In the bold, I'm trying to say that my assumption is all of these religious ceremonies and rituals were likely originally intended for a particular purpose and not and end in and of themselves. Everything that's done probably has a deep story behind it that was designed for a deeper meaning. I believe the meaning is to call us to action, but we probably fail to focus on that too often.
Hey dgreen, thanks for the explanation. I think I get what you're saying. The sacraments, in my understanding, are not ends in and of themselves, which you posit. There is a deeper reason and a deeper meaning behind the sacraments. That sounds right. I do not know nor can I judge whether that is to call us to action, but your argument seems logical and reasoned, so I have no reason to doubt it, really.
But, to wit, the sacrament of Confession in the Catholic Church. I am looking at the reasoning behind it, and at almost every turn it has been explained pretty much this way: Because Jesus administered the sacrament on earth and decreed that it should be done, therefore we do it. You'll feel better afterwards and it will help you avoid sin in the future. There isn't really an action that we are pointed to in the Catholic Church. It is posited that we understand Jesus better and
are able to live in accordance with dogma.
Therefore, I think when I'm talking about the Catholic Church, some consideration has to be taken that it might be different that a Protestant denomination. Of course, I could be missing the action that the Catholic Church is calling me to, but I'm not sure about that. It seems like the process gets one squarer with Jesus and that it cleanses one's conscience after with hopes that it will lead to a more aligned life with Christ in the future because of the sacrament. But that seems to be where it stops.