Kneelers

[JOL]

What do you think of a Church without Kneelers? Is it a big deal?

I was away from the Church for almost 11 years. During that 11 years, I had at random thought about returning to the Church. One one of my attempts to return to the Church I went to a Parish that had chairs instead of pews and no kneelers. No one kneeled during the consecration either, it was just sitting.

My mother was also away from the church, but for about 12 years. She went back at the same time I did and was even going to daily Mass for almost the entire past year. At her parish they are trying to saved on electricity costs, so they are having Mass in the basement of the church daily with folding chairs and no kneelers. She now doesn’t want to go to daily Mass because she said it isn’t right if they aren’t kneeling during consecration. I told her maybe she can buy a small pillow to take with her so she can kneel. She won’t do that though because she hates to do anything that would draw attention to herself.

What are your thoughts? Is it a big deal or doesn’t it matter?

 

[DebChris]

I go to Mass once a week in the back room of a Franciscan book store. Of course there are no kneelers. As a member of the Armed Forces, both as a dependent and later as a member of the Army Reserves, I have attended field Masses. The action taking place on the altar and participation in the celebration of the Eucharist is more important than rather or not a church has kneelers.
That being said, the situations that I mentioned are makeshift situations. A parish may be celebrating the Mass in a gymnasium, theater, or other place of assembly while the parish church is being rebuilt or remodeled. That is the current situation for a local parish replacing its overcrowded church with a new larger one.
I do understand the desire for kneelers. While I may or not kneel on the floor, as was the case during the Diocesan Eucharistic Conference, kneelers are an element of design that sets apart the Catholic Church from churches of other denominations (not to say that you will not find kneelers in some non-Catholic churches). In fact the bishop of my diocese has recently ordered kneelers installed in a different local church which was built in the round and without kneelers.
While nice to have, kneelers are not the most important thing for me when it comes to Mass and the design of a church. Many people, because of knee problems and other health reasons simply cannot kneel.

 

[RyanML]

What do you think of a Church without Kneelers? Is it a big deal?

I was away from the Church for almost 11 years. During that 11 years, I had at random thought about returning to the Church. One one of my attempts to return to the Church I went to a Parish that had chairs instead of pews and no kneelers. No one kneeled during the consecration either, it was just sitting.

My mother was also away from the church, but for about 12 years. She went back at the same time I did and was even going to daily Mass for almost the entire past year. At her parish they are trying to saved on electricity costs, so they are having Mass in the basement of the church daily with folding chairs and no kneelers. She now doesn’t want to go to daily Mass because she said it isn’t right if they aren’t kneeling during consecration. I told her maybe she can buy a small pillow to take with her so she can kneel. She won’t do that though because she hates to do anything that would draw attention to herself.

What are your thoughts? Is it a big deal or doesn’t it matter?

I’ve experienced this problem more than a few times and I always just sat in the back and knelt on the floor.

 

[buffalo]

Kneelers are a convenience and not necessary for one to kneel. But it does suggest something to be concerned about. Kneel anyway.

 

[JOL]

That is what I told my mom, “kneel anyway”. Her problem is she is so shy and hates to have attention drawn to herself, I think kneeling would then become a destraction to her. So, instead she doesn’t go to daily Mass anymore, which is even more troubling…I have no clue what to advise her.

 

[buffalo]

That is what I told my mom, “kneel anyway”. Her problem is she is so shy and hates to have attention drawn to herself, I think kneeling would then become a destraction to her. So, instead she doesn’t go to daily Mass anymore, which is even more troubling…I have no clue what to advise her.

Indeed it is a problem. Sometimes God needs us to be strong.

 

[Marsha_Adams]

That is what I told my mom, “kneel anyway”. Her problem is she is so shy and hates to have attention drawn to herself, I think kneeling would then become a destraction to her. So, instead she doesn’t go to daily Mass anymore, which is even more troubling…I have no clue what to advise her.

From what you said, may I assume that this is a temporary situation for the parish, i.e. Mass in the basement to save electricity? Also, apart from the kneeling situation is the parish orthodox?

If the answer to both questions is yes, then I would urge your mother to discuss it with the pastor in confession. Let him know that it causes scandal to her heart for the congregation to not kneel during the Eucharistic prayer. See what he says.

If the answer to either question is no, then she may want to look for a different parish.

 

[JOL]

From what you said, may I assume that this is a temporary situation for the parish, i.e. Mass in the basement to save electricity? Also, apart from the kneeling situation is the parish orthodox?

If the answer to both questions is yes, then I would urge your mother to discuss it with the pastor in confession. Let him know that it causes scandal to her heart for the congregation to not kneel during the Eucharistic prayer. See what he says.

If the answer to either question is no, then she may want to look for a different parish.

If by orthodox you mean faithful to the Holy Father, yes. It is temporary in that they do this only for daily Mass and they do it in the during the times of the year that they either have to put the A/C on or heat, that way they don’t have to either heat the whole church or cool the whole church.

She cannot go to a different Parish, at least one relatively close to her. With the shortage of Priests, they had to close several of the Parishes up there and hers is the one that was elected to stay open to accomodate the closures.

 

[RyanML]

My advise would be to sit behind everyone else, in the back, that way no one would notice. If she doesn’t want to do that and she simply can not kneel while everyone else is standing then I would suggest she make a profound bow and adore the Lord in her heart. It’s better to receive the graces of daily Mass, when we can, than to stop going all together.

 

[jorgeraul3]

No kneelers seems like a petty reason to stop going to mass…

I’ve seen people walk half a mile in 8 inches of mud to sit on a dirt floor in a makeshift chapel to celebrate mass. It seems silly not to go because there is no kneelers. Maybe she just doesn’t feel like going and the whole kneeler thing is an excuse.

Maybe I’m wrong and just a little jealous wishing I could go to daily mass, but I can’t because of work.

 

[Lipari91]

I would agree with previous posters in that maybe your mom can speak with her priest about her concerns, or maybe attend another parish until kneelers are back in her church. We are all creatures of habit. When one is accustomed to growing up with kneelers, or is just used to having them, one tends to take them for granted. Then, when they disappear, it’s a huge change. I have never been to a Mass where they were not present, until we moved back to bush Alaska. Now I attend services in a community church that only has chairs. No pews, no kneelers, no altar. We don’t even have a priest! These things caused me grief in the beginning, but now I am grateful for whatever I can get that allows me to fellowship with other Catholics. I do prefer to have kneelers, but realize my situation is only (hopefully!) temporary. I hope your mother gets her kneelers soon!

 

[buffalo]

I would agree with previous posters in that maybe your mom can speak with her priest about her concerns, or maybe attend another parish until kneelers are back in her church. We are all creatures of habit. When one is accustomed to growing up with kneelers, or is just used to having them, one tends to take them for granted. Then, when they disappear, it’s a huge change. I have never been to a Mass where they were not present, until we moved back to bush Alaska. Now I attend services in a community church that only has chairs. No pews, no kneelers, no altar. We don’t even have a priest! These things caused me grief in the beginning, but now I am grateful for whatever I can get that allows me to fellowship with other Catholics. I do prefer to have kneelers, but realize my situation is only (hopefully!) temporary. I hope your mother gets her kneelers soon!

But the norm according to the GIRM is there are times that kneeling is the posture we should take.

 

[DebChris]

That is what I told my mom, “kneel anyway”. Her problem is she is so shy and hates to have attention drawn to herself, I think kneeling would then become a destraction to her. So, instead she doesn’t go to daily Mass anymore, which is even more troubling…I have no clue what to advise her.

Daily Mass is not an obligation, although it something many of us like to do when possible.
Sitting or kneeling is less important than the disposition of a person’s heart. I understand her not wanting to be the only person kneeling. I mentioned the weekday Mass held in a local bookstore. The chairs are close together. There is not enough room even for a person who may want to kneel. People leave work during their lunchtime for this Mass with standing room only. God knows her desire. That is more important than the actual action or what she sees anybody else doing.

 

[Mel_Stones]

Our relationship with God must come before all others. So if your mother’s concern about whether or not to kneel is dependent on what others think, her priorities are wrong. If she is concerned whether God will validate a mass where the people do not kneel, she’s on the right track.

She should definitely talk to her priest about this.

At my parish, everyone sits down when communion is over whether the Host has been properly put away or not. Everyone that is except my dad and I and perhaps some others. My focus is on the Host not those around me. I sit when the Host has been properly taken care of. I usually don’t notice everyone else has sat until I finally sit. I follow the rubric and don’t care what others think.

 

[Linuse]

Don’t forget–kneelers do not come from the Catholics. Rather they come from the puritans and quakers here in North America. (That’s also where pews in church started.) Early churches had neither. Even St. Peter’s in the main apse of the church has no kneelers. (There are kneelers in some of the side chapels and the area behind the main altar. These face a sub altar, not the main one.)

 

[Soler]

Very slightly off-topic:
Does anyone know if kneeling during the consecration is optional in France? I go there often, and nearly all churches there have wood-and-wicker chairs and no kneelers. From what I’ve seen, most people stand for the consecration.

—Soler.