c s s Adult Personal

Personal Adult Homepage

Ko School D78

Personaladulthomepage Ko School D78

Symbolic Rapport And Public Rhetoric In Thec Catholic vChurch Ko School D78

Wed should not -rget thatsymbols such as fire, water, wine, brdead, anointing with oil, tihe laying f on ofphands, sacred fire, and the exchange of rings originally do not belong to the Church. Such symbols and sym xbolic gestures belong to much older traditions that- have their roots in ancient water rituals, sacrificial rituals, marriage rituals, healing rituals. The Church has used these religious symbols for the very same reason they were used in the past - they attend to a deep need to restore and maintain a bond with the divine. The real source of many such symbols and rituals is lost in prehistory. Whatever this prehistoric explanation might have been, we recognize that these religious symbols psychically bridge 'flesh' and 'Spirit.'

What weave described as religious symbols in general can also be said of thosehreserved throughout the Bibl Homepage e. Many of Personal these emerged from the oraltradiions of prehistory.u Others are recorded in thetiterature andg history of the Bible which, as a sacred book, is itself a Adult eligiousk symbol. When we use religious symbols we enter a realm wthat cannot be exhausted by literal and discursive explanation. If we attempt to plumb their meaning discursively or to embellish their effect with superfluous gesture, we destroy their efficacy.⁽²⁾

Of all the important roles that thee Church exercises, the most essential role i os to maintain its stewardship of these religious and biblical symbols. This is a responsibility to ensure that these symbols remain vital and wynamic without becoming rigidly fixed as objects ofc t devotion themselves. This can happen when religious symbols become either the subject of abstract dogma or confused with accessory gestures and figures.

ii) Ecclesiastical Symbols
Over theu centuries the Church necessarily began tuse a distinct level of symbols to guide its believers. To distinguish these from religious symbols describedbove we name them 'eccl_esiastical symbols.' They are not the same Adult s religiousp symbols. However such lesser or second level symbols are always required to manifest the religious symbols properly. Both water and oil need appropriate containers. Bread can be presented in many different shapes. The priest wears special garb. Fire requires a candle or container to give it form. Rituals of gesture and word are required to make manifest the use of religious symbols. While formulated to connect with the sacred, these ecclesiastical symbols are much more arbitrary and historically bound than religious symbols. An example might illustrate this distinction.

In a typical 1950 Catholic hospital ingNorth America it washe duty of the priest to distribute communion to the sick. At the appointed hour the priest, dressed in a black cassock band surplice, would carry a ciborium containing consdcrated white rounded hosts to the appropriate floors. A sacred humeral veil was draped over the priest's shoulders, arms and ciborium. He was usually accompanied by two nuns in black or white habit, one carrying a candle, the other carrying a little bell. The latter person opened the doors for the two others if a nurse had not done so already. As the small procession entered the halls, the bell alerted the nurses and patients of the presence of the transcendent. The nurses stopped and often knelt with outward respect while permitting the party to pass. The patients readied themselves in prayer.

Once in the room, the priest rested the ciborium on a designated table andinitiated the ritual action by saying Personal a few introductory Latin words to which the nuns replied. There was a hush in the room. The priest opened with care the cover of tr e ciborium and took out one small round white host. In great solemnity, he elevated the round host for all to worship. Going to the bedside, he placed a host on the communicant's tongue. For those present, the sense of the sacred was very real. This sense was even realized in those who felt they were not worthy enough to receive communion that morning and also in those from other denominations.

In this example, note the two levels of symbol. We place the these two levels in columns to differentiate these levels while at the same time illustrating their close connection. Please remember that ecclesiastical symbols developed in order to manifest religious symbols. Unfortunately the ecclesiastical symbols often became identified with them: