As part of my graduate work in liturgy, I took a course called Ritual Studies. It looked at religious ritual from an anthropologic point of view. All cultures have some kind of rituals to express their religious beliefs. The reason is that the repetition of rituals helps us to make sense of their life and connects us to what is beyond our complete comprehension.
Even in the secular world there are rituals that we feel we need to follow. Rituals are all around us, even if we don’t notice them. Think about your morning ritual. Is the basically the same every morning? What happens when your daily rituals or routine is disrupted? If you have kids, think of their bedtime rituals. if you deviate from them they often get upset. Even when we don’t plan it, we engage in certain rituals. It is the Christmas season. Think of what your family does each and every Christmas that you wouldn’t dare change,
Rituals have a great degree of comfort for those who engage in them. They know what to expect and it gives them security. It is the same with the Mass. We know it, or should know it by heart. We know what to expect, what to say, what to do. Sometimes, yes it does seem to become too much of a ritual, too repetitive, too much the same, something we just do by rote without much thinking. But liturgy is not a head thing, it is a heart thing. When I find myself getting bored at Mass, I try to focus on a particular part of the Mass, and what God is saying to me in that ritual action.
Look how many arguments occur in these forums when people experience a Mass where the ritual is not followed exactly. It makes them uncomfortable, uneasy, agitated. There is a reason and it’s not just because they are being legalistic (although that happens a lot too). It is because the familiar ritual is being disrupted and for better or worse, their connection with God is disrupted.
As another poster suggested, read a book about why we do what we do at Mass. Take a course in liturgy that the parish or diocese may offer. The structure and rites of the Mass are there for a reason. The more we understand them, the less we think of them as unnecessary.
