Mass Communication is a monthly post exploring liturgical signs and gestures as we experience them at liturgy. Last month, I explored the apostolic greeting, “The Lord be with you.” Today, I will dig around the rest of the Introductory Rite.

Praying with our bodies is an essential experience in liturgical prayer. During the Penitential Rite, one form moves the assembly to recite the Confiteor. In this prayer, we strike our breast three times, “Through our fault, through our fault, through my most grievous fault.” Poetic penitence expressing words and deeds. By striking our breasts, we express our sorrow for sins. We pray with our bodies, feeling the offense we have caused against God’s sacred heart.

After the Penitential Rite, the Church moves to the singing of the ancient praise: the Gloria. I will never forget being in Bethlehem in October 2019 and singing the Gloria. I told myself, “This is where the angels sang this hymn for the first time as God became a baby.”

In the strictest liturgical sense, the Gloria is a hymn sung with verses one after another. It is poetry placed into song. The text sings of the glory of God in an excited and propelling manner. We are filled with excitement and wonder. At the same time, the Gloria sings an eternal truth of God and our relation to the all-holy One.   

Here’s a recording of Handel’s popular rendition of this ancient hymn:

The Body of Christ has sung its hymn of joy!

Then comes silence … In a simple gesture, the priest calls people to prayer and extends his hands. This extension of his arms is known as the orans posture.

It is as if the priest collects the prayers of the entire assembly. He gives utterance to the desires of their hearts, addressing God in a succinct, brief, and poetic manner. Then, we sit and listen to what happens next.

In December, I will continue to dig around some theological ideas as we explore the Liturgy of the Word. In this part of the liturgy, the glory of God is revealed. Here’s Handel’s And the Glory of the Lord. Enjoy!