postures and gestures in worship (part 6: striking one's chest and genuflection)
The gesture of striking one’s chest has been described in the New Testament at least once.
Jesus told his disciples the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the Temple: "The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people.'"
Then Jesus said, “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'" (Luke 18:11-13).
From this Biblical passage one can see that this gesture expresses sorrow for one’s sins and a spirit of penitence.
Liturgically, the assembly expresses this spiritual intention at the Eucharist during the Confiteor as we utter the words “that I have sinned through my fault.”
Also, during the first Eucharistic Prayer, the priest strikes his breast with the right hand, as the rubrics indicate, on the words “Though we are sinners, we trust in your mercy and love.”
And for those with an affinity for the Tridentine Mass, you may recognize this gesture expressed by the priest as he is about to receive the consecrated bread. First he genuflects and takes the Host saying “Panem caelestem accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo" (I will take the Bread of Heaven, and will call upon the name of the Lord).
Then he strikes his breast as he thrice says, “Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tecum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea” (Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed).
Carolyn Dietering--a liturgical dancer, lecturer, and author of books on this subject--wrote that this gesture signifies a “hammering against the fortress of the heart, which is thought to be the root of sin, in order to open it to grace.”
In addition to this, Dietering also had something to say about another liturgical gesture--that of genuflection.
As a sign of adoration and obeisance originally expressed to a pagan god, Dietering says that this gesture would not have been recommended by the earliest Fathers of the Church.
However by the time of Constantine, the gesture had acquired a meaning of rendering respect, and soon the Church allowed that people may greet the emperor and the bishops with this gesture.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "It [genuflection] appears to have been introduced and gradually to have spread in the West during the later Middle Ages, and scarcely to have been generally looked upon as obligatory before the end of the fifteenth century. The older Roman Missals make no mention of it. Father Thurston [sic] gives A. D. 1502 as the date of the formal and semi-official recognition of these genuflexions."
Nowadays, this gesture is a sign of reverence and adoration and is the preferred gesture when reverencing the Blessed Sacrament, as well as when greeting the pope (and one’s bishop, if one's bishop likes to be greeted thusly), usually accompanied with an additional gesture of taking his right hand and kissing the ring.
[Stay tuned for part 7: dance and the conclusion to this series]
Jesus told his disciples the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the Temple: "The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people.'"
Then Jesus said, “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'" (Luke 18:11-13).
From this Biblical passage one can see that this gesture expresses sorrow for one’s sins and a spirit of penitence.
Liturgically, the assembly expresses this spiritual intention at the Eucharist during the Confiteor as we utter the words “that I have sinned through my fault.”
Also, during the first Eucharistic Prayer, the priest strikes his breast with the right hand, as the rubrics indicate, on the words “Though we are sinners, we trust in your mercy and love.”
And for those with an affinity for the Tridentine Mass, you may recognize this gesture expressed by the priest as he is about to receive the consecrated bread. First he genuflects and takes the Host saying “Panem caelestem accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo" (I will take the Bread of Heaven, and will call upon the name of the Lord).
Then he strikes his breast as he thrice says, “Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tecum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea” (Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed).
Carolyn Dietering--a liturgical dancer, lecturer, and author of books on this subject--wrote that this gesture signifies a “hammering against the fortress of the heart, which is thought to be the root of sin, in order to open it to grace.”
In addition to this, Dietering also had something to say about another liturgical gesture--that of genuflection.
As a sign of adoration and obeisance originally expressed to a pagan god, Dietering says that this gesture would not have been recommended by the earliest Fathers of the Church.
However by the time of Constantine, the gesture had acquired a meaning of rendering respect, and soon the Church allowed that people may greet the emperor and the bishops with this gesture.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "It [genuflection] appears to have been introduced and gradually to have spread in the West during the later Middle Ages, and scarcely to have been generally looked upon as obligatory before the end of the fifteenth century. The older Roman Missals make no mention of it. Father Thurston [sic] gives A. D. 1502 as the date of the formal and semi-official recognition of these genuflexions."
Nowadays, this gesture is a sign of reverence and adoration and is the preferred gesture when reverencing the Blessed Sacrament, as well as when greeting the pope (and one’s bishop, if one's bishop likes to be greeted thusly), usually accompanied with an additional gesture of taking his right hand and kissing the ring.
[Stay tuned for part 7: dance and the conclusion to this series]
posted by dixerit at 11:44 AM
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