Å knele i kirken viser vår åndelige holdning

Hos zenit.org kunne vi lese følgende fredag – om feiringen av liturgien – de skrev også noe lignende for noen få dager siden:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reads: «In the liturgy of the New Covenant every liturgical action, especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments, is an encounter between Christ and the Church» (CCC, No. 1097). … In this encounter the initiative, as ever, is the Lord, who presents himself in the heart of the Church, risen and glorious. In fact, «if the figure of Christ does not emerge in the liturgy, who is its principle and is really present to make it valid, we would no longer have the Christian liturgy, completely dependent on the Lord and sustained by his creative presence» (Benedict XVI, To the Bishops of Brazil [North 2], April 15, 2010). …

… The liturgy, and in a special way the Eucharist, «is the encounter and unification of persons; the Person, however, who comes to meet us and desires to be united to us is the Son of God» (Benedict XVI, To the Roman Curia, Dec. 22, 2005). The individual and the community must be aware of being before him who is thrice Holy. Hence, the necessary attitude is one full of reverence and of a sense of wonder, which gushes from knowing oneself in the presence of the majesty of God. Was this not perhaps what God intended to express when he ordered Moses to take off his sandals before the burning bush? …

In reality, physical gestures express and promote «the intention and spiritual attitude of the participants» (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, No. 42), and enable one to overcome the danger that snares every Christian: habit …

Because of this, «a convincing sign of the effectiveness that the Eucharistic catechesis has on the faithful is surely the growth in them of the sense of the mystery of God present among us. This can be verified through specific manifestations of reverence toward the Eucharist, to which the mystagogic way should introduce the faithful» (Benedict XVI, «Sacramentum Caritatis,» No. 65). …

We see in the first place genuflection, which is done «by bending the right knee to the ground, signifies adoration, and therefore it is reserved for the Most Blessed Sacrament, as well as for the Holy Cross from the solemn adoration during the liturgical celebration on Good Friday until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.» (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, No. 274). The bowing of the head instead means reverence and honor. …

Father Juan Silvestre is a professor of liturgy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and a Consultor of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, as well the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.