Last week I shared with you, how we could create a heavenly atmosphere in the Church by praying and singing together. All of us, who come to the Church for Mass on Sundays, Festive Days and weekdays, come with good intention to participate in the Mass. Hence, here below I would like to indicate how the visible external signs could manifest our internal disposition in God’s presence:
As soon as we enter the Church, we dip our fingers in the Holy Water and make the sign of the Cross. Thus, we bless ourselves with the sign of the Cross honoring and mentioning the names of the Holy Trinity and at the same time accepting Jesus as Our Lord & Savior, who saved us by His Cross. Then we genuflect and bow our heads or if we are unable to genuflect, we bow deeply adoring the real presence of Jesus in the Tabernacle, before moving into the pew. Once in the pew, we close our eyes for a few seconds and thank God for bringing us to His house to participate in the Holy Mass.
During the Mass, we take different postures like standing, sitting and kneeling down; we respond to the invocations of the priest and pray silently when the priest says/sings the prayer loudly. When we pray, it is better, unless we have a Missalette in the hand, to fold our hands with fingers interlocked or with fingers straight, palm to palm in front of the breast.
After we recite/sing “Holy Holy Holy…” till we recite “Our Father…” it is called the most important part of the Mass, the Consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. If we are physically able to kneel down, we are expected to do so. The meaning of the gesture of kneeling down is to submit ourselves humbly before the Majesty of God. When the priest elevates the Consecrated Host and the Cup, we are expected to look at and bow our head in adoration. We could also say silently “My Lord and My God” and bow, surrendering our lives to Jesus as Our Lord and Savior.
It is altogether laudable to maintain a prayerful attitude during the Holy Mass, in order to take active participation.
God bless you
Fr. Arul Joseph V.
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