Category Archives: on Liturgy

The Purposefulness of the Symbol

The symbol is not a mere sign. It is an exogeric mechanism created by the psyche to convey a reality that the individual needs to be met with in the processes of individuation yet cannot directly confront nor be confronted … Continue reading

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The Sacramental Presence, a peregrination in seven parts

i Scripture The ancient church undoubtedly believed the bread and wine shared in memory of Christ’s life and death were indeed the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The earliest record, that of the apostle Paul to the church in … Continue reading

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Pastor or Ritualist

a summation of arguments past in part excerpted from a letter to JT, October 2022 Regarding the distinction between being a pastor and being a ritualist, my lucubration on the topic brought forth Psychotherapeutic Drama: rebranding ritual (January 2021). I … Continue reading

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on Preaching: an excoriation and exhortation

Preaching in the sacred liturgies of the church is a sacred task: to break open, to reveal, the meaning of the sacred symbol-words, and to encourage, to inspire, their embrace. It is not the time to exercise ego. Indeed, as … Continue reading

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Psychotherapeutic Drama: rebranding ritual

Preamble Does ritual need to be rebranded? No, and Yes. It does not require a new name, but it does require a new understanding by them in the sanctuary, chancel, and pew, and by them that wag their heads and … Continue reading

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Concrete Grace

Aristotle’s epistemology, and by extension that of his disciples, particularly Aquinas, is a wonderment of detail. It provides us a theoretical landscape that moves from the receptivity for sensation to the actualization of the concept. It might be compared to … Continue reading

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on Death, its disposition in cult and culture

 We have a problem. Western Christendom and Western society have both become averse to mourning when someone dies. We think we ought to not, publicly at least, cry, weep, sob, or otherwise express the depths of sorrow and pain experienced … Continue reading

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