Bowing

Hopefully, we have covered most of “Holy Mass basics,” but occasionally people see us Catholics do “strange” things, such as bowing, crossing ourselves, etc.

In an attempt to include all of our “exercises,” let’s go over bowing because, of all of our practices, this seems to be the most misunderstood.  But, if we stop and think about it, bowing is a sign of respect, and when we see it that way, then everything else will make sense.

There are three kinds of bowing:

1. The simple bow.  This is just a bow of the head that we use as a sign of respect when we mention the name of Jesus.  I’m sure you have seen Fr. Hilton do it during Mass, when he’s on the ambo (another expensive Catholic word, which means the podium from where the Word of God is proclaimed). Why do we bow at the name of Jesus? Out of respect.  Isn’t it rather funny to see us bob our heads up and down all the time?  It would be funny if we just “bobbed” like turkeys, but that’s not what we do, is it?  When we bow our heads slowly and carefully, thinking of the meaning of our gesture, it is a sign of respect; just as we do when we see someone that we recognize come toward us, and we nod in recognition and greeting.  An awareness of what we are doing may also make us less likely to toss the name of Jesus around when we are upset or at any other inappropriate occasion.  Can you imagine how funny it would look if someone who is very angry and frustrated would start bowing their head when they “take the name of Jesus in vain”?
2. The medium bow.  This includes head and shoulders—almost like someone would act when opening the door, pulling out a chair or performing some other courteous act for someone worthy of respect.  In fact, that’s exactly what this is.  Say that we are at a function where the Archbishop is present.  When he is going by and looking around to greet the people, it’s a good time to do our medium bow.  We also use this bow during the Mass, when we recite the Creed.   Remember the sentence:  “He was born of the virgin Mary and became Man”?  That’s the spot.  Why do we do the medium bow?  In honor of the Incarnation, which is the central mystery in the history of humanity.
3. Finally, the profound bow.  This requires bending the entire body at the waist and touching the knees with the palm of our hands.  That particular bow is used when the deacon asks the priests for a blessing before reading the Gospel (have you noticed it?), or when we recite the Glory Be “Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.” we bow deeply from the beginning of the prayer until we reach the part “… as it was…” when we straighten up again. We also use this type of bow when we are in church—after we have blessed ourselves with Holy Water, and genuflected to the Tabernacle— when we go by the altar for any reason, and before receiving the Holy Eucharist.

No matter what sort of bow we use, if we do it reverently, slowly and with meaning, it sends a message of respect and courtesy.  Every time I see someone doing it, it reminds me of a time when we were taught to be “little ladies”  and “little
gentlemen”  (what happened to that wonderful custom?  When did we begin to think that “rude is good”?)

When I first came to this Country, I lived in very small towns in Southwest Texas and Southeast New Mexico for many years.  I was so impressed by the very courtly way the men would bow to me, open doors, take off their hats and say “yes ma’am, no ma’am.” You know what?  They still do!  If people learned to treat each other with that kind of respect from the minute they can talk and walk, they would not get angry at each other so easily!  I bet we would not have so many arguments, stress would be a rare thing, and “road rage” would soon disappear.  Not a bad thing!  Keep on bowing!