It is the common practice that people with their arms outstretched during Mass. Is this posture appropriate? Answer: Praying with Arms Outstretched is the traditional posture for priests and bishops during the liturgy. The Ceremonial of Bishops, § 104 states: “Customarily in the Church a bishop or presbyter addresses prayers to God while standing and with hands slightly raised and outstretched. “This practice appears already in the tradition of the Old Testament, and was taken over by Christians in memory of the Lord’s passion: Not only do we raise our hands, but we hold them outstretched so that by imitating the Lord in his passion we bear witness to him as we pray” [citing Tertullian, De Oratione, 14]. The U.S. Bishops have considered permitting the laity to mimic these gestures of the bishop or priest, but the Holy See has not approved this, and the 1997 Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the non-ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priests, prohibits the laity from mimicking the gestures appropriate to a priest. Specifically it states: Neither may deacons or non-ordained members of the faithful use gestures or actions, which are proper to the same priest celebrant. It is a grave abuse for any member of the non-ordained faithful to “quasi-preside” at the Mass while leaving only that minimal participation to the priest, which is necessary to secure validity. [ICP, Practical Provisions 6 §2].
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 17:51:24 +0000
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