The Lord is a fountain of Love
His Mercy will last forever
His Sacred Heart is an attic of treasures
For His humble servant and all those who will walk in humility
His Mercy will fill the whole Earth.

I find it fascinating the difference between the way we moderns see drama and poetry as opposed to people in traditional cultures. A psalm is a poem, yet it is something more than that. A ritual is a sort of drama, yet it is something more than that.

That element that constitutes the difference is a belief in the power of words and actions. A poem is beautiful or not beautiful, a play is beautiful/interesting or boring/uninteresting. But a poem addressed to God is more than a poem, it is a prayer; a ritual is more than a play, it is a life-changing event.

An acquaintance of mine is a fervent Christian; she prays and goes to mass every day. Her husband is an atheist, and this gives rise to lots of tension in their family.

One day, as he watched her get ready for church, he asked: “Isn’t it boring for you to listen to exactly the same mass every time?”

I find that that question quite legitimate and particularly interesting: imagine you’re going to theatre every day, and they play exactly the same drama. Wouldn’t that be boring?

Indeed, that would be boring if it were a drama. But ritual is not drama. If you go to theatre, you’re a spectator who seeks enjoyment and the pleasure created by the feeling of novelty and surprise. If you go to mass, you’re not a spectator, you’re a participant who seeks communion.

It’s exactly the same as having breakfast. You eat because you’re hungry and you don’t mind if you’ve had that meal before.