True Ritual vs. Superstition

What happens when you repeat the same action over and over again?  You begin to perform that action without thinking.  Sometimes, that's a good thing.  I'm currently learning to play guitar, and I'm trying to reach that point with my cords.  Other times, it is a definite bad thing.  We don't stop and consider what it is we are really doing.  This happens often with traditions; if you're Italian, like me, then you're accustomed to seeing people wear a horn around their neck.  This can lead to superstition: I don't know what the horn represents, but I know I should wear it to ward off evil.

As Christians, we stand on the two pillars of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.  Sacred Tradition relates to how we express our faith, and even the belief in the Magisterium of the Church.  These are articles of faith that are not necessarily found within the pages of the Bible, although we believe that there are Biblical proofs for many of these beliefs, such as the Primacy of Peter, institution of the Sacraments, prayer for the dead, and veneration of Mary as our Mother.  Now, it should be noted that, if Sacred Tradition is valid, then it predates the written scriptures of the New Testament.  How can I say this?  It is widely accepted that the first portion of the New Testament written was St. Paul's epistles.  1 Corinthians 11:23-32 explicitly discusses the Consecration, but does so in a way that implies heavily that it was already a commonly understood and accepted practice.

Sacred Tradition can also easily be abused and mistreated.  Many of the Protestant reformers of the 15th century argued that much of our Tradition is simply composed of superstition and therefore was not representative of true religion.  While Martin Luther claimed not to abolish the Mass, his reforms included removing the Canon from the Mass.  Likewise, he limited the Sacraments to only two, which he claimed were the only two Sacraments supported by the Bible; Baptism and Eucharist.  While these actions affected an alteration to the theology, one of his most striking reforms was the removal of references to Saints and the departed, prayers for the dead, and any Liturgical language that was not explicitly Biblical.  All of this was done in the name of recovering that authentic Tradition passed to us by the Apostles.  Subsequent groups, such as Anabaptists have even gone a step further and claimed that they represent the original community of Christians, with the Church representing a corrupted, worldly power, heavily influenced by the Emperor Constantine.  This type of image of the Church has in recent years been popularized by such novels as the DaVinci Code.

But is all ritual necessarily superstition?  In many ancient religions, sacrifices have been offered to gods that are little understood.  It wasn't readily obvious why these sacrifices had to be made, but that the result would somehow be a benefit to man.  Oftentimes, these gods were rather fallible, acting according to human urges and desires.  Gods would bicker with other gods, involving man in a way that wasn't always to man's benefit.  But as Nostra Aetate acknowledges, while some religions may contain aspects of truth, only Christianity contains the entirety of truth.  When St. Paul entered Athens in Acts 17:16-34, he took note of an altar dedicated to the unknown God, which he indicated was intended for the Lord.

Although Christianity contains a number of mysteries of faith such as the Incarnation, the Resurrection, and the nature of the Trinity, God does not conceal Himself from us.  We know what happens in our major ritual, the Eucharist.  Here, the priest offers in sacrifice the Body and Blood of Christ to the Father for the remission of our sins.  In the Roman Mass, regardless of Use, this concept is consistently presented to the people.  This coming Sunday, take time to consider the prayers that you recite during the Liturgy.  Consider the use of the word Hostia that permeates the Consecration, specifically Eucharistic Prayers I, III, and IV, which specifically means "victim".  Keep in mind the prayer Suscipiat, directly referring to a sacrifice offered for the good of the Holy Church.

Now I return back to my initial point.  Unless we truly take the time to understand what we pray, then the prayers are simply repetitive.  We can easily fall into superstition, which is easily seen when people place too much emphasis on unnecessary things.  We forget what we are doing, why we are doing it, and what the meaning of the action is.