Rituele dynamiek in liturgisch perspectief: een verkenning van vorm, inhoud en beleving

Abstract

This article is based upon a contribution to a symposium on rituals in new contexts (Nijmegen 1996). It surveys and probes the movements on today’s ritual market. This is done from the perspective of liturgical studies and in such a way that my survey of the ritual market is indirectly also an illustration of an open pursue of the discipline. The sustaining and underlying thought in this is that contemporary liturgical studies, which are concerned in the end with the perspectives of inculturation, the liturgia condenda and the identity of Christian rituality and sacramentality, cannot be practiced without a broad, open and integral contextual approach. A continuous exploring of the so-called ritual market, of which Christian liturgy is a part, is an essential phase in research. The exploration is not performed at random or intuitively, but connects with a series of currently running and planned smaller and larger research projects. Having discussed three diagnoses related to the liturgical and ritual situation I probe the movements in the field of the culture of feasts in general and marriage in particular. Further subjects include rituals surrounding death, pelgrimage, youth choirs and liturgical space. After this attention for the form and appearance of rituality I enter upon the contents and experiencing. Finally some tasks or challenges are phrased for contemporary as well as future practice of liturgical studies.