Is kneeling for communion a right?

[robertmidwest]

This question is inspired by a previous question about kneeling during Confession. Does someone have a right to kneel to receive Communion? Our parish does not have a communion rail. Parishioners form single file lines to either the priest or EMs. We have one family that insists (they have instructed their children) to kneel on the ground and recieve communion on the tongue when their turn comes up. Seems to that they are only succeeding in making a spectacle of themselves.

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Redemptionis Sacramentum:

1. …Therefore, it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ’s faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing.

General Instruction of the Roman Missal:

1. …The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel…

While the norm for receiving communion in the USA is standing, the Church has made clear that no one is to be denied communion if they choose to kneel.

While we should always be sure that our motives are pure (and not to draw attention to ourselves) we should also be sure not to presume the motives of others. The tradition of kneeling for communion is an ancient one and one that is still practiced with great devotion throughout the Catholic world even today.

Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff:

A celebrated saying of Saint Augustine teaches: “No one eats that flesh without first adoring it; we should sin were we not to adore it." Kneeling indicates and promotes the adoration necessary before receiving the Eucharistic Christ…

…From this perspective, the then-Cardinal Ratzinger assured that: “Communion only reaches its true depth when it is supported and surrounded by adoration.” For this reason, Cardinal Ratzinger maintained that “the practice of kneeling for Holy Communion has in its favor a centuries-old tradition, and it is a particularly expressive sign of adoration, completely appropriate in light of the true, real and substantial presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ under the consecrated species."