Genuflection / Bowing

Genuflecting and bowing are acts of reverenc /humility.

• Genuflection - right knee to the ground
• Bow - stand erect and bow from the waist, slowly. Do not just nod the head.

 

Bodily positions used during liturgy.

Our bodies are God’s gift, and we use all of our body in praise and worship.

• Voice - to sing and respond to the prayers
• Hand - to make the Sign of the Cross, greet one another at Sign of Peace, receive Communion
• Feet - to bring us into the assembly to stand, a sign of freedom and reverence
• We sit - a position of repose to listen, to reflect
• We kneel - a position of humility

 

Use of Holy Water, Sign of the Cross

• Holy Water - a reminder of Baptism No baptisms are celebrated during Lent except in case of emergency.
• Sign of the Cross -an act of faith in, and praise of, the Trinity in whose name we were baptized.
• Sign of the Cross before the Gospel - This is made on the forehead, lips and heart with the intention and prayer that the Lord be in our mind, on our lips, and in our heart that we may accept the Word, proclaim the Word, and live the Word.

 

Devotions

Non-liturgical prayers. These are not obligatory, but may help us to grow closer to God. Some devotions are the rosary, novenas (9 periods of prayer, usually petitionary, directed to Jesus, Mary, or one of the saints), devotions in honor of the Blessed Sacrament--Benediction, Forty Hours (Eucharistic Day), Perpetual Adoration, Litanies (petitionary prayer in which the congregation recites a response).

 

Holy Days of Obligation

The number of these varies according to the country in which one lives. They are called “days of obligation” because we are obliged to participate in the celebration of Mass on these days. In the U.S. they are as follows:

• All Sundays of the year
  
• December 8 - Immaculate Conception
• December 25 - Christmas
• January 1 - Mary, Mother of God
• 40 days after Easter - Ascension of our Lord (always a Thursday)
• August 15 - Assumption of Virgin Mary
• November 1 - All Saints

A few years ago the bishops of the United States exempted us from the “obligation” when the holy day falls on a Saturday or a Monday presuming, of course, that we are participating in the celebration of Mass on the intervening Sunday. This exemption does not apply to the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Christmas. Why the Immaculate Conception? Because Mary, under her title of Immaculate Conception, has been named patroness of the United States.

 

Mass Cards

Catholics believe, along with our Jewish forebears as related in 2 Maccabees 12:43-46, that it is a holy and pious thought to pray for the dead that they might be freed from any sinfulness for which they had not made reparation during life. Therefore, we pray privately and publicly for the dead, and we may also have Mass celebrated for them. Instead of sending a condolence card to the family, we arrange to have Mass celebrated for the deceased, make an offering to the Church (usually $10), and receive a Mass card which we send to the family.

 

Palm

Palm branches are blessed and distributed to the congregation on Palm (Passion) Sunday in remembrance of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before his passion and death. (See John 12:12 ff.)

 

Ashes

Palm branches left over from the previous Palm Sunday are burned and used on Ash Wednesday. Ministers place a cross of ashes on the foreheads of the faithful with a reminder to do penance during the season of Lent.

 

Penance

Customary forms of penance are prayer, fasting, almsgiving.

• Prayer - not necessarily more prayer, but rather more faithfulness to prayer. When possible, participation in Mass on one extra day during the week and/or Stations of the Cross.
• Fasting - There are two prescribed fast days during Lent--Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On these days one full meal and two smaller meals are permitted. 
• Abstinence - We are required to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and in the US all the Fridays of Lent for those 14 and older. Abstinence is a reminder of our dependence on God. Other forms of abstinence may be to do without certain foods, TV programs, tobacco, alcohol, etc.
• Almsgiving - the donation of one’s time, talent, treasure for a worthy cause.

 

Stations (Way) of the Cross

A devotional prayer in which we commemorate the incidents along Jesus’ way to the cross. Fourteen carvings on the walls of the church depict these stations. Stations are prayed publicly usually on Fridays during Lent. They may also be prayed (meditated on) privately at home or in the church.

 

Bells

Bells may be used during Mass, but there is no obligation to do so. The custom began when churches were built where the space between the altar and the back of the church was so distant that the people could not hear or see what was going on at the altar. In addition, the Mass was not prayed in the language of the people. Bells were rung to alert the congregation to which part of the Mass was happening. Bells are no longer needed in most churches in the US, and therefore their use has been dropped in most places.

 

Incense

People and objects are incensed as a sign of their sacredness. The smoke from the incense is also symbolic of our prayer rising to God.

 

Candles

Their use probably stems from the necessity of having them in the catacombs in the beginning days of Christianity when Christians could not gather publicly but had to gather in these underground tunnels. The very large candle we use during the Easter season, at baptisms and funerals is called the Paschal (Easter) candle. It symbolizes Christ, the light of the world. It is lighted for the first time each liturgical year at the beginning of the Easter Vigil and carried in procession to the front of the church. During the procession the candle bearer sings three times “Christ our light,” and the congregation responds “Thanks be to God.”

 

Novena (nine)

Nine periods of prayer / devotions, usually petitionary in honor of Jesus, Mary, or one of the saints. These periods of prayer may be nine hours, days, weeks. The devotion stems from the fact that the apostles and others prayed for the Spirit to come during the nine days from the Ascension of Jesus to Pentecost.

 

Sacramentals

Visible signs which draw us to God and sanctify all aspects of life -- holy water, ashes, palms, oil, fire, incense, crucifixes, rosaries, images of Jesus and the saints, bodily actions such as genuflection, sign of the cross, processions, variety of blessings, etc.

 

Liturgical Colors

Colors are used in vestments and altar adornments to express various meanings.

• Purple, violet, deep blue - signify anticipation, purification, or penance, and are used in Advent and Lent.
• Red - the color of blood and symbolizes the supreme sacrifice of life given for others; it is used for Passion Sunday, Good Friday, and the feasts of martyrs. Red is also the color of fire and is used on Pentecost Sunday.
• White - expresses joy, purity, and eternal life; it is used for most feasts of our Lord, the seasons of Christmas and Easter, for funerals, for feasts of saints who are not martyrs, and for angels.
• Green - the color of growing things is symbolic of life and the vitality of faith, hope, and love. It is used for Ordinary Time.

 

Litanies

The litany is a way of praying found among many peoples. It is a prayer made to be repeated: one phrase coming over and over again so that the person praying is caught up in the prayer itself. Often litanies are chanted. The Litanies of the Holy Name, of the Sacred Heart, of the Blessed Virgin Mary (called the Litany of Loreto), and of Saint Joseph took shape over several centuries. All four are rooted in images we find in the Scriptures. The Litany of the Saints is part of the Church’s liturgy on many occasions (baptism and ordination, for example). It may be lengthened to include the names of other saints.