Genuflecting. When?

[graceandglory]

I think I’ve been doing something wrong my whole life.


I have always genuflected upon entering and exiting my pew at the beginning and the end of Mass.

Are we just supposed to do it when entering???

 

[promethius]

You’re supposed to do both. Traditionally you genuflected at your closest point to the altar on your approach. If you were walking in from the side, then, and up the center aisle, you would genuflect right at the front and not again at your pew (I actually went to a church where the easiest entrance from the parking lot made this necessary).

HOWEVER, one should note that you do NOT genuflect to an empty altar. If the tabernacle is clearly empty (such as on Good Friday) you make only a bow. Some modern churches have moved the tabernacle to a side chapel as well, so you would only bow in that case as well.

 

[passus]

Genuflection prior to entering or leaving your pew serves as an acknowledgment of the Blessed Sacrament’s presence. In this context, genuflection is a personal devotion and with that in mind, the personal devotions you make before Mass begins and after Mass ends are entirely your business.

 

[palmas85]

I think I’ve been doing something wrong my whole life.


I have always genuflected upon entering and exiting my pew at the beginning and the end of Mass.

Are we just supposed to do it when entering???

If the Tabernacle is in the Sanctuary you do it upon entering and exiting. Whenever you pass in front of the Tabernacle you are to genuflect.

Except of course when it is empty.

 

[LilyM]

I think there are far worse things than genuflecting to an empty tabernacle. After all - I’m sure people didn’t stop paying utmost respect to Our Lady after Jesus was no longer within her womb, don’t you think?

 

[graceandglory]

You’re supposed to do both. Traditionally you genuflected at your closest point to the altar on your approach. If you were walking in from the side, then, and up the center aisle, you would genuflect right at the front and not again at your pew (I actually went to a church where the easiest entrance from the parking lot made this necessary).

HOWEVER, one should note that you do NOT genuflect to an empty altar. If the tabernacle is clearly empty (such as on Good Friday) you make only a bow. Some modern churches have moved the tabernacle to a side chapel as well, so you would only bow in that case as well.

I recently attended a different parish while on vacation, my kids and I couldn’t find the tabernacle anywhere, so didn’t know which way to “aim” our knees. We genuflected anyway.

 

[graceandglory]

If the Tabernacle is in the Sanctuary you do it upon entering and exiting. Whenever you pass in front of the Tabernacle you are to genuflect.

Except of course when it is empty.

What if you’re exiting not into the center aisle, but into a side aisle?
Still “supposed to” genuflect?

I’ve just started to take notice that I’m the only one genuflecting upon exiting. Last week I got some “looks” so I thought I’d check here to see if I’m doing something unnecessary.

 

[palmas85]

I think there are far worse things than genuflecting to an empty tabernacle. After all - I’m sure people didn’t stop paying utmost respect to Our Lady after Jesus was no longer within her womb, don’t you think?

More than just a slight difference in the two Lilly.

Speaking of empty Tabernacles, how is the situation with St Marys down in Brisbane these days?. Last I heard the Archbishop booted the Priest out of the Parish but he refused to leave.

Just wondering whats going on.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I think I’ve been doing something wrong my whole life.


I have always genuflected upon entering and exiting my pew at the beginning and the end of Mass.

Are we just supposed to do it when entering???

When entering, exiting the pew and crossing infront of the tabernacle outside of Mass.

 

[promethius]

I recently attended a different parish while on vacation, my kids and I couldn’t find the tabernacle anywhere, so didn’t know which way to “aim” our knees. We genuflected anyway.

That’s fair, but I wouldn’t do it. Genuflecting to the tabernacle is our bending our knees for Christ. It is a supremely respectful posture. That’s why we DON’T genuflect to an empty tabernacle or altar… we reserve the symbol of our profound reverence for Christ only.

If you can’t find the tabernacle, it may have been put off in a side chapel. In such a case, a bow is generally sufficient.

 

[graceandglory]

That’s fair, but I wouldn’t do it. Genuflecting to the tabernacle is our bending our knees for Christ. It is a supremely respectful posture. That’s why we DON’T genuflect to an empty tabernacle or altar… we reserve the symbol of our profound reverence for Christ only.

If you can’t find the tabernacle, it may have been put off in a side chapel. In such a case, a bow is generally sufficient.

Ironically, even though there were kneeler benches, nobody knelt at any point of the Mass, before during or after. People stood from the Sanctus to the Agnus Dei, and sat after Communion.

As for genuflecting at that parish, we were partly down before we realized there was no tabernacle.

 

[promethius]

Ironically, even though there were kneeler benches, nobody knelt at any point of the Mass, before during or after. People stood from the Sanctus to the Agnus Dei, and sat after Communion.

As for genuflecting at that parish, we were partly down before we realized there was no tabernacle.

I’ve been in that same situation. At my Catholic university, students were instructed that in order to show “unity” we were not supposed to kneel at any point (they didn’t even have kneelers on a hardwood floor!). We were told this was an instruction by the bishop.

I’m a rebel, though. I looked up the documentation that I could find, and everything I saw stated that:

1. kneeling was mandatory in certain parts of mass
2. after communion, one is to take a meditative posture, with kneeling suggested specifically
3. the bishop can give a dispensation FROM kneeling in cases of hardship
4. no local authority can enforce a “no kneeling” standard. In fact, no one but the vatican can. The standards for the mass can be relaxed by way of exceptions, but parishoners are ALWAYS allowed to default to the standard

Armed with that knowledge, I continued to kneel at all appropriate times. Only once did a priest speak to me about it and I promptly informed him that I was within right to kneel and could not be persuaded otherwise. When it came to kneeling before the real presence of my God, no one could convince me that such a posture was inappropriate.

Further, I informed the priest that the EUCHARIST is our unity, our ONLY unity. Nothing we can do as fallen human beings can supplant the spirit of Communion in uniting the church. I told him I dismiss the idea that we should “show unity” by being forced to accept a posture which is only halfway respectful towards our Lord.

He actually told me he could see where I was coming from, the chapel announced at the next mass that people were allowed to kneel if they so chose (they still didn’t provide kneelers though…). I was rather pleased with myself and the few other students who had refused to listen to what we knew to be a bad instruction. I wouldn’t say any LESS people kneeled during the time that it was “forbidden”, nor that MORE people kneeled after they announced it was allowed again, but the core of people kneeling was persistant through the whole thing. That’s enough for me