I grew up Catholic. I didn’t go to Catholic School, but most of my cousins did. We didn’t go to church every Sunday, but we went on all the holy days and we observed the “rules”. When my son started school, I sent him to a Catholic school and we started to be very involved with the church, going to church on Sunday, getting very involved with the fundraising, I even built and hosted the church’s website. I thought that I was doing what was right for my child, but little by little I realized that Catholicism just wasn’t working for me anymore and this school certainly wasn’t right for my child. By the time we left I was certain that I could no longer call myself Catholic and I still feel that way today, almost 10 years later.

So, why did we have scallops for dinner last night? Well, there’s a part of me that still loves the ritual, the pomp and circumstance, the sacrifice and the tradition. I still incorporate a lot of these things into my family life today and although we don’t go to church and I can’t seem to find a religion where I fit in, I still love the idea of making room for spiritual pursuits in your life and I try to find spiritual rituals that are relevant to our life and our beliefs.

Lent, to me, seems more for my soul then for my God. I think we need the “cleansing” that this very small sacrifice inspires. To deny myself something that I want, as an act of worship or communion is a very attractive idea to me. It’s a reminder of Spirit in weekly, if not daily practice. I know in my house, fish dinners aren’t as often as they should be and this practice of Lent can be used to remind me, to help me be more thoughtful about what my family is eating. Which, I think, is the point of most of the laws of religions, to help you to live a better, healthier (spiritually and physically) life.

I’m still on my quest to find my Soul Tribe, but in the meantime, I’ll continue to create my own rituals and borrow from my history as well as the history of others.  Are there any rituals that you love and incorporate into your life, whether daily or at certain times of the year? I’d love to hear about them.

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