Rituals are a central part of life whether it be in how meals are shared together, or how major events are marked… Rituals give us places to be playful, to explore the meaning of our lives, and to rework and rebuild family relationships. They connect us with our past, define our present life, and show us a path to our future as we pass on ceremonies, traditions, objects, symbols, and ways of being with each other, handed down from previous generations. (Evan Imber-Black and Janine Roberts, Rituals in Our Times)

The symbols of the sacraments are all expressions of human intimacy – a bath, a meal, an embrace, a laying on of hands, a touch, a rubbing with oil. They do for us what words alone or abstract thought cannot do. They put the coming of God in our lives into body language. The symbolic acts at the heart of the sacraments help us break open and share with one another the common human experiences which reveal God’s presence to us. (Sandra DiGidio, O.S.M., The Seven Sacraments–Symbols of God’s Care)

Gather together the following items and place them on a table with a tablecloth: a lighted candle, a bowl of water, a small bowl of olive oil, a loaf of bread (unsliced), a glass of wine, a ring (wedding ring or school ring), and a cross or crucifix. In your journal, using the worksheet on page 3 in your Downloadable Guide or download here in Word, record what each item means to you personally. 

Symbols: 

• Light
• Water
• Oil
• Bread
• Wine
• Ring
• Cross or Crucifix
• An Embrace
• A Shared Meal

Symbols do not have a meaning by themselves. We bring experience and meaning to symbols. None of the objects by themselves can be a symbol unless we participate in that meaning through our own understanding and connection to events in our lives.

Symbols remind us of stories – events which have been significant in some way for us. Some symbols are better at recalling a variety of stories than others. Those stories take on larger significance if they remind us of common stories.