Saving Ritual

Why do we do it over and over again? Go to mass over and over again? Go to confession over and over again? Say our prayers over and over again? Sing this song over and over again? Fast over and over again? Praise God over and over again . . .

Ritual is our discipline, our training for the spiritual life.

"In order to be free for obedience and service one has to be free with regard to the forces through which nature steers our actions and [free with regard to] one's own spontaneous and 'natural' egoism. Without discipline we are not able to be entirely dedicated to God and justice. The elan of passion and pathos must be simultaneously broken and maintained to concentrate conscientiously on the main task. This discipline is procured by the ritual structuring of daily life." "Judaism According to Levinas" in Beyond, Adriaan Peperzak, p. 30.

The truth is, we must call to God "over and over" in prayer and in praise in order to realize His merciful grace and the freedom it brings.

Listen to Mozart's Laudate Dominum sung by Cecilia Bartoli.

Same by Carolina Ulrich.

Latin text	English translation
Laudate Dominum omnes gentes Laudate eum, omnes populi Quoniam confirmata est Super nos misericordia eius, Et veritas Domini manet in aeternum. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper. Et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	Praise the Lord, all nations; Praise Him, all people. For He has bestowed His mercy upon us, And the truth of the Lord endures forever. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and forever, and for generations of generations. Amen.

Laudate Dominum are the opening words of Psalm 116 (Greek numbering) or 117 (Hebrew numbering) in Latin. As with the other Psalms, "Laudate Dominum" is concluded with a trinitarian doxology (Gloria Patri) when used in Roman rite.^[1] In Catholic churches, the Psalm may be sung after the blessing at the devotional service called Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.^[2]