Sacred Signs by Romano Guardini: Walking

Image courtesy of Wendy Bumgardner,
About Walking Guide

Walking
from "Sacred Signs" by Romano
Guardini, c 1956
via the EWTN online Library

How many people know how to walk? It is not hurrying
along at a kind of run, or shuffling along at a snail's pace, but
a composed and firm forward movement. There is spring in the
tread of a good walker. He lifts, not drags, his heels. He is
straight, not stoop-shouldered, and his steps are sure and even.

There is something uncommonly fine in the right kind of walking.
It is a combination of freedom and discipline. It is poised, as
if the walker were carrying a weight, yet proceeds with
unhampered energy. In a man's walk there is a suggestion of
bearing arms or burdens; in a woman's an attractive grace that
reflects an inner world of peace.

And when the occasion is religious, what a beautiful thing
walking can be! It is a genuine act of divine worship. Merely to
walk into a church in reverent awareness that we are entering the
house of the Most High, and in a special manner into his
presence, may be "to walk before the Lord." Walking in a
religious procession ought not to be what so often it is, pushing
along out of step and staring about. To escort the Blessed
Sacrament through the city streets, or through the fields, "his
own possession," the men marching like soldiers, the married
women in the dignity of motherhood, the young girls in the
innocent charm of youth, the young men in their restrained
strength, all praying in their hearts, should be a sight of
festive gladness.

A penitential procession should be supplication in visible form.
It should embody our guilt, and our desperate need of help, but
also the Christian assurance that overrules them,--that as in man
there is a power that is superior to all his other powers, the
power of his untroubled will, so, above and beyond human guilt
and distress there is the might of the living God.

Walking is the outward mark of man's essential and peculiar
nobility. It is the privilege of man alone to walk erect, his
movement in his own power and choice. The upright carriage
denotes the human being.

But we are more than human beings. We are, as the Bible calls us,
the generation of God. We have been born of God into newness of
life. Profoundly, through the Sacrament of the Altar, Christ
lives in us; his body has passed into the substance of our
bodies; his blood flows in our veins. For "he that eats my flesh
and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him." These are his
words. Christ grows in us, and we grow in him, until being
thoroughly formed by him, we attain to the full stature of Jesus
Christ, and everything we do or are, "whether we eat or sleep, or
whatsoever we do," our work, our recreation, our pleasures and
our pains, are all taken up into the Christ-life.

The consciousness of this mystery should pass in all its joyous
strength and beauty into our very manner of walking. The command
"to walk before the Lord and be perfect" is a profound figure of
speech. We ought both to fulfil the command and illustrate the
figure.

But in sober reality. Beauty of this order is not the product of
mere wishing.

Commentary

May we walk in the presence of Our Lord, not only when in church, but in life. When we walk into church fully recollected and aware that Our Lord is in the Tabernacle, it should be reflected in our walk through the aisles and corridors: Slow, humble, and with all focus on God. We have the rest of the day to project His love to others, but these precious few moments per week or per day we have in Church should be given entirely to Him.



Blogpost series on Romano Guardini's meditations: Sacred Signs

Introductory Blogpost to Romano

Guardini's book, "Sacred Signs"
- The Sign of the Cross
- The Hands
- Kneeling
- Standing

Sacred Signs by Romano Guardini: Standing

Grotto altar boys and the faithful stand as they venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Feast of the Assumption

STANDING

from "Sacred Signs" by Romano Guardini, c 1956
via the EWTN online Library

THE respect we owe to the infinite God requires of us a bearing suited to such a presence. The sense that we have of the greatness of His being, and, in His eyes, of the slightness of our own, is shown outwardly by our kneeling down to make ourselves small. But reverence has another way of expressing itself. When you are sitting down to rest or chat, and someone to whom you owe respect comes in and turns to speak to you, at once you stand up and remain standing so long as he is speaking and you are answering him. Why do we do this?

In the first place to stand up means that we are in possession of ourselves. Instead of sitting relaxed and at ease we take hold of ourselves; we stand, as it were, at attention, geared and ready for action. A man on his feet can come or go at once. He can take an order on the instant, or carry out an assignment the moment he is shown what is wanted.

Standing is the other side of reverence toward God. Kneeling is the side of worship in rest and quietness; standing is the side of vigilance and action. It is the respect of the servant in attendance, of the soldier on duty.

When the good news of the gospel is proclaimed, we stand up. Godparents stand when in the child's place they make the solemn profession of faith; children when they renew these promises at their first communion. Bridegroom and bride stand when they bind themselves at the altar to be faithful to their marriage vow. On these and the like occasions we stand up.

Even when we are praying alone, to pray standing may more forcibly express our inward state. The early Christians stood by preference. The "Orante," in the familiar catacomb representation, stands in her long flowing robes of a woman of rank and prays with outstretched hands, in perfect freedom, perfect obedience, quietly attending to the word, and in readiness to perform it with joy.

We may feel at times a sort of constraint in kneeling. One feels freer standing up, and in that case standing is the right position. But stand up straight: not leaning, both feet on the ground, the knees firm, not slackly bent, upright, in control. Prayer made thus is both free and obedient, both reverent and serviceable.

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Note that Romano Guardini isn't suggesting that standing replace kneeling. He differentiates between appropriate times to kneel and appropriate times to stand. One must read both of his meditations - kneeling and standing - to get full context.

There are times for standing, even in prayer. Within the Liturgy of the hours that we stand, such as when we pray the Magnificat during Vespers.

One comment I would like to make is that about how we should stand when praying. It is something I learned fairly quick after discovering Assumption Grotto. I noticed that people stood straight - not slumped. They did not lean on one leg or the other. Just as Romano Guardini suggests - for the most part, all stand upright with feet planted firmly on the floor evenly.


I recognized this because I wanted to do as I had done all of my life in Church: lean on one leg or the other, hands in pockets, etc. But, I felt out of place doing this and it wasn't that anyone was glaring at me. It just seemed irreverent to stand in that manner after witnessing an entire congregation in a comfortable, reverent stance. It took a few months for me to not lean on one leg or the other.


Attention to such small details for me, ended up being a grace - which acted upon, enabled me to experience the Mass much better. Working on distractions is a lifetime effort.


Consider yourself on a job interview and standing in front of a potential boss. Body language says alot. Therefore, we should consider our body language before Our Lord and Creator.


Reverent is, as reverent does!

Introductory Blogpost to Romano Guardini's book, "Sacred Signs"
- The Sign of the Cross
- The Hands
- Kneeling

Sacred Signs by Romano Guardini: Kneeling

Please pray for me and for all participants in the retreat given by Opus Angelorum this weekend in Holly, Michigan. Pray also for the priests who lead us in this retreat that God grace them during this time of spiritual work.

Comments will be open, but I will have "moderation" turned on. Your comments will be visible after I return and have had a chance to ensure nothing lewd has popped into this blog.

I leave you with a continuation of our current series...

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Kneeling
from "Sacred Signs" by Romano Guardini, c 1956
via the EWTN online Library

WHEN a man feels proud of himself, he stands erect, draws himself to his full height, throws back his head and shoulders and says with every part of his body, I am bigger and more important than you. But when he is humble he feels his littleness, and lowers his head and shrinks into himself. He abases himself. And the greater the presence in which he stands the more deeply he abases himself; the smaller he becomes in his own eyes.

But when does our littleness so come home to us as when we stand in God's presence? He is the great God, who is today and yesterday, whose years are hundreds and thousands, who fills the place where we are, the city, the wide world, the measureless space of the starry sky, in whose eyes the universe is less than a particle of dust, all-holy, all-pure, all-righteous, infinitely high. He is so great, I so small, so small that beside him I seem hardly to exist, so wanting am I in worth and substance. One has no need to be told that God's presence is not the place in which to stand on one's dignity. To appear less presumptuous, to be as little and low as we feel, we sink to our knees and thus sacrifice half our height; and to satisfy our hearts still further we bow down our heads, and our diminished stature speaks to God and says, Thou art the great God; I am nothing.

Therefore let not the bending of our knees be a hurried gesture, an empty form. Put meaning into it. To kneel, in the soul's intention, is to bow down before God in deepest reverence.

On entering a church, or in passing before the altar, kneel down all the way without haste or hurry, putting your heart into what you do, and let your whole attitude say, Thou art the great God. It is an act of humility, an act of truth, and everytime you kneel it will do your soul good.

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This is probably one of the greatest things we can ponder today: While the invisible God took on the visible form of Man, did Our Lord ever intend the casual, buddy-like, and lukewarm relationship so easy to fall into in these times?

When we enter the church building, we first look for the Tabernacle which houses Him. Once we enter through those doors, like heaven, we should give all of our focus to Him. No other thing or person should command our attention which should be give fully to the Lord when in His house.

Restore a sense of the sacred by just being silent, humble, still and on your knees before His Majesty. When others are talking in Church remain focused. Don't kneel to make a point. Do it out of love for Him without concern for what others are doing, not doing. Don't worry about what others may think as long as your reasons for kneeling are pure.

When the noise in Church is taking it's toll on you, don't be angry. Get on your knees and ask for God's forgiveness, for "they know not what they do". It's only by the grace of God that many of us "get it" and fall into silent prayer in Church. Recall the noise that must have been around our Lord on His way to crucifixion - the conversations, people going about their business, even jeering Him. He never lashed out at them, nor was He angry. Follow the example of Jesus and offer up these sufferings experienced in noisy parishes in reparation for these offenses, and for conversion of those who do not yet understand.

If you are a priest I can tell you that I was deeply impacted by seeing priests visibly in prayer. They weren't showing off or drawing attention to themselves. Rather, they were just praying and, in essence, served as a witness of the Lord in this capacity. Witnessing them in prayer gave me an indication of Whom I should be "visiting" when in Church.

I've often wondered if the noise in our parishes before Mass would cease if our priests came out 15 minutes prior to Mass and simply knelt in prayer without saying a word, especially if the Blessed Sacrament is central. It communicates something: This is God and we should be silent before Him. The Holy Spirit can work through a priest on his knees, especially if he offers this time for the intention of pre-Mass recollection of those in attendance. Here, a priest of Opus Angelorum was on his knees for one hour - a Holy Hour for vocations. This has been going on the first Sunday of every month at Assumption Grotto.

Holy Hour for Vocations at Assumption Grotto

If you have difficulty kneeling for any length of time and do not have physical limitations, know that kneeling each day for as long as you can, eventually conditions you for longer periods. When I first arrived at Assumption Grotto, I could barely kneel 5 minutes on a soft kneeler, let alone on hard floor. I recall breaking out into a sweat in those early days when I first experienced Eucharistic Prayer I - so often used at Assumption Grotto.

In time, and with persistence, I learned a simple lesson. Some of you will recall a movie called Forrest Gump in which the character, after which the movie is named, coins the expression "Stupid is as stupid does". It became one of many popular Gumpisms. Well,.....

Reverent is as reverent does.

Romano Guardini so eloquently captures this simple lesson. Our outward expression of reverence towards the Lord comes from that interior act of reverence. It is not necessary to "feel" reverence. This is a mistake. Feeling reverence in the heart is a pure grace from God. It's not so much what we do when God makes something feel right and good. It's what we do when he takes the "training wheels" off and we are not graced with such good feelings. Do we persist even when he does not give us such a gift? This is true of all prayer, as well as with kneeling.

Never follow feelings; follow faith and reason. Let's humble ourselves on our knees before the Lord.

More on Kneeling

Catholic Encyclopedia Online: Genuflection
Kneeling and Faith in the Eucharist by Regis Scanlon
Theology of Kneeling by Josef Cardinal Ratzinger
Knees to Love Christ by Bishop Thomas Olmstead

Sacred Signs by Romano Guardini: Hands

THE HANDS
from "Sacred Signs" by Romano Guardini, c 1956
via the EWTN online Library

EVERY part of the body is an expressive instrument of the soul. The soul does not inhabit the body as a man inhabits a house. It lives and works in each member, each fibre, and reveals itself in the body's every line, contour and movement. But the soul's chief instruments and clearest mirrors are the face and hands.

Of the face this is obviously true. But if you will watch other people (or yourself), you will notice how instantly every slightest feeling,--pleasure, surprise, suspense,--shows in the hand. A quick lifting of the hand or a flicker of the fingers say far more than words. By comparison with a language so natural and expressive the spoken word is clumsy. Next to the face, the part of the body fullest of mind is the hand. It is a hard strong tool for work, a ready weapon of attack and defence,--but also, with its delicate structure and network of innumerable nerves, it is adaptable, flexible, and highly sensitive. It is a skilful workmanlike contrivance for the soul to make herself known by. It is also an organ of receptivity for matter from outside ourselves. For when we clasp the extended hand of a stranger are we not receiving from a foreign source the confidence, pleasure, sympathy or sorrow that his hand conveys?

So it could not but be that in prayer, where the soul has so much to say to, so much to learn from, God, where she gives herself to him and receives him to herself, the hand should take on expressive forms.

When we enter into ourselves and the soul is alone with God, our hands closely interlock, finger clasped in finger, in a gesture of compression and control. It is as if we would prevent the inner current from escaping by conducting it from hand to hand and so back again to God who is within us, holding it there. It is as if we were collecting all our forces in order to keep guard over the hidden God, so that he who is mine and I who am his should be left alone together. Our hands take the same position when some dire need or pain weighs heavily on us and threatens to break out. Hand then locks in hand and the soul struggles with itself until it gets control and grows quiet again.

But when we stand in God's presence in heart-felt reverence and humility, the open hands are laid together palm against palm in sign of steadfast subjection and obedient homage, as if to say that the words we ourselves would speak are in good order, and that we are ready and attentive to hear the words of God. Or it may be a sign of inner surrender. These hands, our weapons of defence, are laid, as it were, tied and bound together between the hands of God.

In moments of jubilant thanksgiving when the soul is entirely open to God with every reserve done away with and every passage of its instrument unstopped, and it flows at the full outwards and upwards, then the hands are uplifted and spread apart with the palms up to let the river of the spirit stream out unhindered and to receive in turn the water for which it thirsts. So too when we long for God and cry out to him.

Finally when sacrifice is called for and we gather together all we are and all we have and offer ourselves to God with full consent, then we lay our arms over our breast and make with them the sign of the cross.

There is greatness and beauty in this language of the hands. The Church tells us that God has given us our hands in order that we may "carry our souls" in them. The Church is fully in earnest in the use she makes of the language of gesture. She speaks through it her inmost mind, and God gives ear to this mode of speaking.

Our hands may also indicate the goods we lack,--our unchecked impulses, our distractions, and other faults. Let us hold them as the Church directs and see to it that there is a real
correspondence between the interior and exterior attitude.

In matters such as this we are on delicate ground. We would prefer not to talk about things of this order. Something within us objects. Let us then avoid all empty and unreal talk and concentrate the more carefully on the actual doing. That is a form of speech by which the plain realities of the body say to God what its soul means and intends.

More on the book, Sacred Signs by Romano Guardini

• Introductory Blogpost

• The Sign of the Cross

Romano Guardini also teaches us something else through writings such as this: How to meditate. Notice how he took such a simple thing and continued to expand on it. Such progression can be the fruit of mental prayer, guided by the Holy Spirit.

But, it takes meditative quiet. If you've never tried mental prayer, just sit with your eyes closed, read a little Scripture and when something hits you, just pause and let it work within your soul.

Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has written on this subject. From his library of writings via The Real Presence website: All My Liberty: Chapter 10 - Vocal and Mental Prayer

Sacred Signs by Romano Guardini: The Sign of the Cross

As I stated in my introductory post on this topic, I would like to introduce you to the writings of Romano Guardini as seen in the book, Sacred Signs written in 1956. All of this is still applicable today, if not moreso. In an era of indifference, we need to stop and reflect on such things and enlighten others as to how these things can be seen as holy. Some are obvious, some are not.

I am skipping the Translator's Preface, and the book's Introduction, which you can read at the EWTN library: Sacred Signs.

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People bow their heads and cross themselves as they are blessed by Fr. Eduard Perrone following Mass on Guadete Sunday 2006

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS
from "Sacred Signs" by Romano Guardini, C 1956
via the EWTN online Library

WHEN we cross ourselves, let it be with a real sign of the cross.
Instead of a small cramped gesture that gives no notion of its
meaning, let us make a large unhurried sign, from forehead to
breast, from shoulder to shoulder, consciously feeling how it
includes the whole of us, our thoughts, our attitudes, our body
and soul, every part of us at once. how it consecrates and
sanctifies us.

It does so because it is the Sign of the universe and the sign of
our redemption. On the cross Christ redeemed mankind. By the
cross he sanctifies man to the last shred and fibre of his being.
We make the sign of the cross before we pray to collect and
compose ourselves and to fix our minds and hearts and wills upon
God. We make it when we finish praying in order that we may hold
fast the gift we have received from God. In temptations we sign
ourselves to be strengthened; in dangers, to be protected. The
cross is signed upon us in blessings in order that the fulness of
God's life may flow into the soul and fructify and sanctify us
wholly.

Think of these things when you make the sign of the cross. It is
the holiest of all signs. Make a large cross, taking time,
thinking what you do. Let it take in your whole being,--body,
soul, mind, will, thoughts, feelings, your doing and not-doing,--
and by signing it with the cross strengthen and consecrate the
whole in the strength of Christ, in the name of the triune God.

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I would like to follow-up with an additional comment on the Sign of the Cross. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) tells us:

275. A bow signifies reverence and honor shown to the persons themselves or to the signs that represent them. There are two kinds of bows: a bow of the head and a bow of the body.

1. A bow of the head is made when the three Divine Persons are named together and at the names of Jesus, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Saint in whose honor Mass is being celebrated.

This bow of the head should take place any time the three Divine Person's are named together whether in the Mass or not. Many will bow their heads at the beginning of the Gloria Patri when praying a Rosary, for example, even though this is not part of the Mass. Some are also aware enough to bow during sacred songs when the three Divine Person's are named. This was foreign to me until I came to Assumption Grotto where it is common.

I made a photo post on GIRM 275 previously if you would like to learn more.

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Sacred Signs by Romano Guardini: Introductory Blogpost
Te Deum Laudamus! Home

Sacred Signs by Romano Guardini: A Blogpost Introduction

A short time after I discovered the beauty of the liturgy as celebrated at Assumption Grotto, I was discussing it with Fr. Titus, one of several Priests of Opus Angelorum who has been in metro Detroit. With my new found interest in the liturgy, he encouraged me to read the writings of Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. In particular he directed me to Spirit of the Liturgy (Ratzinger).

However, there was another author he encouraged me to read - one, I had never heard of. His name was Romano Guardini (1885-1968). Those who have read Ratzinger's Spirit of the Liturgy may recall that his book was based on the book of the same name - Spirit of the Liturgy (Guardini). Cardinal Ratzinger noted in his introduction:

"My purpose here is to assist this renewal of understanding of the Liturgy. Its basic intentions coincide with what Guardini wanted to achieve. The only difference is that I have had to translate what Guardini did at the end of the First World War, in a totally different historical situation, into the context of our present-day questions, hopes and dangers. Like Guardini, I am not attempting to involve myself with scholarly discussion and research. I am simply offering an aid to the understanding of the faith and to the right way to give the faith its central form of expression in the Liturgy."

While some may think of Spirit of the Liturgy when they hear the name Guardini he had many writings, among which is a very short and spiritually delightful booklet called, Sacred Signs. It was originally written and copyrighted in 1956. This book is not readily available. There was one used copy at a third part seller via Amazon.com, but I just snatched it. I had checked before only to come up empty.

However, it happens to be online in many places. One such place is the EWTN library.

In the coming weeks, and in between other posts, I will be bringing to you exerpts from Sacred Signs. Hopefully, you will find it as interesting as I have.