In a Church, and during liturgical services, there are two primary gestures that are practiced by the congregation. These are genuflecting and bowing. The act of genuflection, which is made by the bending of the right knee to the ground, is an expression of supreme adoration and reverence, and therefore it is reserved to God alone. When we enter a church and there is a tabernacle (the receptacle in which the Blessed Sacrament is reserved) in the sanctuary, whether on the altar or close by, then without hesitation we should genuflect toward it in acknowledgement of the Real Presence of the Lord therein.
The 2000 General Instruction of the Roman Missal, the current document in use which gives the guidelines for Eucharistic celebrations, states the following, “If there is a tabernacle with the Blessed Sacrament in the sanctuary, a genuflection is made before and after Mass and whenever anyone passes in front of the Blessed Sacrament” (GIRM, no.274). In other words, the major times we need to be concerned about genuflecting is before and after Mass or when entering and leaving a church or chapel when there is a tabernacle with the Blessed Sacrament present.
During Mass the congregation should have no real reason to pass the Blessed Sacrament since we are not walking around. At Communion, however, some sign of respect and reverence is required toward the presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, though it must be done at the proper moment. One may choose to genuflect, bow, or make a sign of the cross when one is, let us say, one or two persons away from the eucharistic minister. This is done so that the order of people going to and from Communion is not disrupted. (See Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, 44, 160, 274).
There is one situation in which the faithful would genuflect to the Lord’s holy Cross. This would be from the solemn adoration in the liturgy of Good Friday until the beginning of the Easter Vigil (See Ceremonial of Bishops, 69). Traditionally a genuflection is also made before a relic of he holy cross when it is exposed for veneration.
In the Roman Rite of the Church there are two kinds of bows, the bow of the body (the deep or profound bow) and the bow of the head. When there is no tabernacle in the main sanctuary, the appropriate gesture is a deep bow, when the body bends from the waist, to the altar (See Ceremonial of Bishops, 72). This is done out of reverence for the place upon which the eucharistic sacrifice will take place.
Perhaps the reason for the confusion regarding whether to genuflect or bow to the altar comes from the fact that many of the faithful are still practicing what they were accustomed to do when the tabernacle used to be located on or behind the altar. It is usually our human nature to be inclined to do what seems most familiar to us, even after change has occurred.
Genuflection and bowing are beautiful gestures by which we express our adoration and reverence to God. He sent his only Son into the world to save us from our own sinfulness. Christ then promised never to leave us, and in the Holy Eucharist we have the fulfillment of that promise. There He is present – body, blood, soul, and divinity. What an honor and privilege to bend the knee or bow before Him.
© Copyright 2002 Grace D. MacKinnon
Grace MacKinnon is a syndicated columnist and public speaker on Catholic doctrine. Readers are welcome to submit questions about the Catholic faith to: Grace MacKinnon, 1234 Russell Drive #103, Brownsville, Texas 78520. Questions also may be sent by e-mail to: [email protected]. You may visit Grace online at www.DearGrace.com.
