The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-06-18
ON THE MEANING OF cERE-
MONIES.

. In our Second instruction on Cath
Ollie Worship we are to speak on the
meaning of ceremonies. We shall ex-
plain the nature, purpose and origin
of religious ceremonies in general, and
briefly treat, in particular, of the GER
emonies most frequently used in Cath
Ollie worship.
What are Catholic ceremonies
Catholic ceremonies are outward signs
and symbols instituted by the Church
to focus and fix our attention upon
the invisible mysteries of her wor-
ship, and to render her worship more
solemn and thus more worthy of the
sovereign majesty of God. Man is
made up of body and soul, of spirit
and matter, which act and react upon
each other unwittingly, continually,
necessarily AS all impressions come
to the mind through the senses, so do
inner thoughts of the mind and SEN
timents of the heart become intensi-
fed by outward motions of the body
made in harmony with them. Thus,
thoughts of reverence towards the
Deity wax stronger by reverent hold
ing of the hands, by respectful posi-
ton Of the body. This is so self-evi-
dent, so universally known that every
mother, who teaches her little one to
lisp the holy names of Jesus and
Mary, makes the child join and lift
its hands. In like manner, Holy Moth
er Church accompanies the prayers OF
her worship with outward signs and
symbols in order to render them more
striking to the mind and more inn
pressive to- the heart, and thereby to
increase our attention and devotion.
Moreover, these ceremonies lend adj
ditional solemnity to our homage to
God and thus make it less unworthy
of the eternal majesty and infinite
sanctity of Him to Whom it is offered.
In prescribing ceremonies for her
worship in the New Testament the
Church follows in the footsteps of the
all-wise God Who in the Old Tesla
ment laid down in detail the cere-
monies to be used in His worship by
His chosen people, the children of
Israel. Read the Book of Exodus and
you will see how infinitely God pre-
scribed the form of the tabernacle,
the shape, size and material Of the
altar, the oils for the lamps, the vest
ments of the priests and levites, the
rites and ceremonies to be observed
by them in the offering of the sacri-
fee. AS the sacrifices of the Old Law
prefigured the sacrifice of the New
Law, SO did the ceremonies of the
Mosaic Law foreshadow and inspire
the ceremonies Of the Christian dis.
pensation.
In using ceremonies In her worship
the Church but initiates the example
Of Christ, Who frequently accompa
MED His religious acts by ceremonies
In the Garden of Gethsemane He
fell upon his knees in humble sup
plication. He went in procession tt
Jerusalem, preceded by a great null
titude strewing palm branches upo1
the road and singing, "Hosanna tt
the Son of David" Before He curet
the deaf and dumb man He put Hi:
fingers into his ears and touched
his tongue with spittle, and looking
up to heaven He groaned and said
"Ephpheta" (Be thou opened). A
the Last Supper He invoked the
blessing upon the bread and wine
and after the Supper, He chantet
a hymn with His disciples. Whe1
He impaired the Holy Ghost to Hi.
Apostles He breathed upon them
The symbolical acts most frequent
~ used in Catholic worship are: 1
The Sign of the Cross. 2. Genuf1ec
ton, or bending of the knee. 8. Bow
ing Of the head. 4. Joining and lift
ing of the hands. 5. Imposing o
the hands. g. Striking of the breast
Z. kissing sacred objects.
The Sign of the Cross reminds u
of the death Of Christ on the Cros
and is a profession of faith in tn,
Redemption Of mankind. It gives t,
objects so marked a certain dedica
ton and sanctifcation. 1t is an invc
cation for the grace, the blessing an,
the protection of the Most High
The Bending Of the Knee AMI tn
Bowling of the Head are signs o
alteration, respect and homage. Joir
ed and Upraised Hands indicate carr
est duplication and entreaty for aid
The Imposition of Hands is symbc
Of the bestowal of Gods blessing an
power. The Striking of the Breas
springs from the consciousness @
guilt and unworthiness in the sigh
of God. The kissing of Sacred OF
jects such as the gospel and tn
altar, is an expression of reverence
of pure and holy love for the thing
Of God.
The observance of the symbolics
ceremonies of the Old Law preserve
the Israelites from the contaminatin
influences of an idolatrous world. TIL
observance of the religious ceremc
MES in the New Dispensation aide
the early Christians to cling to tn
faith of Christ crucified despite pei
secution and martyrdom. The sam
ceremonial worship will make 70
staunch believers and keep you faitl
full followers of Christ and His teacl
ings, interrupted by the principles {
the atheistic and materialistic worl
in which we dwell. But as INTEL
gent beings It behooves You to tende
God reasonable service" (Acts XII
~. You should strive to understan