing things a certain way for 40 years is always beneficial to bring a fresh perspective!