Our Lady of Lourdes
  • Home
  • Mass Schedule
  • News
  • Pastor's Blog
  • Information
    • History
      • Past Priests
    • Sacraments
    • Meet Us
    • Ministries
    • Church Groups
    • Parish School of Religion
    • RCIA
  • Oyster Festival
  • Bulletins
  • Resources
    • Forms
    • Links
    • Resources for Prayer
      • Divine Mercy Novena
    • Hall Rental
  • Donations
  • Photos
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Mass Schedule
  • News
  • Pastor's Blog
  • Information
    • History
      • Past Priests
    • Sacraments
    • Meet Us
    • Ministries
    • Church Groups
    • Parish School of Religion
    • RCIA
  • Oyster Festival
  • Bulletins
  • Resources
    • Forms
    • Links
    • Resources for Prayer
      • Divine Mercy Novena
    • Hall Rental
  • Donations
  • Photos
  • Contact
2621 Colonial Blvd.
Violet, LA 70092

O: (504) 682-7070
F: (504) 605-2064
​E: (504) 356-1737
​oll@arch-no.org

Archive of
Fr. Bryan's Pastor's Blog

Kneeling, Sitting, and Standing at Mass

12/14/2018

0 Comments

 
PictureFrom the 100th Anniversary Mass in 2016.
          At Mass about a month ago a made a comment about the reason that we do so much kneeling, sitting, and standing at Mass, and I got so many comments about it that I decided to expand on that a bit more in this article. It amazes me that this is one of the most common complaints about the Mass and is used as a reason for people not to go to Mass. The Mass isn’t something that we passively sit through but is something that we have to actively participate in. It isn’t just about what God is giving us, the Eucharist, but it’s also about what we are offering Him, our own lives, even if His gift to us is far greater than our gift to Him. That’s why we need to actively participate in the Mass in different ways: mentally, by paying attention to the readings homily, etc., spiritually, by praying along with the prayers, and physically, by using our bodily posture and gestures.
​
          We kneel, sit, or stand at specific times in the Mass based on what’s happening in the Mass at that time. We sit down during the readings from the Old and New Testament and the homily to show that we are receptive to what we’re hearing. We stand during certain prayers and during the readings of the Gospel to show reverence and respect and that we are actively participating in those prayers, not just letting someone else pray for us. We kneel during the Eucharistic prayer and after receiving Communion because we recognize that Jesus Christ is now present with us in the Eucharist and desire to worship Him. 

          This shows that we worship God with both our soul and our body. Yoda may think that we are really only our souls, like he said to Luke in Star Wars, episode V, “Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter,” but Christians believe that God created us body and soul, that the body is good, and that our bodies will be resurrected at the end of time. If our bodies are gifts from God, temples of the Holy Spirit, and destined to be raised up to heaven after the Resurrection of the Dead, then we should use them even now to worship God.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Fr. Bryan was pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes from July 3, 2017 to June 2022.

    Categories

    All
    10 Commandments
    Beatitudes
    Bible
    Blog Article
    Bulletin Article
    Equipped Series
    Fr. Bryan Recommends
    Homilies
    Liturgy
    Philosophy
    Q&A
    Saints
    Symbolism
    The Seven Sacraments

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018

    RSS Feed

Mission Statement

We, members of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, are committed to establish a safe haven for believers in our community. Having Christ as the center of our worship and being impelled by his teachings:
• We continually grow in ministries that address the needs and concerns of our community.
• We strive to be a vibrant “Christ Centered” spiritual family and experience His love and presence in the celebration of the Eucharist.

  • Home
  • Mass Schedule
  • News
  • Pastor's Blog
  • Information
    • History
      • Past Priests
    • Sacraments
    • Meet Us
    • Ministries
    • Church Groups
    • Parish School of Religion
    • RCIA
  • Oyster Festival
  • Bulletins
  • Resources
    • Forms
    • Links
    • Resources for Prayer
      • Divine Mercy Novena
    • Hall Rental
  • Donations
  • Photos
  • Contact