Catholic gestures - giving witness to the great mystery

by Ann Przybilla, Director

Office of Worship

Fondly referred to as "Catholic calisthenics", our worship employs many gestures that give witness to the great mystery we proclaim. Our gestures as a gathered assembly acknowledge the awesomeness of God and our unity of belief. These gestures can begin to be so routine that we forget why and how we use our bodies during worship.

Since the twelfth century there has been the custom to genuflect during the mention of the Incarnation in the Creed. In the thirteenth century, it became popular to genuflect when mentioning the Incarnation while praying the Angelus as well. This was most likely in response to certain heresies at the time that were denying the divinity of Christ.

The change from a genuflection to a bow during the Creed started in the late 1960’s and was a response to the mandate to simplify actions to assist active participation

(CSL, 50). The people no longer genuflected and were not instructed to bow. When the Revised General Instruction of the Roman Missal was published in 2002, it reminded us to bow at the words of the incarnation "by the power of the Holy Spirit…and became man.". The custom of genuflecting at this time is still done on the solemnities of the Annunciation and Christmas. (GIRM, 137). The Incarnation forms the core of our faith as Catholic Christians. It is very appropriate that a gesture during this part of the Creed has been a part of the Roman tradition for centuries.

Bowing is the normative gesture of reverence during Mass. One bows before the altar because it is a symbol of Christ. A deacon bows when asking the celebrant for a blessing before the Gospel. The assembly bows their heads for a solemn blessing. Concelebrants bow after the celebrant shows the precious body or precious blood. Communicants (in the United States) bow as a form of reverence before receiving communion. It is also the norm to bow during the prayer "Glory to the Father" while praying the Liturgy of the Hours.

The gathered assembly expresses their unity of faith and spiritual attitude through unified postures and gestures. The way we move our bodies should indicate the honor and reverence due to God in our worship. Our "Catholic calisthenics" will never seem routine, mundane or unnecessary if we direct our actions toward our loving God who made us.