General and Introductory Materials
Part 4 Liturgical Issues
Chapter 44 Movement, Gesture, and Posture
Preliminary QuestionsBibliography |
Hands |
To Think About |
Preliminary Questions
Bibliography
Liturgy and Dance, see Thomas A. Kane The Dancing Church
Hands
1. Three-fold movement for any gesture: up above the waist; point; put it away.
2. The orans (always both hands). The orans is primarily a gesture of receptivity. Pretend that the graces you are asking for God will place in a feed sack and drop them on you from heaven. The orans gesture should be positioned so that you are ready to catch the sack of grace. The way the hands are held should also take into account the vestment that is worn, its folds, its drapery.
3. The epiclesis is basically an imposition of hands, which invoke the Holy Spirit. This gesture is central to the Berakah in each of the seven sacraments.
To Think About
© Copyright: Tom Richstatter, Franciscan Province of St. John the Baptist, Cincinnati Ohio, Order of Friars Minor. All Rights Reserved. This page was created by Fr. Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M. Every effort has been, and is being made, to acknowledge sources when the ideas are not my own. Any failure to comply with the United States Copyright Act (Title 17, United States Code) will be corrected immediately should I become aware of it. This site was updated on 06/05/07 . Your comments on this site are welcome at webmaster2@tomrichstatter.org.