Introduction
Abraham Verghese (Abraham Verghese N.D. paragraph 1) was quoted saying, “Rituals, anthropologists will tell us, are about transformation. The rituals we use for marriage, baptism or inaugurating a president are as elaborate as they are because we associate the ritual with a major life passage, the crossing of a critical threshold, or in other words, with transformation.” Rituals consume our daily life, they can be as complex as a mass or as simple as brushing your teeth. Rituals are defined as a set of fixed actions and sometimes words performed regularly, especially as part of a ceremony. (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/ritual) Similarly the Mt Alvernia College Mass reflects the Christian values, attitudes and beliefs but it is different to traditional masses decreed by canonical law due to the Franciscan symbols and the overriding ethos of the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. There are numerous points of difference in a Franciscan mass compared to a catholic mass such as the symbols, the structure and purpose, where it occurs and who is involved.