Reverence

Dear sisters & brothers in Christ,

I pray that you are blessed and that you find joy in sharing those blessings with others. The other day I was asked a question that got me thinking, I get asked things occasionally that I figure others would like to ask as well. So let me share a few.

Why do I bow instead of genuflect? The simple answer is that I suffer from severe & chronic back pain in three separate sections of my spine. Hence, my genuflections are often not very graceful or reverent, and so, I choose to bow which for me is far more reverential. Personally, I think it would be better for many others to do the same. Even without the back pain, many people’s genuflection are very halfhearted. They hang on to the pew. They do it halfway and some as they are entering the pew, and so, you’re not really sure what they are genuflecting to.

Which brings me to another question. Some have noticed that sometimes I bow to the tabernacle and at other times I bow to the altar. Generally when we enter a place where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved we show some sign of reverence by genuflecting or bowing or other similar gesture. However, as we are preparing for mass, and especially once it has begun, our attention should be on the altar of sacrifice. As we celebrate the mass it is on the altar where the Body & Blood of our Lord will be made manifest, and so, this is where our focus should be. Technically, the tabernacle should not be in the main church. Vatican II restored the ancient practice of having the Blessed Sacrament reserved in a separate and smaller chapel for Eucharistic adoration. If a parish does not have a separate chapel (which most do not) then it should be in a side altar, so that it does not draw attention away from the main altar during the sacrifice of the mass. Even though this was reiterated several years ago, a number of bishops and pastors chose to err on the side of personal piety. Not to mention, that of the majority of the laity.

After The Gospel has been proclaimed, most other priest hold up the Gospel Book, why don’t you? Well I can not speak to what other priests were taught, but I was taught that once The Gospel has been proclaimed we no longer focus on the text on the page, words in a book, but the breath that carries The Gospel forth. It is the “spoken” Word on which we should focus. Just as with Creation, it was The Word “spoken” that brought the universe into existence. It is the action that give power and life.

I am sure there are plenty of other things I do that leave people asking questions, but hey, a person has to have some mystery in their lives.

In the Redeemer, Fr. Rick