Interesting. I was a Crucifer at a very strict-on-the-rubrics Episcopal Church, and it was always the Priest people bowed to, because he is in persona Christi capiti.
Ah true; at least everybody bows for that. But you should bow at a blessing anyway.
In the Eastern Church they do a lot of bowing during the liturgy. The priest bows to the people and the people to the priest. They also make prostrations on certain occasions. On the Sunday at the beginning of Lent, Forgiveness Sunday, at the end of Divine Liturgy the people come up to the priest at the holy doors of the sanctuary and bow to the priest and say “father forgive me a sinner” and kneel and touch their heads to the floor. The priest then says, “forgive me a sinner” and does the same thing. The bowing is always mutual unless the priest is holding the Blessed Sacrament. After Communion he will raise the chalice over his head, facing the people, and finish the prayer he says while distributing Communion, “…for the remission of all their sins and unto life everlasting”, and all the people bow. The people who have just received the Holy Body and Blood of Jesus, bow to the Body and Blood of Jesus raised above them by the priest. God is in us and around us and before us. We are immersed in a sea of glory. You can feel it and almost see it. In the Roman Church the priest and extraordinary ministers finish distributing the Blessed Sacrament and turn around and walk back to the altar or other place and place their vessels on a side table or the altar and the priest says some private prayers and handles the vessels. It is a very different way to finalize or complete Holy Communion and the culmination of worship.
If I may play devil’s advocate, you are assuming that doing it must be a cultural or regional variance. What if omitting it was?
).In the traditional Mass neither the priest and cross bearer ever “passed by”. The priest came out from the sacristy and walked the few steps to the altar and everyone stood up. The procession down the aisle with the cross bearer, deacons, concelebrants, acolytes, altar servers, readers, extraordinary ministers is new. The priest used to be the only person who would bring Communion to the sick. He would carry it to the hospital or home. The act of reverence was made to the Eucharist he was carrying. When you met him in the grocery store or on the golf course it was different. If we want to continue the custom we should bow to the lay people who carry the Eucharist to the hospital, but no one would be able to know them in street clothes.
I am a simple NO parishoner and I do that all the time. In my opinion the comment should also include the Gospel being carried in the processional.
Come visit a traditional parish (and I don’t mean a TLM) in Louisiana and you will see it. I find that if a parish has a large number of adults over 50 you will see it but if it is young adults, you won’t.II have never seen anyone else doing and I guess I am turning into an episcopalian!
I am aware of that; by “passed by” I wasn’t referring to the NO (though the reverence should be there anyway) but anytime a priest passes by. Just my thoughts.
Try visiting us. You’ll find everyone doing it at the TLM.
I would love to! I understand that Catholic Scots are few and far between - or so my great-grandmother passed down to us.Try visiting us. You’ll find everyone doing it at the TLM.
)