genuflection

[workingman]

I have a question about genuflecting. I was wondering if it was appropriate to genuflect appon leaving the mass. I know obviously we do it appon entering. I have not seen it done in our current parish but have in others I have visited. What are your thoughts.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I have a question about genuflecting. I was wondering if it was appropriate to genuflect appon leaving the mass. I know obviously we do it appon entering. I have not seen it done in our current parish but have in others I have visited. What are your thoughts.

Well why do we genuflect? To acknowledge Christ’s presence in the tabernacle. Is Christ present in the tabernacle as we leave Mass? Yes, usually. So it really makes no sense when people try to explain that we don’t genuflect after Mass because Christ is inside of us. With that thinking we should be genuflecting to every person who received Holy Communion.

 

[workingman]

Well why do we genuflect? To acknowledge Christ’s presence in the tabernacle. Is Christ present in the tabernacle as we leave Mass? Yes, usually. So it really makes no sense when people try to explain that we don’t genuflect after Mass because Christ is inside of us. With that thinking we should be genuflecting to every person who received Holy Communion.

Yes, Thank you. It does make sence to genuflect appon leaving. I just happened to notice that it was not practiced at all parishes and this confused me a little. Is this a matter of what some would call audiaphra ( neither commanded or condemed)? This was a term used alot in the Lutheran church that I came out of.

 

[BSHoop96]

Yes, Thank you. It does make sence to genuflect appon leaving. I just happened to notice that it was not practiced at all parishes and this confused me a little. Is this a matter of what some would call audiaphra ( neither commanded or condemed)? This was a term used alot in the Lutheran church that I came out of.

Gosh, I never thought about it. We also genuflect “coming and going”.

 

[Jimzz12]

I have a question about genuflecting. I was wondering if it was appropriate to genuflect appon leaving the mass. I know obviously we do it appon entering. I have not seen it done in our current parish but have in others I have visited. What are your thoughts.

I try to genuflect twice when coming and twice when going. I enter the church, stopping just inside the door, face the tabernacle, and with the holy water on my hand I kneel to the ground with my right knee while making a Sign of the Cross. Bowing my head, I stand as gracefully as possible, and proceed to a pew, where, facing the tabernacle, I genuflect without making a Sign of the Cross. At the end of Mass, I reverse this order when exiting the pew and facing the tabernacle and genuflect without making a Sign of the Cross. Then, just as I approach the doors exiting the church, I’ll genuflect while making the Sign of the Cross, and stand while bowing my head.

This is something, believe it or not, I picked up when learning my sword manuals in the Marine Corps. The twice genuflecting follows customary military etiquette – in that, you salute when you arrive and leave an area where there is an unaccompanied woman or commissioned officer. You should also salute when coming to and departing from their immediate presence. There’s a whole ancient and martial aspect to the customs of recognition of vertical authority. These ancient practices are not to be forgotten as they are cultural and cannot be stripped from men without doing a great deal of harm. Moreover, I strongly believe that some of these practices arose out of obedience. They are part of our body language and communicate clear, unencumbered messages.

Let others see you genuflect with reference and sincerity. I honestly believe many of faithful have no idea what they are acknowledging. Often I’ll see someone walk past a tabernacle as if nothing is important there, but then they’ll do a quick ‘woop-woop’, bowing at the midsection as their strut past the alter area.

 

[diggerdomer]

I have a question about genuflecting. I was wondering if it was appropriate to genuflect appon leaving the mass. I know obviously we do it appon entering. I have not seen it done in our current parish but have in others I have visited. What are your thoughts.

If the tabernacle with the Body of Christ is present in the main worship space, it is both customary and appropriate to genuflect upon entering and leaving.

If the tabernacle is not present, the customary/preferred gesture is a profound bow to the altar upon entering and leaving.

.

 

[Thomas63116]

The sisters who prepped me for my first communion taught us to genuflect both entering and leaving the pew, so that is what I have always done. Lately, I have noticed relatively few people genuflect when leaving. I have always thought that may have to do with the difficulty of genuflecting in the aisle while a large number of people are exiting towards you. For this reason, I now usually genuflect in the pew when exiting.

 

[tee_eff_em]

Taking a cue from the GIRM, #274 says, in part:

If, however, the tabernacle with the Most Blessed Sacrament is present in the sanctuary, the priest, the deacon, and the other ministers genuflect when they approach the altar and when they depart from it, but not during the celebration of Mass itself.

Otherwise all who pass before the Most Blessed Sacrament genuflect, unless they are moving in procession.

If it is appropriate to genuflect when you enter I would say it is likewise appropriate to do so when you take leave.

I have been taught, as a matter of practical etiquette: Though it is quite common to genuflect in the aisle before entering the pew, it can help traffic flow to genuflect *before *exiting the pew (rather than in the aisle). With the many people exiting all at once, this can be less likely to cause tripping, et cetera (not to mention that: Upon exiting into the aisle, you might likely wind up genuflecting with people walking toward you, between you and the tabernacle, which can just look weird :twocents: ).

tee

 

[Another_Mary]

I was taught to genuflect before entering the pew and upon leaving if you were doing so from the middle aisle. (This was pre Vatican II when the tabernacle was on the altar in front. The churches I attend still have the tabernacle in front.)

I think I was also taught that if you entered or left the pew from the side aisle you did not need to genuflect. But that was so long ago I may have that wrong.

 

[Thunderbird]

A good friend of mine noted that even though the Tabernacle in our church has been moved from the back of the church (where it’s supposed to be) off to the left side of the transept, people still kneel towards the Altar instead of simply bowing profoundly. Of course, most don’t kneel towards the Tabernacle or even really acknowledge it when they walk by…

We figure it’s because most of them were simply taught to genuflect towards the back (front?) of the church without saying what they’re genuflecting to… so when they moved the Tabernacle back in the late 90s, they figured nothing changed.

Anyway, when entering the church I skim my finger in the holy water, cross myself, proceed further in, kneel towards the Tabernacle, rise and move on, bow towards the altar and finally settle into my seat (I sit waaay in the front row ) and all in reverse on my way out. Unless I’m doing something in the mass like reading or serving.

 

[maize]

i try to but i have to do it fast so that im not stampeded as everyone pushes their way out the door.

12pm mass on sunday is like 5am at wal-mart on black friday.

 

[maryjk]

On the way in and on the way out.


Now, I have to admit, sometimes I have to genuflect on the way out, in the pew so no one runs me over.

 

[melinda_s]

i genuflect on the way in and out after getting my kids to though on the way out can be a bit difficult at times

 

[brigid12]

Both in and out.

 

[workingman]

I have got to do a little observing write or wrong. People watching after Mass on exiting. I noticed a fair amount of genuflection before exiting the pew.

 

[Tsuwano]

I have always genuflected upon entering and leaving a Church because the holy eucharist is usually present in the tabernacle. In parts of Louisiana I have seen people genuflect or cross themselves in the street when they are walking past a Church. Here in Japan the custom is to bow deeply when entering or leaving a Church.