If you talk to someone who was a teenager in the 60's they can remember the exact place they were when John F Kennedy was shot.
If you talk to someone who was a teenager in the early 2000's they can remember the exact place they were when September 11th occurred.
If you talk to someone who is a teenager today they can remember the exact place they were then they heard Steve Jobbs had died.
There are certain - let us call them - Iconic Moments - in history and certain Iconic people.
What makes them iconic is not only their contributions, not only their accomplishments, not only their contributions to the fabric of society - but also - the gestures which they make that allows them to become known - seen - heard - recongnized - noticed.
Gestures are so important !They are the billboards of who we are and what we do. In the celebration of Mass we raise our hearts, minds and voices to God, but we are creatures composed of body as well as spirit and so our prayer is not confined to our minds, hearts and voices, but is expressed by our bodies as well.
When our bodies participate in our prayer we pray with our whole person,this engagement of our entire being in prayer helps us to pray with greater attention.
During Mass we assume different postures: standing, kneeling, sitting, and we are also invited to make a variety of gestures. These postures and gestures are not merely ceremonial. They have profound meaning, and when done with understanding, can enhance our personal participation in Mass.
Standing is a sign of respect and honor, so we stand as the priest who represents Christ enters and leaves the assembly.
When we stand for prayer we assume our full stature before God, not in pride, but in humble gratitude for the marvellous things God has done in creating and redeeming each one of us.
We stand for the Gospel, the pinnacle of revelation, the words and deeds of the Lord
Kneeling signified homage to the Lord, and more recently this posture has come to signify adoration. The Bishops have chosen the posture of kneeling for the entire Eucharistic Prayer.
Sitting is the posture of listening and meditation, so the congregation sits for the pre-Gospel readings and may also sit for the period of meditation following Communion.
Gestures too involve our bodies in prayer.
The most familiar of these is the Sign of the Cross with which we begin Mass and with which, in the form of a blessing, the Mass concludes. It was by his death on the cross that Christ redeemed humankind, we trace the sign of the cross on our foreheads, lips and hearts at the beginning of the Gospel.
But there are other gestures that intensify our prayer at Mass.
During the Confiteor the action of striking our breasts at the words through my own fault can strengthen my awareness that my sin is my fault.
In the Creed we are invited to bow at the words which commemorate the Incarnation: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary and became man. This gesture signifies our profound respect and gratitude to Christ who, through God, did not hesitate to come among us as a human being, sharing our human condition in order to save us from sin and restore us to friendship with God.
The Our Father is followed by the Exchange of Peace, the gesture which we express through a prayerful greeting of peace, that we are at peace, not enmity, with others. This exchange is symbolic. The persons near me with whom I share the peace signify for me - the peace of the Lord be with you always - its not a time of conversation or catching up
The new General Instruction, we are asked to make a sign of reverence, before receiving Communion standing. The bishops of this country have determined that the sign which we will give before Communion is to be a bow, a gesture through which we express our reverence and give honor to Christ who comes to us as our spiritual food.
In addition to serving as a vehicle for the prayer of beings composed of body and spirit, the postures and gestures in which we engage at Mass have another very important function.
The Church sees in these common postures and gestures both a symbol of the unity of those who have come together to worship and a means of fostering that unity.
We are not free to change these postures to suit our own individual piety, for the Church makes it clear that our unity of posture and gesture is an expression of our participation in the one Body formed by the baptized with Christ, our head
When we stand, kneel, sit, bow and sign ourselves in common action, we have given ambiguous witness that we are indeed the Body of Christ, united in heart, mind and spirit.
I think the church is at an Iconic Moment - the Liturgical Changes - the opportunity to Pray with New Words - is a wonderful chance for us to reflect upon not only what we say - but what we do -- during it all May Our Lady of the Visitation be our inspiration, model and guide.