The Vocabulary of Prayer - Bowing

The older rite of the Mass (pre-Vatican II) had many occasions when bowing was called for and very specific directions on the type of bow. There are fewer calls for bowing in our current rite.

Bowing is another way in which we engage our body in our prayer. I grew up at a time when we were taught to bow our heads at the name of Jesus. It is something I still do – automatically, without any need to think about it. And I am happy to have that habit of reverencing the name of the Lord. This bow is a simple bow of the head.

There is a deeper bow, head and shoulders, which I make when entering or leaving church and when I pray the Holy, Holy, Holy. This also is a sign of reverence for the altar, the cross, and the transcendent mystery of God.

And there is the profound bow from the waist. I do this when “I confess to Almighty God that I have sinned…”

One bow that is less common is touching one’s forehead to the ground while kneeling. This is the common prayer position for Muslims when saying their daily prayers. It has its roots in the Old Testament:

Ezra opened the scroll so that all the people might see it, for he was standing higher than any of the people. When he opened it, all the people stood. Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people, their hands raised high, answered, “Amen, amen!” Then they knelt down and bowed before the LORD, their faces to the ground. (Nehemiah 8:5-6)

We also find it in the Gospels:

They (the magi) were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. (Matthew 2:10-11)

Attending to such bodily actions can enrich our prayer.

The Vocabulary of Prayer - Posture

Our posture is another resource for our prayer. It is easy to pay little attention to posture; we simply stand, sit, or kneel at the proper times.

However, there are different ways of standing. There is a difference in simply “standing around” and standing up to greet someone. In the first case, one can simple be “killing time.” In the second our body is part of our communication with the person we are greeting.

Standing is the posture of a free person. The first Ecumenical Council of the Church decreed that it was forbidden for Christians to kneel to pray on Sundays because that was the day of the resurrection.

We stand in the presence of important people. At Mass, we stand to greet Christ in the Gospel. If we are attentive to our posture, our standing is an acknowledgement of the presence of Christ in the Gospel that is about to be proclaimed to us.

When we sit for the first two readings, we can simply sit down or we can sit and focus our attention on the word of Scripture.

We do not spend as much time kneeling in prayer as we once did. But it is still an important posture of prayer, a posture that recognizes the transcendence and greatness of the God to whom we pray.

Another, less common posture is prostrating our self on the floor. It is a dramatic gesture which the liturgy calls for in two instances. At ordinations, the entire assembly calls upon as the saints and those to be ordained are prostrate on the floor of the sanctuary. On Good Friday, the ministers enter in silence and prostrate themselves before the altar in silent prayer.

Although it is customary to depict St. Clare holding the ciborium with the Eucharist, at the convent in Assisi where she lived, she is said to have prostrated herself in prayer before the Eucharist reserved in the tabernacle as she prayed for the deliverance of Assisi from the mercenaries that were marching on the city.

Saint John Paul II’s secretary has said that he would find John Paul prostrate in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

Our bodily posture is meant to be part of our prayer and will be, much more so if we attend to it.

The Vocabulary of Prayer - Hands

When we pray, our bodies are meant to be part of that prayer. Perhaps the most natural bodily expression of prayer is the use of our hands.

It is very common for people, when they pray before a meal to join hands as an expression of community, of our desire to be more deeply related to one another. This has also become common practice in many places when we pray the Lord’s Prayer at Mass. It is physical witness to our belief that we are one family, God’s daughters and sons gathered around the Lord’s Table to be nourished with the shared Bread and Cup of Life.

The tradition folded hands has its roots in feudalism. It is still the gesture used by a priest at his ordination. He kneels before the bishop who ordains him and who takes the priest’s hands in his own as the priest promises obedience and respect. When we pray with folded hands, we figuratively invite the Lord to take our hands in his.

We can also pray with open hands, a sign of offering. We come before the Lord with open hands and the Lord fills them with the Bread of Life.

Another gesture with our hands is with hands lifted up and outstretched. This position is the mirror image of Jesus outstretched hands on the cross. It is an invitation to the Lord to bring to greater perfection the image of Jesus in us.

There is a painting by Giovanni Bellini in the Frick Collection in New York which depicts St. Francis praying with his hands extended.

The manner in which we use our hands can help us to focus our prayer.

Proclaiming the Word

This past Sunday, the person who read the New Testament reading had a warm smile. It was a natural smile; she did appear to make any conscious effort “to smile at the congregation” as she made eye contact with those listening to her. There was warmth to her presence as she read, a warmth that encourage listening.

We communicate with much more than our voice.