In the last issue I began to address the issue of our attitudes about religion. I have had people tell me that they don’t need to go to a church to encounter God and to praise and worship Him. They would prefer to go out into nature and find Him there.

I do believe that is important – to find God in our world. I do believe that we can also deceive ourselves into thinking we have had some kind of encounter with God in those settings.

The power of going to a church and worshipping God is multifold. First, there is something about the experience of joining with others in worshiping God which is rewarding and encouraging. It seems to add additional support to our personal belief in God. There are others who believe in God just as we do.

Second, I believe that despite the fact that some people disregard ritual, there is something in the human spirit that also embraces ritual. Most of our life is symbolic, if we only think about it. Our language is the ultimate use of symbols to communicate. Our worship combines all of our senses in thinking about, if   we allow ourselves to become truly engaged in the communal worship, this God Who seems to always be present in some way in our lives.

Human beings have been using rituals since the very beginning in order to deal with their fears and uncertainties. Our ritual is designed to address our fears and uncertainties about life. Think about it. We address the issue of death by   declaring there is life after death. We also address the issue of facing the uncertainties about life. Our ritual encourages us to trust and hope in a Creator Who deeply loves His creation – us.

Third, our ritual allows us to also envision in a symbolic way our thoughts about what it means to praise and worship God. I truly believe our Divine Liturgy is a magnificent creation. When I think about the men who created it I am in awe. It truly enhances our worship of God over the initial ritual from which it was taken.

Of course we have to have the attitude that, as human beings, we need to worship God. If we don’t think that we need to worship – and by this I mean that we don’t just go to the Liturgy to protect ourselves from punishment – then all the ritual in the world will not make church going important.

So our attitude about religion must be that it can help us to truly understand the meaning and purpose of life – it can help us deal with the vicissitudes of life and find inner peace.