CEREMONY. - In the liturgical sense, a c. is a gesture, an action, a movement, or a complex of these, instituted by the competent authority, to accompany prayer or the public exercise of divine worship. The ensemble and the order of the various c. is what constitutes a rite (v.). The etymology of the word is uncertain.
The origin of c. is founded in human nature itself, since the gestures that accompany speech naturally manifest the sentiments and movements of the soul. Indeed there is no religion that does not have a whole array of rites and c. This intimate connection between religion and c. is found amply illustrated in the Old Testament: the last four books of the Pentateuch, especially Leviticus, set forth the various ritual practices of the Hebrew people. In the Christian religion, c. are as ancient as Christianity. Jesus himself is their initiator; and therefore the Apostles, and then the Church, constituted the first nucleus of the liturgical ritual, which, completed, modified, and expanded with the passing of the centuries, constitutes today the ceremonial of the Church that so admirably contributes to making its holiness and dignity appreciated and venerated by the faithful.
For the origins of the various c., it will suffice to mention the different causes that determined their beginning or their disappearance; because at times only in this way can one account for them. As historical causes, one may recall the influence of the Mosaic religion on Christian worship; the Church's adoption of certain pagan rites, transformed and sanctified; and finally the fact that many c. and rites are common to all religions, being by their nature apt to express the intimate sentiments of the human soul.
The purpose intended by the Church in the sacred c. is first of all to make worthy the worship rendered to God through the splendor of the sacred rites, and to draw men to heavenly things by elevating their spirit and fostering their piety. Thus the intrinsic and spiritual action of the sacrifice of the Mass and of the Sacraments is made perceptible through the c. and rites, easily perceived in their real meaning. But beyond this moral sense, we can and must find in many c. another mystical sense, the symbolic interpretation of the rites, which, just as it is not to be neglected, so must it not be pushed to excess. Unfortunately, abuses were not lacking, and throughout the Middle Ages up to the 17th century, mystical interpretation was extended beyond all propriety and reason.
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Enrico Dante