Ritual In Pastoral Care

The author gives a concise definition of ritual, its meaning and origin, and looks at the pastoral care aspects of liturgy, stating that "for many Christians, the sacraments are the primary meeting place of ritual and pastoral care. " He concludes with a look at the use of ritual prayer in the traditional one-on-one counseling relationship. Many serious students of pastoral care, and of ritual, find any positive relationship between the two, dubious at best. To begin a consideration of ritual pastoral care, therefore, we need to remember the recent nature of these mutual suspicions. Until about fifty years ago, rituals of church life were closely intertwined with pastoral care. The history of pastoral care paralleled the history of ritual (it could even be said that at times it was the history of ritual), for pastoral care was expressed, more often than not, in ritualized forms. After the apostolic era, pastoral response to critical life situations took on, in many case, a ritualiz…