Kneeling After Agnus Dei

[Anthony1249]

Hello,

Is it okay to kneel after agnus dei in a diocese that stands? I would like to be unified with other parishioners, but I also like to kneel after agnus dei. I would like to hear different people’s opinions.

Thank you,
Anthony

 

[ServusHumilis]

Ordinary Form or Extraordinary Form?

In the EF, if it’s a Missa Cantata we’re supposed to stand from the Pater Noster to the Pax Domine, which means kneeling during the Agnus Dei straight to Holy Communion. The only ones standing would be the priest and choir. In a Low Mass it’s kneeling the whole way through.

OF I’m not that sure off hand. I either stand and kneel with everyone else or just kneel through the whole Canon of the Mass.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

“Diocese that stands” probably indicates OF. To my knowledge, kneeling is standard in the EF even in dioceses that stand.

I live in an archdiocese that stands, yet I kneel throughout the Eucharistic prayer and again after the Agnus Dei. In my parish only two of us do this systematically. Chapter II, section II, item 43 of the French GIRM says:…] Là où il est de coutume que le peuple demeure à genoux depuis la fin du Sanctus jusqu’à la fin de la Prière eucharistique, et avant la communion quand le prêtre dit Ecce Agnus Dei (Voici l’Agneau de Dieu), il sera bon de conserver cette coutume. …]
“Where it is the custom for the people to kneel from the end of the *Sanctus *to the end of the Eucharistic prayer, and before Communion when the priest says Ecce Agnus Dei (Behold the Lamb of God), it would be good to preserve this custom.”

The key phrase is “where it is the custom.” I do not know whether it is the custom to do this in this archdiocese, but no one has tried to stop me or the other guy who kneels. YMMV.

Unity does not mean we’re all doing exactly the same thing. If it did, we’d probably all be sitting because there are people who can neither stand nor kneel.

 

[Phemie]

Hello,

Is it okay to kneel after agnus dei in a diocese that stands? I would like to be unified with other parishioners, but I also like to kneel after agnus dei. I would like to hear different people’s opinions.

Thank you,
Anthony

Per the universal GIRM, the default posture after the Agnus Dei is standing but parishes are given permission to keep kneeling at that time if it has been customary to do so in that parish.

However, each conference of bishops is free to adapt posture. If you are in the US, one of the adaptions in the GIRM is the posture during the Eucharistic Prayer and after the Agnus Dei. The default posture after the Agnus Dei in the US is kneeling UNLESS the diocesan bishop has decreed standing. If your bishop has decreed standing at that time, you are in disobedience if you opt to kneel because you think it’s better.

 

[Bonnie]

If your bishop has decreed standing at that time, you are in disobedience if you opt to kneel because you think it’s better.

Agreed. While I would rather kneel, we were instructed to stand a couple bishops ago. That order has not been changed. However, there is one parish where everyone kneels - it’s been a long-standing (kneeling? ) custom.

 

[Sarcelle]

“Diocese that stands” probably indicates OF. To my knowledge, kneeling is standard in the EF even in dioceses that stand.

I live in an archdiocese that stands, yet I kneel throughout the Eucharistic prayer and again after the Agnus Dei. In my parish only two of us do this systematically. Chapter II, section II, item 43 of the French GIRM says:…] Là où il est de coutume que le peuple demeure à genoux depuis la fin du Sanctus jusqu’à la fin de la Prière eucharistique, et avant la communion quand le prêtre dit Ecce Agnus Dei (Voici l’Agneau de Dieu), il sera bon de conserver cette coutume. …]
“Where it is the custom for the people to kneel from the end of the *Sanctus *to the end of the Eucharistic prayer, and before Communion when the priest says Ecce Agnus Dei (Behold the Lamb of God), it would be good to preserve this custom.”

The key phrase is “where it is the custom.” I do not know whether it is the custom to do this in this archdiocese, but no one has tried to stop me or the other guy who kneels. YMMV.

Unity does not mean we’re all doing exactly the same thing. If it did, we’d probably all be sitting because there are people who can neither stand nor kneel.

I disagree. I have attended masses where one kneels right after the Agnus Dei and attended other masses where one does not. In the vast majority of OF masses I have attended the people kneel after the Agnus Dei.

 

[kozlosap]

We have always been on our knees after the Angus Dei. The only time I ever attended mass where we didn’t kneel was at the Cathedral in London. Of course, there, they also have chairs instead of pews!

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

The Mass is corporate worship, not individual prayer. The idea is for everyone to adopt the same posture. It would be inappropriate for someone to decide to stand when everyone else is kneeling, or to kneel when others are sitting. There may be options at some points, but this is a place where the GIRM and the bishop make the decision, not individuals. Unless, of course, their point is to stand out rather then to be a part of the body.

 

[Phemie]

It’s interesting to note that per the Latin (universal) GIRM the posture after the Agnus Dei has been standing since 1975. In fact, since 1975 the universal GIRM has only had kneeling at the Consecration.

 

[ProVobis]

It’s interesting to note that per the Latin (universal) GIRM the posture after the Agnus Dei has been standing since 1975. In fact, since 1975 the universal GIRM has only had kneeling at the Consecration.

IGMR seems to agree with you.

1. Fideles stent ab initio cantus ad introitum, vel dum sacerdos accedit ad
   altare, usque ad collectam inclusive; ad cantum Allelúia ante Evangelium; dum
   ipsum Evangelium proclamatur; dum professio fidei et oratio universalis fiunt;
   necnon ab invitatione Oráte fratres ante orationem super oblata usque ad finem
   Missæ, præter ea quæ infra dicuntur.…

Father Z notes further.

catholicsensibility.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/girm-43-standing-sitting-kneeling/

 

[zab]

Hello,

Is it okay to kneel after agnus dei in a diocese that stands? I would like to be unified with other parishioners, but I also like to kneel after agnus dei. I would like to hear different people’s opinions.

Thank you,
Anthony

It is not a matter of opinion. It is a matter of Archdiocesan policy. If the local ordinary has determined that the posture after the Agnus Dei is to remain standing, then there is no option and it is not ok to kneel regardless of one’s devotion and good intentions.