Why Do Catholics Kiss Everything?

Have you ever wondered why Catholics kiss so many things? When vesting for Holy Mass, Priests kiss each vestment before putting it on. A priest makes many reverences of this kind to the altar and they kiss the Gospel after reading from it during Mass. This kissing is done to show reverence to the object being kissed, similar to genuflecting before the tabernacle. 

Kissing something is an expression of the fact that what is being kissed is holy. The sacred vestments are holy because they are worn by priests and deacons when they are celebrating and serving at Mass; the altar is holy because the sacrifice of the Eucharist takes place on the altar; and the Gospel is holy because it is the word of God.

It used to be common practice for lay Catholics to kiss a priest’s hands when greeting him or saying farewell. You may not be aware of this practice as it has sadly fallen out of use in modern times in the West, but it was the long-standing custom as it showed reverence to the hands which hold God.

Other contexts existed within the Mass when it was/is customary for altar servers to kiss a priest’s hands, including: handing the water & wine cruets to him, handing him the thurifer with incense, and handing over and receiving the priest’s biretta at the beginning and end of Mass. The lay faithful would also make these reverences when receiving any sacramentals in the church. For example whenever palms were to be distributed on Palm Sunday, Catholics would kneel in a line and the priest would come one by one to give people the palm leaves; when this happened each of the faithful would kiss the priests hand and then kiss the palm leaf. The same thing took place on the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary on February 2. Even more striking is that when a Bishop were to celebrate Mass each person receiving communion would kiss the bishop’s ring before the bishop would distribute communion. This kissing of the priest’s hands is an ancient and beautiful sign of respect, reverence, affection, veneration, and humility.

Another beautiful Catholic practice of priestly reverence is the slight bowing of the head when the sacred ministers (a Bishop, Priest, and/or Deacon) pass by in the procession to the altar. It’s difficult to notice these little things, even if one attends Mass frequently throughout the week, but when I discovered these ancient signs of reverence, I learned yet another way in which the Catholic faith is so rich and beautiful.

Catholics do all of this to show reverence to holy things; just as the altar is holy because Our Lord is on the altar during Mass and Adoration,  the priest’s hands are holy because they are singularly consecrated to handle the body of Our Lord in the Eucharist. As the ones who are set apart to literally touch the creator of heaven and earth, Catholics saw it fitting to show them reverence and respect. 

If any faithful Catholic wants to learn more about their faith and these beautiful signs of reverence and piety, I would recommend trying to find a traditional Mass near their home. There is so much richness in our faith, and all we have to do is look. Showing reverence to holy people and things is something laudable, and we should try to rediscover and appreciate these beautiful ancient practices.