Take a Bow

There are many postures and physical actions one undertakes while participating in the Mass. From standing to sitting to kneeling, from hands being folded, to shaking hands at the sign of peace, there are few gestures and movements that help us to celebrate the Mass. Each of these has a unique way of communicating some interior reality. Unfortunately, one that gets overlooked all too often is that of bowing. Perhaps the bow we’re all most familiar with occurs during the Creed, when we say, “...who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, / born of the Virgin Mary…”. However, the Church - in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) - offers far more instructions when it comes to bowing during the Mass.
     Bows signify reverence toward the persons or signs that represent them. The GIRM offers a distinction between two types of bows (1) a bow of the head, and (2) a bow of the body, which is also called a profound bow. When are we supposed to make these bows? A bow of the head is to happen anytime the persons of the Trinity are mentioned together, at the name of Jesus Christ, at the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and at the name of the Saint that the Mass is being celebrated for (GIRM 275).
     A profound bow, one of the whole body from the waist, is most commonly made by the presider and other ministers within the celebration of Mass, but the congregation is asked to make one of these at the words mentioned above in the Creed. The faithful are also asked to make a toward the altar, which the GIRM reminds us is a sign of Christ Jesus (298). During the Mass, you may notice that the priest/other ministers do not genuflect toward the tabernacle, but bow toward the altar instead (save for when they genuflect at the beginning and conclusion of the Mass, where they bow toward the tabernacle) (274). This is a good practice for the faithful as well - before and after Mass genuflecting to reverence the Most Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle, but if you leave your pew during the celebration of the Mass, to bow toward the altar as a reminder that it signifies Christ.
     Why all the fuss about these postures and gestures and such, though? As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, each of these tell us something about the interior/invisible realities happening at the Mass. By bowing, we physically articulate our reverence for important people and signs. Perhaps this is a good metric by which to gauge how attentively you are listening to the prayers of the Mass. Can you catch every mention of Jesus’ name in the Mass and make a bow of the head? This is a good challenge for us to listen and pray all the more attentively with mind, soul, and body.