Once we have completed the Opening Rites of Mass, we sit for the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word, which may lead us to ask, “Why do we do all this standing, sitting and kneeling during the Mass?” The various postures at Mass are all very meaningful. Sitting is a posture of receiving. We sit to watch a movie or a sporting event. We sit in class to absorb a teacher’s lecture. And so we sit to listen or receive God’s Word. Standing, on the other hand is a posture of active participation as well as to honor someone important. We stand when we are actively involved in doing a project, when our favorite sports team scores, or to welcome someone into our home or office. We stand when we wish to honor someone important such as when a teacher or other adult enters a classroom, a judge enters a courtroom, or the president enters the House chamber for the State of the Union address, or to honor our nation when we pledge allegiance to the flag or sing the national anthem. Whenever we stand at Mass, it is for one of these two purposes: we are either actively participating in the prayers (e.g., Opening Prayer, Creed or General Intercessions), or we are giving honor to someone important as we do when we stand for the proclamation of the Gospel. Because the Gospel shares with us the words and actions of the Lord, we stand for this reading in order to show our honor and respect to Christ who is present to us through this proclamation of His word. The third posture we use at Mass, kneeling, is generally a posture of either penitence, to receive a blessing or as is the case during the Eucharistic Prayer, a posture of reverence and adoration for the Lord present in the Eucharist.