When you bow your head to reverance the alter, to whom are you paying respect?
2007-09-14 00:16:37 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Is it honoring Saint Mary?
I would like true answers from real Catholics, please....
2007-09-14 00:25:50 · update #1
God, of course. Specifically Jesus Christ. No, it is not done to honor Mary or any other saint.
I am a real Catholic
2007-09-14 00:21:58 · answer #1 · answered by Sldgman 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
We're paying respect to the Lord, our Savior.
Mary isn't on the altar. Jesus, however, is present "wherever two or more are gathered in His Name" and for Catholics, Jesus is also present in the Eucharist. On the Catholic altar, there is a decorative box that we call the Tabernacle. Inside, there is the Host, the Most Precious Body of our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that during the consecration of bread and wine, Jesus makes Himself present in these physical elements and makes them into Himself (transubstantiation). Whenever the Tabernacle is closed, we know that the Holy Eucharist is present inside. If it's open (as it is on Good Friday), it's empty and we do not bow toward the altar because He isn't physically in that location.
2007-09-14 10:11:11 · answer #2 · answered by sparki777 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Many good answers to your question. One slightly different point: The bowing, kneeling, and genuflecting before Jesus is quite characteristically Catholic. Catholicism isn't just a head religion. It is a whole body religion. We make the sign of the cross with holy water, and we literally eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, as Jesus commanded (see John 6).
When you assume a posture of obedience and submission, you think differently. Throughout history, people have bowed before lords and kings. Christians recognize only one king, Jesus. We bow, kneel, and genuflect only to him. A conversation with God on your knees expresses with your whole body your dependence on and allegiance to God.
2007-09-14 12:38:59 · answer #3 · answered by Bruce 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
God.
God is present in (at least) four separate ways during the Mass:
+ In the Holy Scriptures
+ In the Eucharist
+ In the ordained Priest
+ In the congregation, the body of Christ.
With love in Christ.
2007-09-15 00:02:32 · answer #4 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At the alter you generally bow your head towards the tabernacle, which contains the body and blood of Christ.
2007-09-14 07:29:44 · answer #5 · answered by osborne_pkg 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Only Jesus, dear. Only Him:
"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)
2007-09-14 10:12:54 · answer #6 · answered by Clare † 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
They bow down to statues.But call it "genuflect"
http://www.whateverycatholicshouldknow.com
2007-09-14 07:23:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
God.
2007-09-14 07:26:13 · answer #8 · answered by Perceptive 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋