why does the priest lay down on good friday

The priest lays down, or prostrates, on Good Friday as a profound act of humility, grief, and sorrow on behalf of the entire Church. This gesture, rooted in biblical tradition, expresses the priest's deep sorrow for the crucifixion of Jesus and symbolizes dying to self to rise anew. It is also a bodily confession of human nothingness before God's greatness and signifies the priest's identification with Christ's sacrifice and suffering. Prostration is a silent, powerful prayer and witness to humility, intercession, and total surrender to God during this solemn day in the liturgy. When prostration is not possible, kneeling is permitted, but lying prostrate is preferred as it conveys the Church's profound grief for the crucifixion and the abasement of earthly man before God.