Questo articolo è disponibile anche in:
Italian 
English 
Spanish 
Portuguese
Question
Dear Father Angelo,
I have a question to which I cannot seem to find a direct answer to. I have been looking both on the Internet and in the list of questions that are grouped here on the site, but could not find a satisfactory answer.
My question is: when I am at home, I like to pray standing in front of the crucifix and bending my knees. The problem is that I do not want other family members to look at me while I am praying in such a way, as I feel a little bit ashamed about it.
When I hear someone approaching while I am praying, I stand back up again, even though they might not come exactly in my direction at the end.
The Lord knows that I do not want to be seen, but I stand up anyway. Am I not putting my trust in Him? Am I committing a grave sin by doing so?
How can I behave in the future?
Thank you very much in advance.
The priest’s answer
Dear friend,
1. The answer is: no, your reaction of standing up as soon as you hear footsteps approaching is not a sin.
Modesty can be a virtue even when praying.
2. Modesty is commonly defined as fearing acting in a vile way.
In this situation we are surely not talking about something vile.
But you are afraid of not being perceived correctly and of being thought of as a deranged individual.
3. This fear is justified, as other people cannot know what is going through your heart. You fear that a beautiful act, such as kneeling before the crucifix, will be perceived as something mentally abnormal.
4. Such a fear does not come to you when you are kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament in a Church or even before the altar where the crucifix is venerated.
You do not fear in those situations because it is common to see people kneeling and bending the knees in Church, it is the most normal thing.
But somewhere else, such as in a classroom or even in your home, it would be something that comes off as peculiar.
5. Therefore, it is right and sometimes even appropriate to conceal some of our acts of devotion. They would not be perceived correctly.
Moreover, instead of being edifying, they would risk causing the opposite effect.
6. What can you do then?
If you have the chance, you could lock the door with a key.
That way no one would take you by surprise when praying.
If you are asked why you lock the door, you can say that you need a moment of privacy or that there are times when you do not want to be disturbed in any way and want to be alone with yourself.
Hoping that your devotion will grow more and more, I will keep you in my prayers and I give you my blessing.
Father Angelo