![]() When standing at the altar, when blessing with the right hand, the left hand rests on the altar. When wearing vestments in the sanctuary, one never crosses one’s arms or one’s legs or feet, nor should the hands be placed under the dalmatic or the chasuble (Mutel and Freeman, Cérémonial de la sainte messe, 43). When seated, the open palms of the hand are placed on either knee with the fingers fully extended and joined. (It is wise, before rising, to use the right hand to free the heels from the bottom of the cassock or the alb.) ![]() Likewise, the hands remain joined when going from standing to kneeling and when rising from kneeling. The arms are not lowered when bowing profoundly. ![]() The hands are kept joined even when making the genuflection or when bowing. The forearms are raised slightly to the wrist and the hands are raised slightly. The hands are held joined before the breast, with the upper arms hanging vertically from the shoulders, and the elbows resting lightly against the torso above the hips. The hands are held this way whenever standing, walking, or kneeling during liturgical celebrations. Hands joined means that the hands are held palm open, flat against each other, with fingers joined and the right thumb resting over the left thumb (Ceremonial of Bishops, 107n80). When done devoutly in a recollected way, they deepen the experience of prayer both for the celebrant and those joining him in offering the Eucharistic sacrifice. In either case, such postures and gestures are meant to be exterior manifestations of an interior disposition of prayer during the course of the liturgy. This post addresses the different postures and gestures of the hands of the celebrant. The previous post described the manner of walking, kneeling, genuflecting, and bowing according to the traditional practice of the Roman rite (General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) 42).
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