POSTURES AND PRAYER… Towards An Effective Liturgical Appreciation

POSTURES AND PRAYER… Towards An Effective Liturgical Appreciation

IBIYEMI VICTOR

Prayer is the raising up of our minds and hearts to God- so says the penny catechism of the Church.  Many are often misled to think that prayer is only in the casting of words to God as such it has to do with the moving of lips and the heart alone. Prayer is definitely more than that. Prayer concerns the whole of our being. Man is not only spirit but he is a composite of both body and spirit, when we relate to God, it is not only the human spirit that communes with the divine on the platform of prayer, rather it is the whole human person that expresses his/her human conditions to the divine Being who listens to our groaning. Every part of the body is an expensive instrument of the soul, says Scott Hahn. The soul lives and works in each member, each fiber and reveals itself in the body’s every line, contour and movement.

Therefore, in such misconception it is commonly argued that it is not the body’s posture, but the heart’s attitude that counts when we pray or that there are moments whatever the posture of the body, the soul is on its knees. Though truly God does not check our physical appearances, make ups, cloths and attachments but the contrite heart He sees, the humble contrite heart he will not spurn. However, a good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind, the outward look therefore indicates what is inside and it further helps the individual cultivate some focus on prayer through the assembling of his body and mind. Surely, you cannot claim you are praying when your hands are busy finding what to pinch, scratch or peel.

Even the psalmist knew that posture matters, he says: “O Lord, you have searched me and know me! You know when I rise up; you discern my purposes from afar” (Ps. 139:1-2). In the gospels, we hear of so many postures assumed by Jesus himself in prayer to the Father. At some times, he fell on his face and prayed (Mt 26:39), some other times he kneeled, at other times he stood and at some other times, he sat and prayed. There are five traditional postures for prayer.

Standing: There are majorly two types of standing. The first is standing with eyes open, looking up, hands uplifted with the palms up. This has been identified as the oldest posture for prayer. It is called the orans (from the Latin word Ora- pray) position. By this posture, the worshipper acknowledges God as external and transcendent. This posture is for thanksgiving, praises and general prayers. (Lk 9:28-32, Jn 17:1, 1 Timothy 2:8). The second standing depicts looking down with the eyes averted or closed, hands clasped at the waist. This is the traditional posture of a shackled prisoner of war who is brought before the conquering king. This posture is for submissive petitions or for intercessory or penitential prayer, as we see in Luke 18:10-13.

Kneeling: This is the traditional posture for requesting favours from a king and so it became the traditional posture for prayers of repentance or supplication. (Matthew 18:26, Luke 22:41-44). In Western Christianity, kneeling became the normal posture for most prayers. The secret to kneeling is not to bend at the waist. Thrust your hips forward, so that your abdomen and thighs form a straight, vertical line and you will be able to kneel for long periods of time without fatigue and without sitting on your heels.

Prostrate: Lying on one’s belly, looking down with eyes averted or closed. This is the traditional posture for begging favours from a king when the favours are great and the petitioner is desperate or has no standing before the king even in the literal sense. Then Jesus said “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death…going little further, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed” (Matthew 26:38-39).

Sitting: The Roman Catholic Church invented pews during the middle Ages, right before the Protestants reformation. Since then, sitting has become part of the posture for prayers. In 2 Samuel 7:18, David sat to pray. We must be mindful for sleeping is not a liturgical posture.            

In the Roman Catholic liturgy, these traditional postures have been imported as well as gestures employed in the worship of God. The Church uses all of them at different and appropriate times. Prostrations are strictly reserved for most solemn times. For instance, during ordination of deacons, priests and bishops and Good Friday, this gesture pictures an expression of humility and total surrender to the divine who is greater than the individual. This posture could be used at private devotions too. In fact, it is a response to the recognition of the awesomeness of God.

Kneeling is another most employed posture during the Holy Mass. Standing is a sign of vigilance, action and readiness to go into the world proclaiming the Good News that is why we stand during the gospel. On the other hand, we sit during the first, second readings and homily. At these times, we listen carefully to the word; sitting position is a receptive gesture accepting the word into our hearts.

Our hands too must always be in the right position and wear the right postures. The hand is carefully folded in prayer not in the pocket or in the nose or the mouth. The military is an example in this regard. We cannot be talking to Obama with hands in the pocket or akimbo. The way we keep and place our hands sometimes is disrespectful to mere mortals let alone to God- the author of our being.

When we maintain the right posture, we are less distracted and often fully focused on the celebration of these Holy Mysteries with fewer movements of the different parts of the body. Furthermore, it enables us to pray in an integrated way “with heart, hand and voices”. Importantly, we must yield to all the gestures postulated by the Church, they are not there for formalities alone, they often times represent deep mysteries that we must learn. The sign of the cross, striking of the breasts, kneeling and bowing- all these initiate our activeness in the sacred liturgy.           

Our worship is an integration of the human person. It is a celebration of humanity and divinity. That necessitates the presence of both our body and soul. The more reason why the liturgy and especially the sacraments have the dual combination of matter and form- the spiritual element of worship cannot fully achieved if the material component of the human person is not visible. We must worship with everything we have, after all, we have nothing, everything we are is given by God who demands our devotion in its apogee.