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By Mikaela Pannell
When reflecting on the concept of reverence, I initially thought the term was fairly simple. I knew it meant respect, but I didn’t necessarily think it went much further than that. Show your respect.
Actually, though, it more specifically includes another element: awe. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, reverence is defined as: “honor or respect felt or shown; especially: profound adoring awed respect.” There is the key: respect is magnified by the sense of adoration and awe.
I’ve been a lector at Mass for over a decade, and the priest who originally trained me stressed the need for reverence when taking on the role of a lector. After all, it is the actual Word of God being proclaimed, shortly before our Lord becomes truly present to us in the Eucharist. The Mass is an incredibly awe-inspiring activity that we get to partake in as Catholics. The way lectors conduct themselves should reflect the reality of being in the presence of God—our God, who is all deserving of adoration, awe and respect.
While of course reverence is important for those who have an obvious part in Mass (priests, lectors, servers, ushers, EMHCs, etc.), all of the people in the pews should be showing reverence as well. It can be really easy to go through the motions without really thinking about why we’re doing them. Genuflecting, kneeling, sitting, standing, the sign of the cross—we get so used to the repetition of the movements that we forget what we are there to witness: our actual Lord coming down to us! All of the saints and angels present around us! It is truly awe inspiring when you think about it.
I once heard an analogy of behavior/etiquette for Mass, as compared to how you’d act if you were going to meet the queen of England. Certainly there are ways you’d act in front of the royal court, aren’t there? And you wouldn’t just wear any old outfit, would you? And when you approach them face to face, it wouldn’t be some casual affair, right? Of course not. There are curtsies and bows, fancy clothes and respectful behavior. We ought to have that approach when it comes to going to Mass. If we’d be on our best behavior and in our nicest clothes for the queen of England, shouldn’t we go further than that for the King of Kings?
There is no king other than our King who allows his people to be so close to him that we literally consume him. He lets us approach the altar, lets us approach him. He lets us, the people who got him nailed to the cross, come up to him. That reality is truly awe-inspiring.
Out of all the things in the world, there really aren’t that many deserving of reverence. Respect, yes. Awe, sure. But to be worthy of respect that is profoundly awesome, now that is something really special. And as Catholics, we have the privilege of encountering someone all-deserving of our reverence every time we go to Mass.
