Ave Maria Radio presents Christ is the answer with Father John Ricardo.

Knowing Jesus is the best gift that any person can receive.

That we've encountered him as the best thing that's happened in our lives.

And making him known by our word and deeds is our greatest joy.

If you're hungry for that encounter, if you're dying to know the love of God,

which alone makes sense out of life, if you're longing to know that you matter so much

and that his power can fill you with all that you need so that you can be the man or the woman that you want to be,

then join me and dig into the scriptures and the teachings of the church so that we can find the life that Jesus has made us for.

Father Ricardo concludes our Spirit of the Liturgy series.

This time he places emphasis on liturgical vestments and physical gestures.

It should be noted that this series was reported before the publication of the now-current English translation of the Roman Mass.

Here is Father John Ricardo with the fourth and final teaching based on Pope Emeritus Benedict's book, The Spirit of the Literature.

Gestures, four quick things.

Praying with your hands open, praying with your hands joined, praying while bowing and praying while striking the breast, or striking the breast while praying. Hands open isn't unique to Christians. It's the Oron's position, huh? But we find it in pretty much every religious part of the world. It means a lot of things. It's a gesture of peace. It's a gesture of nonviolence that I don't come at you to strike you. It's a gesture of seeking and of hoping,

man reaching out to the hidden God, stretching out towards him. It's also a gesture which is obviously

filled with Christological meaning, huh? This is Jesus's posture on the cross. His arms stretched out to embrace all of humanity and to bring us all to himself and through

himself to the Father.

So to pray in this way is to pray in a posture which is reminiscent of the Lord, especially

on the cross.

Hands joined.

Praying with the hands joined is a much later development.

You always used to pray with your hands out.

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