We lift our hearts, our minds and our voices to praise and thank God, as creatures who venerate and adore their Creator. We are beings composed of body and soul, which is why we also express our prayer in our body. We pray with our whole person, as embodied spirits just as God created us. Our body must be in tune with our voice and our mind when we pray. Our body postures help us pray with greater attention.
During the celebration of the Holy Mass there are three body postures: We stand, we kneel and we sit. Such postures have their deep meaning and enhance our personal and community participation in the Mass. Each posture we assume at Mass emphasizes and reinforces the meaning of the action in each moment of our worship of God.
Standing is a sign of respect and honor, which is why we stand when the celebrating priest, who represents Christ, enters and leaves the assembly.
This posture is typical of those who have been elevated with Christ and are in search of higher goods, of heavenly goods, not with pride, but with humble gratitude for the wonders that God has done in creating and redeeming us. We stand to listen to the Gospel, the culmination of the revelation that presents us with the words and deeds of Our Lord Jesus Christ and in the reception of the holy communion that unites us to the Risen Christ.
The kneeling posture symbolizes penitence and our conscience as sinners. It is also the homage that a vassal pays to his master and means the adoration that we owe to God. This posture is appropriate during the consecration and after receiving the Consecrated Host.
Sitting is the proper posture for listening to and meditating on the word of God. We sit during the readings prior to the Gospel and during the homily to receive the message that God addresses to us in the Priest's reflection.
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