Know Your Gestures and Postures

Note: We'll be sharing the answer to one question each week. Scroll down to the question and click the link to view the answer and explanation.

As St. Paul writes, “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” 1  When it comes to our prayer lives and relationship with each other and within the Church, though, do we know when we should pray as the many parts and when we are to pray as one body?  We are blessed as the People of God with many charisms, devotions, and private prayer opportunities to grow in relationship with God our Creator.  However, when it comes to the Mass, we are not individuals but Christ’s bride, the Church, praying universally (literally) as one body.

The Mass is the prayer par excellence instituted by Christ at the Last Supper.  It is Christ’s sacrifice offered to God the Father, even as we gather together to celebrate a meal.  Given this context, do we as the Lay Faithful know what to do in our unity of worship during the Mass?  How do we know?  From our parents?  As students in Catholic school?  From those around us in the pews?   Hopefully, our answer is ‘yes’ to some or all of these instances, but it is first and foremost from the Church Herself, who gives us the best way to express our oneness in the Mass.  Let us, therefore, consider what we know from our social interactions and from the Church Herself.

Ponder the situations below and your experience with them.  (Individual answers will not be tallied nor collected.)   Note:  Posture = a position with our whole body; Gesture = a temporary position or movement of some part of our body.

1. During the proclamation of the Holy Gospel, what is the posture of the Lay Faithful, i.e. the congregation? 
(CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ANSWER)
a.  Sit               b.  Stand                      c.  Kneel

2. In those Masses when incense is used, the priest celebrant incenses the altar and gifts at the Offertory, then the assisting minister incenses the priest before coming forward to incense the congregation.  What is the congregation’s posture and gesture in response to incensing from the assisting minister?
(CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ANSWER)
a.  Standing, then bow from head or waist               
b.  Standing, then make the sign of the cross           
c.  Both a. and b.
d.  Standing, but do nothing  (just remain standing)

3. During the Lord’s Prayer, what should the gestures of the congregation be?
(CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ANSWER)
a.  Hold hands with others                 
b.  Imitate the priest celebrant with the Orans hand position (arms extended with palms turned upward and open)                  
c.  Put hands together in prayer, palm-to-palm, in imitation of the deacon (when he is present at the altar)

4. When offering each other the Sign of the Peace, what gestures can the Faithful use?
a.  Shake hands with immediate pew neighbors
b.  Nod head and/or wave hand toward individuals while making eye contact
c.  Blow kisses to immediate pew neighbors
d.  Any of the above

5. When receiving Holy Communion, what is the posture of each communicant, in terms of our unity of worship?

a.  Standing, with reverent bow from waist before receiving Jesus 
b.  Standing, but genuflecting on one knee before receiving Jesus
c.  Kneeling while receiving Jesus

Under the leadership of our bishops, we are now in a multi-year season of Eucharistic Revival in the United States.  As the new liturgical year begins this Advent, bringing in the calendar year 2024, we focus on the Year of Parish Revival as we receive, review, and reboot our hearts to grow in love with the Lord Jesus in His Real Presence in the Eucharist.  And so, we begin with what we Catholics do at Mass, with more catechesis to come throughout the year.  The answers to each scenario above that fully express our unity in worship will be provided in the coming weeks. 

1 Quoted from 1 Corinthians 12:12-13a. For more context, continue with verses 13b-27, NAB version.