(RNS) — If you’re one of 60% of Catholics who go to church rarely — or maybe never — but find yourself at Christmas Mass this year for family reasons or simply as an excuse to dress up and hear carols, rest assured that the familiar Nativity scene, Advent wreath with candles ablaze and priests in snow-white vestments will all be there, just as you remember them.
But if it’s been a while since you’ve occupied a pew, stay alert, as some of what’s happening in the pews may be unexpected.
Some Catholics have adopted a posture known as the Orans while saying the Our Father, raising their hands like the priest at the altar. A half-century after the U.S. bishops allowed Catholics to receive the Eucharist from the priest in their hand, some parishes have reinstalled Communion rails so the congregants can kneel together and take Communion directly on the tongue. You might also see your neighbor briefly bowing at every mention of Jesus’ name.
“I would say it’s right to be a little confused,” said the Rev. Boniface Endorf, pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in New York’s Greenwich Village, “because we live in confusing times in the church.”
The worship habits reflect ongoing debates in the church about tradition and what expressions constitute proper reverence in religious precincts, from new customs or regre …