Is it wrong to kneel throughout the entire mass?

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WesleyF

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Sometimes, I feel like kneeling throughout the entire mass (i.e, when people usually stand). Is it wrong to do this?
 
WesleyF said:
Sometimes, I feel like kneeling throughout the entire mass (i.e, when people usually stand). Is it wrong to do this?
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It is a very pious and commendable attitude to take.

However

The Mass is the public prayer of the Church. As such, if you are going to be a part of that public prayer, you need to use the postures that the Church tells you to use, as defined in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.
95. In the celebration of Mass the faithful form a holy people, a people whom God has made his own, a royal priesthood, so that they may give thanks to God and offer the spotless Victim not only through the hands of the priest but also together with him, and so that they may learn to offer themselves.[83] They should, moreover, endeavor to make this clear by their deep religious sense and their charity toward brothers and sisters who participate with them in the same celebration.
Thus, they are to shun any appearance of individualism or division, keeping before their eyes that they have only one Father in heaven and accordingly are all brothers and sisters to each other.
Think about it this way: if it’s OK for you to kneel throughout the entire Mass, then it would be OK for somebody to sit throughout the entire Mass. For that matter, it should be OK for somebody to give the responses that they feel like giving when they feel like giving them (how about somebody shouting out the Our Father during the middle of the homily?)
 
If you are going to private adoration of the Blessed Sacrament you may kneel the whole time you are there if you wish.

To do so at Mass is separating yourself from the congregation, and without meaning to you would be drawing attention to yourself.

That is one good reason that the Church has rubrics for the public Liturgy of the Church, and we need to obey them.
 
ProVobis said:
Actually at an Low EF Mass you rise for the gospel and Creed, sit for the Offertory, and kneel for the rest of the Mass.
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This is customary, however in the EF there is very little direction for the laity - they are barely mentioned in the rubrics. So there is some legitimate variation in the posture of the laity in the EF. At the local FSSP community, people tend to sit for the Epistle and Gradual at Low Mass.

In the Ordinary Form, however, there are clear rubrics for posture for the laity and they should be followed. I’d love to kneel for the Penitential Rite, but it’s not permitted by the rubrics.
 
WesleyF said:
Sometimes, I feel like kneeling throughout the entire mass (i.e, when people usually stand). Is it wrong to do this?
Click to expand...
You should follow the norms of the Mass as approved for your region/diocese. There is nothing inherently wrong with kneeling throughout the entire Mass, but as it’s your personal preference different from the norms of the Church the legitimate question that could be raised is why you think your preference is so important?
 
I usually sit on the last few benches to avoid distracting as many people as possible. Somehow I have observed that a kneeling posture enables me to pray better. However, I think out of obedience to church teaching, I shall have to stand (rather than kneel) whenever I am supposed to.
 
I agree with MarkOMalley in post #2 – it is a very pious attitude to have, but the Mass just isn’t the time for every individual to adopt the postures and actions that he or she thinks is the most reverent and conducive to prayer. The Missal contains the instructions for what we are supposed to do, a person oughtn’t elect to disregard the rubrics on posture to kneel for the whole Mass any more than he should decide to answer “The word of the Lord” with “Blessed forever be God in the Highest, and all thanks to the Almighty for the eternal Word.” We’re just not asked to make up ourselves.
 
As previous posters have pointed out, Mass is the public worship of the Church. It is not a private act. Thus we should follow what is set down by the Church. Afterall if you choose to kneel throught he whole Mass, what’s to stop someone (health/physical issues aside) from sitting or standing through the whole Mass?
 
I agree. I would not kneel the whole Mass, for reasons mentioned above.
 
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