Eucharistic Renewal

December 2-3 – First Sunday of Advent – Mini-teaching 1

THE MASS as PUBLIC WORSHIP

When members of other denominations join Catholics for Mass, they are often puzzled by the various actions of the congregation such as genuflecting, bowing, standing and kneeling. Even we, as Catholics, do not always understand why we do what we do, or what the various postures during Mass symbolize. In the course of these mini-teachings on the Eucharist, we will explain why we do what we do during Mass and what the various gestures and postures symbolize.
To set the context: The celebration of the Mass is not a private devotion; it is a gathering of the community for an act of public worship. We come together at the same time and in the same place so that we can take part in a common action - the celebration of the Eucharist. The goal of public worship, in addition to praising God, is to express the unity of God’s people and to deepen thatunity. We might compare the celebration of the Eucharist to the playing of a piece of music by a symphony orchestra where each individual has a role to play. Each musician plays his or her part of the musical piece, not according to personal preference, but according to the instructions of the conductor, so as to be in harmony with all the other players and produce a unified whole. The Eucharist is an act of public worship which, like a piece of music, follows a prescribed order. Each of the participants plays a part, following the guidelines set out by the conductor or, in the case of liturgical celebrations, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The gestures of standing, bowing, kneeling, singing and responding together, express our common faith and values. The Church sees in these common postures and gestures both a symbol of the unity of those who gather to worship, and also a means of fostering that unity. We are not free to change these postures to suit our own individual piety; the Church makes it clear that our unity
of posture and gesture is an expression of our participation in the one Body of Christ, our head. When we stand, kneel, sit and bow together, we bear witness to the reality that we are indeed the Body of Christ – striving to be one with each other and with Jesus, the head of His Body, the Church. Adapted from Celebrating the Eucharist in Community- Loyola Press 2023.