In previous articles, we have discussed “effective ritual.” First, Diana explored how effective liturgy enables seekers to follow “inspiration from above.” I then took a brief look at some of the foundations of effective ritual as taught by Fr. Clarence Rivers, who is often called the Father of Black Catholic Liturgy. While his principles arose out of the experience of Black Catholic Worship, they are helpful for any parish that wants to foster full, conscious, and active participation in their community.

According to Fr. Rivers, effective worship is dependent on the spirit of God, but it is facilitated by two dynamics:

• discerning the dramatic structure of a whole worship event
• and ensuring the artistic performance of each of its elements

Dramatic structure

For example, in the Rite for Entrance into the Catechumenate (formerly called the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens), there is a dramatic arc. The ritual is a sacred story with characters, plot, dialogue, climax, and resolution. It is possible to ignore all of these dramatic elements and simply go through the motions of the rite. In fact, that happens quite often. But for the rite to have the deepest possible impact on the community — and foster conversion — the liturgy has to have what Fr. Rivers calls “soul.”

Soulful ritual

“Soul” is a term rooted in both African and Biblical tradition. In this context, worship that has soul is worship that causes an outpouring of hearts. The liturgy is not merely a collection or rubrics to be followed like a to-do list. It is a deep, soul-filled acclamation of praise, offered as one with the Risen Christ to the glory of God the Father.

Artistic performance

When I use phrases like “artistic” and “performance” when I’m training liturgical ministers, I usually meet resistance. Inevitably, someone protests that “this is not a play.” But liturgy is exactly that. It is a sacred drama that we perform. If we want our worship to be sincere and reverent, we are required to come to worship ready to offer our full creative selves and perform each of our roles with excellence. That means that every element of our performance — dialogue, movement, music, environment — must be the best we are capable of. We need to require that liturgical ministers rehearse their parts and strive to effectively communicate God’s Spirit to the assembly. The assembly, in turn, has to respond with their own creative genius, both symbolizing and actualizing God’s sacred dialogue with the People of God.

When I use phrases like “artistic” and “performance” when I’m training liturgical ministers, I usually meet resistance. Inevitably, someone protests that “this is not a play.” But liturgy is exactly that. It is a sacred drama that we perform.

Becoming a catechumen

The Rite for Entrance into the Catechumenate is a new ritual in the church that was created after the Second Vatican Council called for a restoration of the ancient catechumenate. The designers of the rite could have proposed that when a seeker is discerned to be ready, the pastor could just declare that the seeker was now a catechumen. No ritual, no muss, no fuss. So why did they design such an elaborate ritual?

They told us why in the rite itself. According to paragraph 41 of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, this rite is “most important.” It is the first time the seekers publicly declare to the parish their desire to follow Christ. And it is the first time the parish, fulfilling its apostolic office, officially receives and embraces the seekers as its own.

In a very powerful statement, the rite declares: “God grants them his grace, since their desire is expressed openly in this celebration, and their reception and first consecration are marked by the Church” (OCIA 41, emphasis added).

There is a lot that happens in the transition from seeker to catechumen.

• Public gathering and declaration of the seekers
  • Including an open and sincere expression of desire to follow the cross
• Outpouring of God’s grace
• Public reception and embrace of the seekers by the apostolic church
  • Including a first consecrations of the seekers-catechumens

Would a simple declaration by the pastor accomplish all of this? Technically, it’s possible. But both the seeker and the parish community would probably not be moved to a deeper level of conversion to the gospel message.

In a similar way, the we could “celebrate” the rite as though it were a to do list. We could forgo gathering “outside the entrance to the church” as the rite suggests (see no. 48) because it is too inconvenient. We could skip the warm greeting by the presider (see no. 49) because that would just add extra time. We could have the seekers just memorize the example opening dialogue given in the rite (What do you ask of God’s Church? Faith. What does faith offer you? Eternal life.) because to ask the presider to “use other words” (see OCIA 50) would require some rehearsal and preparation. To ask the seekers to “reply in their own words” would also require another layer of preparation, and who has the time?

Celebrating with soul

But imagine if we celebrated the rite with soul. Imagine if we have spiritually prepared the seekers, the presider, and the parish to bring their whole selves, heart, head, body, and soul, to this liturgy. Imagine if the ushers, cross bearer, sponsors, musicians, lectors, presider, and catechumenate director rehearsed this rite until it hummed with the power of God’s spirit. Imagine what would happen if we truly opened ourselves to the power of God’s Spirit in this moment of first consecration of new disciples who are joining us on the mission.

If we could do that, we would experience what Fr. River’s calls a “gospel metanoia.” Together with the newly consecrated catechumens, we would experience a deeper and more profound conversion to the Cross of Christ.

Sacred drama

The liturgy is a play, but we are not playing around. The highest form of reverence we can offer in our worship is to perform our sacred roles with excellence and soul. There is a great spiritual drama happening in the Rite for Entrance. Sheep who were lost have been found and are welcomed back into the fold. They are truly changed — consecrated — from outsiders to insiders. It is a dramatic moment in their lives and ours.  To tell that story effectively, we need a dramatic structure and artistic performance.

Can you help me out?

I’d love to know how this is landing. Can you share a word or a phrase about how this article resonates with you? Does it speak to your experience? Share your thoughts in the comments box below. Thanks for being part of the conversion!