Catholic Practices, Postures and Gestures

 

Bow of the head

How: Simply lower your chin toward your throat and hold a moment

When:

• When you pass by a Church, bow your head and make the Sign of the Cross to honor the Real Presence of Christ in the tabernacle.
• Any time you hear the Name "Jesus" (note that "Christ" is His title, meaning "Annointed One"; there is no need to bow the head at just the mention of the word "Christ"). Men should remove their hats and bow their heads when passing a church or when His Name is spoken; this practice is for both inside and outside of Mass. All Catholics bow their heads at these times (yes, if you're having a casual conversation with someone on the subway and you pass a church or mention His Name, you actually are supposed to bow your head, removing your hat if you are a man). ¹
• Cross yourself and bow the head when the priest and the Crucifer walk down the aisle before and after Mass. After Mass, as the priest leaves the Altar, it is also customary to pray for him. (Some make a profound bow instead at these times)

Not commonly known and practiced: any time you hear "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit mentioned together; any time you hear the name of Mary; and, during Mass, when the name of the Saint in whose honor the Mass is being celebrated

 

Striking of the Breast

How: With either a fist or with the tips of the fingers, held close together, strike your chest over the heart to express regret and sorrow ²

When:

·          at the Mass, formally: at each "mea culpa" during the Confiteor; at the Nobis Quoque Peccatoribus (priest); three times during the Agnus Dei; and three times during the Domine, Non Sum Dignus

·          informally: at the "forgive us our trespasses" ("dimitte nobis debita nostra") in the "Our Father"; any time to express penitence or remorse inside or outside of the Liturgy

 

Bow at the waist (or "profound bow")

How: Bow at the waist in the manner of the Japanese (about 30^o forward)

When:

• at the Aspérges at Mass when the priest sprinkles the congregation with holy water
• when the Altar boy incenses the congregation during the Mass
• Cross yourself and make a profound bow when the priest and Crucifer walk down the aisle before and after Mass. After Mass, as the priest leaves the Altar, it is also customary to pray for him. (Some simply bow the head instead of making a profound bow at these times)

·          when greeting a hierarch who doesn't have jurisdiction over you (e.g., the Bishop of a diocese other than one in which you live). As you bow, kiss the hierarch's ring. This bow and ring-kissing are only done if the Pope is not present.

 

Genuflection on Left Knee

How: Kneel on your left knee for a moment, bringing the left knee all the way to the floor and keeping the back straight. Hold for a moment, then stand. (The word is pronounced "jen-you-flek'-shun")

When: When greeting or leaving the Pope or other hierarchs with the rank of Bishop or above and who have jurisdiction over you (only when the Pope is not present) -- e.g., to the Bishop or Archbishop of your diocese, not of a neighboring diocese. During the left-knee genuflection, a kiss is given to the hierarch's ring. Then stand.

 

Genuflection on Right Knee

How: Looking at what you are genuflecting toward, kneel on your right knee for a moment in the manner of a man proposing to a woman, bringing the right knee all the way to the floor, close to the heel of the left foot, keeping the back and neck erect. Hold for a moment, then stand.

When:

• Genuflect toward the Tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, and each time you pass in front of it (except when you're in procession, such as standing in line for Communion, or returning to your seat afterward). While this should, on one level, be a matter of habit, it shouldn't be done thoughtlessly. Remind yourself when genuflecting toward the Tabernacle that you are kneeling before God. Praying mentally, "My Lord and My God" is a good habit to get into while genuflecting on the right knee. If the Tabernacle is not on the Altar, genuflect toward the Altar and the Altar Crucifix.
• Before a relic of the True Cross when it is exposed for public adoration.

·          On Good Friday to Holy Saturday, after the ceremony of the Adoration of the Cross, genuflect when passing in front of the exposed Crucifix on the Altar.

 

Kneeling (Double Genuflection)

How: Kneel on both knees

When:

• any time the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, to show adoration and humility
• many times during the Mass: during the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, after the Sanctus, after the Agnus Dei, at the altar rail, and at the Last Blessing
• during Confession, inside or, in emergencies, outside of the Confessional
• when receiving a priestly blessing, inside or outside of the Liturgy. If you are unable for some reason to kneel, then bow your head.

·          during private prayer (see St. Dominic's "Fourth Way"" of prayer)

 

Prostration

How: Keeping your legs together, drop to your knees and then lie down flat on the floor on your face, crossing your hands underneath your forehead forming a "pillow" on which to rest your forehead 

When: Prostrations, which signify total humility and penance, are made during the Rite of Ordination, during rites of religious profession (i.e., entry into religious orders), as penance in religious orders, and by anyone during private prayer before a Crucifix or the Blessed Sacrament. It is also occasionally made by adults, at the priest's invitation, before the Profession of Faith in the solemn Rite of Baptism.

 

Kisses

How: To paraphrase Lauren Bacall in "To Have and Have Not," you know how to kiss, don't you? You just put your lips together... but don't blow.

When:

• Kissing Crucifixes and Icons (2-D or 3-D): In icons that depict more than one person, kiss first Our Lord (His Feet, Hem of His garment, or hands), then Our Lady (her hands or veil), then the the angels and Saints. To reverence a Crucifix or icon that you can't reach too well with your lips, kiss your fingers and then touch where you would kiss.
• Kissing rings of hierarchs: see above under "Genuflection on Left Knee"

 

Orans

How: Raise arms either at your sides and with hands up to shoulder height, or raise arms up over your head as a child would when wanting his father to pick him up

When:

• Priests perform this gesture (the first method mentioned) during the Mass.

^·           Laymen sometimes adopt this position during private prayer. It should not be used by laymen at the Mass.

Veiling

How: There are various options here for women:  

• the classic Catholic lace mantillas
• lace chapel caps (this is for young girls)
• oblong gauzy or cotton scarves worn over the head and over one or both shoulders, or tied in various ways.
• standard-sized square chiffon or cotton scarves folded into a triangle and worn tied under the chin in the Jackie-O style or tied behind the head in the peasant style, etc.
• shawls worn over the head
• elegant but simple hats (cloches, toques, berets, "Lady Diana" hats, etc.)

Traditionally, single women wear white or ivory headcoverings, and married or widowed women wear black, but this isn't a hard and fast rule, and is often ignored.

When:

Laymen never wear hats in churches (except for rare ceremonial reasons on the part of some confraternities and lay associations).

On the other hand, women do cover their heads and have from the very first day of the Church. Some parishes and chapels will have veils available for women who don't have one.

This one superficially small act is:  

• so rich with symbolism: of submission to authority; of surrender to God; of the imitation of Our Lady as a woman who uttered her "fiat!"; of covering our glory for His glory; of modesty; of chastity, of our being vessels of life like the Chalice, the Ciborium and, most especially, Our Lady;
• an Apostolic ordinance -- with roots deep in the Old Testament -- and, therefore, a matter of intrinsic Tradition;
• the way Catholic women have worshipped for two millennia (i.e., even if it weren't a matter of Sacred Tradition in the intrinsic sense, it is, at the least, a matter of ecclesiastical tradition, which also must be upheld). It is our heritage, a part of Catholic culture;
• pragmatic: it leaves one free to worry less about "bad hair days";

·          and for the rebels out there, it is counter-cultural nowadays, you must admit!