Body Movement in the Liturgy as Nonverbal Communication

Abstract

The Christian man is homo viator, a pilgrim on the road. In the liturgy, we can meet the One who is the goal of our pilgrimage, already here on earth. The Church facilitates this encounter and communication between God and man in the liturgy by means of various non-verbal elements – elements that address the human body and its sense organs and that set man in motion. The person addressed sets out on a path, a pilgrimage towards the heavenly Jerusalem with the help of grace. In our study, we focus on three of the bodily movements in the liturgy, namely those observed in the offertory, the elevation and the Communion rites. In each of these ritual parts, we explore the inviting, pathbreaking power of the non-verbal elements.