When Repetition Becomes Reverence (and Risk)

There’s something deeply formative about saying the same words each Sunday. The familiar rhythm of confession, absolution, and thanksgiving doesn’t just create routine—it creates space and journey. In liturgy, repetition can usher us into reverence. It shapes our imaginations and senses around the reality of the holy. The very “otherness” of God is made near in words we don’t have to scramble for. The liturgy ushers us into the presence of the transcendent.

In sociological terms, this is one of organised religion’s great strengths: it symbolically sustains the sacred through repeated forms. But here’s the tension (named by Thomas O'Dea as the Dilemma of Symbolic Dilution). Over time, what once burned with meaning can become rote. Ritual becomes habit. Reverence becomes repetition for repetition’s sake.

But this is not a reason to abandon liturgy. It’s a reason to listen more deeply. The goal is not to discard what’s old but to let it speak again. Liturgy is a living dialogue between the present and the past—a way the Church joins its voice with generations before us and allows the Spirit to speak to our moment.

That means, from time to time, we need to refresh and recontextualise. Not just for relevance, but for faithfulness. Culture changes, language shifts, and new generations come with different ears and questions—the meaning conversation evolves within culture. Thus, as Gadamer says, “To say the same thing, you must say something new.” Liturgy that is alive will always carry an element of renewal—new metaphors, local voices, gentle adjustments that help people today join the conversation with God.

So we don’t discard repetition. We deepen it. We don’t abandon the familiar. We hear it afresh. Repetition can become formation—or fossilisation. The difference is attentiveness.

There is value in repeating and refreshing the words—when we tune our ears. The sacred is not less sacred for being familiar. It may be more so. God speaks through words, ancient and contemporary, familiar and prophetic. Are you listening?