Catechetical Corner – Catholic Calisthenics.

Have you ever come to Mass tired, maybe the energy levels are low and yet you have to do all of this standing, sitting and kneeling? Why do we do that? Why can we not just sit and observe what is going on, saying the responses without all this moving around? It’s like a workout in the gym.

Firstly, we are incarnate beings, flesh and blood, with senses and we engage them when we come to Mass. That is one of the reasons that we ring bells, and sometimes use incense. Mass is not a spectator sport. According to the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy from Vatican II (Sacrosanctum Concilium) ‘[The] Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in the [liturgy]…’ (SC 14)

At Mass we don’t just merely remember the sacrifice of Christ, we actively participate in it. Part of this active participation is to recognise the different parts of the Mass. One of the ways that we do this is by adopting different bodily postures; we stand, we kneel, we sit, we bow, we strike our breast, we genuflect. These different actions speak to our active and conscious participation as well as to the respect that we have for what is happening. We also listen, we watch, we speak, we touch, we taste we smell. In other words, we engage the whole person.

We stand to show respect and honour. When we stand at the start of Mass we show honour to the office of the priest and Who he represents. The priest stands in the place of Christ, the head of the Body which is the Church. He is both the one who offers the sacrifice and is to be a sacrifice for the people entrusted to his care. That is why there is often a Crucifix placed on the Altar, facing the priest, to remind him of his own sacrifice in the service of those entrusted to him.

We sit and listen, allowing us to be attentive to the word of GOD. We stand for the Gospel, the words of Christ Himself, and we are to encounter HIM in HIS word. We kneel as a gesture of humility before GOD and also of respect as we recognise in Whose presence we are.

The General Instruction on the Roman Missal says this: ‘A common posture, to be observed by all participants, is a sign of the unity of the members of the Christian community gathered for the sacred Liturgy: it both expresses and fosters the intention and spiritual attitude of the participants.’ (GIRM 42)

When we come to the Liturgy (Mass), we are not alone. Mass is not a private devotion. Liturgy is an act of common worship and in the case of the Mass, the highest form of worship. We may come alone but we gather as family. And when we gather, we become what we receive – the Body of Christ.