Liturgy as Becoming: Appreciating the Crucial Role of Liminality in Liturgical Engagement

Abstract

These powerful and dynamic images capture a sense of profound seriousness inherent in a liturgical celebration. A sense, however, which Dillard notes may not be taken as seriously as it ought. It is symptomatic of a situation in many liturgical assemblies in the United States and across the world where the faithful gather together to share in events with tremendous impact on defining who Christians are, what their mission is, and what they represent within the world, but which unfortunately may not be perceived or received as such. As a parishioner, when asked of the experience of liturgy in her community, commented, “It seems as though all people want to do is get in to Mass and get it over with!”2 In such instances, it may appear that many Christians find liturgical engagement to be little more than a social or cultural obligation, the full force of which encounter fails to bear upon the them. Louis-Marie Chauvet expresses the same sentiment