“Matter” Matters
In Christianity, “matter” matters. Romano Guardini emphasises this point in arguing that the material world is crucial on the path of salvation for Christians and rituals in Christianity are brimming with material reminders of our faith. The liturgy, in particular, is a very important part of the life of a disciple. It embraces different forms of playfulness, symbolism, and festivity. Cyril of Jerusalem, Gertrude of Helfta, and Guardini’s writings all use descriptive imagery that draws readers into the writing and give them aesthetic encounters that leave them contemplating their own relationship with God. With that mentality, everything perceived is intentional and has a reason behind it for the Christian to discover and decipher, which brings them closer to God.
In Cyril of Jerusalem, movement is key in the conscripts’ performance. Cyril describes how all the inductees must perform certain rites, injecting their entire bodies into the transformation process. For example, describing a pre-baptismal ritual, he notes that, “you entered into the outer room of the baptistry, and, standing, facing West, you heard [a command] and stretched out your hand, and, as as though he were present, you renounced Satan” (87). It is the unveiling of our salvation through the participation in the symbolic image. Meanwhile, Gertrude describes her encounters with a physical manifestation of Jesus in the liturgy, in which her whole body was affected. In one instance, “from desire and love together and alternately from fear of death, she experienced most violent heartbeats … from their overwhelming force she nearly collapsed completely” (134–35). Through this serious playfulness, Gertrude reaches God, who shares that experience with her, while also sensing her heart’s “transition to the true salvation of all those who are to be saved” (135). This playful seriousness at work in both Cyril’s and Gertrude’s writings is taken even further by Guardini, who implies that seriousness and playfulness actually go together. For example, he explains that the striking of the breast during the Mass “is a summons to repentance and to the self-inflicted punishment of a contrite heart” (21). In each of these different performances of devotion ritualize salvation of the soul, hence the serious playfulness connection in Guardini. These writers depict how the human body is an important and material instrument in our divine worship of God.
In these same performances designed to bring us closer to God, symbolism is also crucial. In Cyril’s example, the West was considered the place where darkness, and hence Satan, resides, so by intentionally looking West during the rite, symbolically and in reality you were renouncing Satan because you were facing Satan. Another example from the baptismal rite is having the inductees strip their clothes, to be naked as was Christ on the cross and Adam in the Garden of Eden. These aesthetic connections “through symbol” transform initiates into Christians. Imagery is central in Gertrude’s writings, as she describes one encounter where she thinks of herself as a weak little plant, but through Jesus’ blood grows into a large, beautiful tree where her good works are the fruits on its far-reaching branches that were spread out towards others. The symbolism here is that Gertrude, through Christ, has become a part of something far greater than herself, and has extended her good works beyond her physical reach. It is this transformation through her encounters with Christ by which she becomes closer to Jesus. Another example of symbolism from Guardini is found in his exploration of water’s natural elements, with its ability to both give life (quench thirst) and take life (flood), and also how it transforms in the use of the church as a medium to exorcise darkness and cleanse our souls. Indeed, as Cyril points out, one has to believe in order to be transformed, not merely going through the motions or the prayers. There must be intention and love behind it, which is central to Christian worship and omnipresent in the liturgy, and then these material symbols will forge our connections with God.
Christian worship and the liturgy need festivity to keep it going strong. Cyril observed that although religion was usually a public display, it was not accessible to everyone. Those who were able to participate enjoyed an extraordinary initiation involving lots of imagery, materiality, and rich sensual liturgy. The whole goal of Gertrude’s writings was to increase liturgical devotion, as more people were gaining the ability to enter the church (written centuries after Cyril, so notably Gertrude saw both men and women working in the church). For Guardini, festivity lies in finding that community, that similarity that we share with our neighbors, which is our devotion to God, amidst our material surroundings. For example, with candles, “Let the clean, spare, serviceable candle bespeak your own attitude. Let your readiness grow into steadfast loyalty. Even as this candle, O Lord, would I stand in your presence” (27). In Christian worship, including the liturgy, “matter” matters.
