ROME, MAY 19, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Q: I am a catechist and I explain Mass for the young ones. A question I always encountered and never found any information about is this: During Mass there are various postures that the community adopts, and these are adapted according the prayers that are being said. Many ask the reason why this posture is used at that particular time. Some of these are obvious: At the start of the Mass, standing means welcoming the priest who is representing Jesus. But some of them are not that obvious. So I am sending a list of the postures that we use in our diocese, so that you can help answer various questions that many youths and children ask. I am including even those that are obvious to be sure that I am not mistaken. — T.B., Malta
A: Our reader provides a list of the postures adopted in his diocese. As answering each item separately would exceed the possibilities of this column, I hope he will forgive me if I use a different method which I hope serves the same purpose.
According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, No. 43, the postures adopted by the people at Mass are the following:
“The faithful should stand from the beginning of the Entrance chant, or while the priest approaches the altar, until the end of the Collect; for the Alleluia chant before the Gospel; while the Gospel itself is proclaimed; during the Profession of Faith and the Prayer of the Faithful; from the invitation, Orate, fraters (Pray, brethren), before the prayer over the offerings until the end of Mass, except at the places indicated below.
“They should, however, sit while the readings before the Gospel and the responsorial Psalm are proclaimed and for the homily and while the Preparation of the Gifts at the Offertory is taking place; and, as circumstances allow, they may sit or kneel while the period of sacred silence after Communion is observed.
“[They should kneel during the consecration from the epiclesis to the mystery of faith] In the dioceses of the United States of America, they should kneel beginning after the singing or recitation of the Sanctus until after the Amen of the Eucharistic Prayer, except when prevented on occasion by reasons of health, lack of space, the large number of people present, or some other good reason. Those who do not kneel ought to make a profound bow when the priest genuflects after the consecration. The faithful kneel after the Agnus Dei unless the Diocesan Bishop determines otherwise.
“With a view to a uniformity in gestures and postures during one and the same celebration, the faithful should follow the directions which the deacon, lay minister, or priest gives according to whatever is indicated in the Missal.”
The special provision mentioned for U.S. dioceses of kneeling during the entire Eucharistic Prayer and after the Agnus Dei may be praiseworthily retained in other places where it is already the custom of the people. It falls to the national bishops’ conference to make specific adaptations to local needs pending definitive approval from the Holy See.
Therefore, as can be seen, the fundamental posture in liturgy is standing. Standing is a natural gesture of respect toward authority. This is why the assembly stands for the celebrant’s entrance and exit, and during the proclamation of the Gospel, just as the Israelites stood upright as they listened to God’s word. Indeed, standing was the normal position for Jewish prayer and this custom passed to Christianity as is witnessed by murals in the catacombs.
Today the faithful mostly remain standing whenever they are associated to the solemn prayer of the celebrant. The upright position is that of the heavenly elect as seen in the Book of Revelation 7:9 and 15:2. The Fathers of the Church considered this position as expressive of the holy freedom of God’s children. St. Basil in his treatise on the Holy Spirit says that “We pray standing, on the first day of the week, but we do not all know the reason. On the day of the resurrection (or ‘standing again’; Greek anastasis) we remind ourselves of the grace given to us by standing at prayer, not only because we rose with Christ, and are bound to ‘seek those things which are above,’ but because the day seems to us to be in some sense an image of the age which we expect …” (Chapter 27).
Because of this relationship with the Resurrection the liturgy prescribes that certain prayers, such as the litanies of the saints, are prayed standing and not kneeling on Sundays and during Eastertide.
Sitting is the posture of the doctor who teaches, of the one who presides, and so the bishop can preach while seated at his cathedra. On the other hand, it is the posture of those who listen with attention. The faithful are therefore invited to sit at some moments such as the readings, except for the Gospel; the homily; during the preparation of gifts; and also, if they wish, after communion. Most ancient and medieval churches did not have pews, but the faithful were often invited to sit on the floor for the readings and homily and this was probably a custom from apostolic times as witnessed by Acts 20:9 and 1 Corinthians 14:30.
Kneeling was originally reserved, above all, for intense personal prayer, as we see St. Stephen do before succumbing to martyrdom. We also find saints Peter and Paul using this posture for ordinary prayer and meditation (Acts 9:24, 20:36, Ephesians 3:14).
However, the liturgy did not initially accept this posture except as an act of penance. The Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) forbade penitents to kneel on Sundays, and St. Basil said that we kneel in order to show with our acts that sin has cast us to the ground. Little by little the gesture lost its exclusively penitential connotation and, especially during medieval times, it took the additional meaning of profound respect and adoration that is prevalent today. In this way the act of kneeling during Mass reinforces the sentiments and attitudes expressed by the upright position.
Another gesture is that of bowing which also means veneration and respect and, in some cultures, adoration. The invitation to bow the head precedes certain blessings and prayers over the people. During Mass the whole assembly bows the head when Jesus’ name is mentioned during the Gloria and in recalling the mystery of the incarnation in the creed. In this way the gesture underlines the importance of the mystery mentioned in the liturgical text.
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Follow-up: Gregorian Masses
After our May 5 column on “Gregorian Masses,” a New Jersey reader inquired: “What is the relationship of a ‘Gregorian Mass’ to ‘Gregorian chant’? Indeed, do these Gregorian Masses use the Gregorian chant? If so, 30 of such Masses seem unrealistic in the parish setting, and raise another question: Are these intended to replace the daily Mass in a parish?”
Actually the only relationship between Gregorian chant and Gregorian Masses is that both are historically linked to Pope St. Gregory the Great.
In themselves, Gregorian Masses do not necessarily affect the liturgy in any way as they refer only to the priest’s intention in offering the Mass. There are no special rites or formulas attached to Gregorian Masses.
Our reader has a point, however, that Gregorian Masses are rarely celebrated in parish settings. This is not because of special rites but because a parish priest would find it very difficult to dedicate 30 days of Masses for one single intention, especially when many parishioners request Masses.
Therefore Gregorian Masses are usually celebrated in monasteries, seminaries, priestly houses of studies, and other similar locales with priests in residence with relatively few pastoral commitments. These are usually the only ones who can take upon themselves the commitment to cele
brate 30 consecutive Masses for the same deceased person.
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Readers may send questions to liturgy@zenit.org. Please put the word “Liturgy” in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.
