Kneeling after receiving Communion

[TheMc]

None of the posts above so far mention that Communion is something “WE” do, not something “I” do. That is why a common posture is preferred. Standing is a posture of respect (think of King George’s reaction to the “Hallelujah Chorus”, for example) while kneeling is a posture of penitence. Part of the thinking - and perhaps theology - behind everyone standing is that the walk to receive Communion is a procession that we all enter, even when not all of us are moving at the same time.
[This is also a very good reason for everyone to kneel. But I’ve heard it said so many times: “It matters what is on the inside” or “it is our attitude that really matters, not our bodily gestures.” I have one question to ask: If our attitudes and dispositions are what really matter, why do people care if some want to kneel?]

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states that the Communion Song (they refer to it as a chant, which is their usual catch-all word for all types of music, it seems) [actually, they say “the communion chant” because it is assumed the actual communion chant will be sung, because chant has the pride of place in the liturgy, and is the first choice for liturgical music. So “chant” in this case is not a catch-all word, rather, it shows that when another song is sung, it replaces the chant that would normally be there. Chant is the music of the Mass.]

begins WHILE the Priest/Presider is receiving and continues until all have received. So again, “WE” receive Communion as a group. Too many churches seem to hold off on the Communion Song until after the Priest/Presider has received his Communion, and that’s just not necessary or called for. Also, too many parishes fail to properly catechize on why we’re asked to all join in the Communion Song. [Again, this is incorrect. There is never any obligation for the faithful to sing, particularly hymns or other songs. If anything, parishes need to properly catechize on the role of singing, music and hymns in the Mass.]

Where many parishes seem to really drop the ball is in not allowing the faithful time for their private thanksgiving after all have received. Nor do they often catechize on the difference between our public and our private thanksgiving. If they did, I would guess that the question on when “after” Communion is wouldn’t surface so often.

So feel free to kneel after receiving Communion - but respect the others also receiving and realize that “after” Communion is really after all have received. And if your priest doesn’t allow time for that, that’s the real problem. Also remember that the Apostles weren’t kneeling when they received the bread and wine from Jesus - they were sitting, or rather, reclining, as was the custom at that time.

Communion is something WE do. And it’s a wonderful gift.

 

[benedictgal]

That is why a common posture is preferred. Standing is a posture of respect (think of King George’s reaction to the “Hallelujah Chorus”, for example) while kneeling is a posture of penitence.

So feel free to kneel after receiving Communion - but respect the others also receiving and realize that “after” Communion is really after all have received. And if your priest doesn’t allow time for that, that’s the real problem. Also remember that the Apostles weren’t kneeling when they received the bread and wine from Jesus - they were sitting, or rather, reclining, as was the custom at that time.

:

However, when Rome granted recognitio to the United States for adopting standing as the norm for receiving Holy Communion, it was with the expressed and explicit understanding that the faithful also had the right to receive while kneeling.

There seems to be a huge misunderstanding about kneeling. To say that kneeling is merely penitential is, as I see it, to be missing the point. Perhaps this quote from Pope Benedict’s book, The Spirit of the Liturgy, might help:

The kneeling of Christians is not a form of inculturation into existing customs. It is quite the opposite, an expression of Christian culture, which transforms the existing culture through a new and deeper knowledge and experience of God.

Kneeling does not come from any culture – it comes from the Bible and its knowledge of God. The central importance of kneeling in the Bible can be seen in a very concrete way. The word proskynein alone occurs fifty-nine times in the New Testament, twenty-four of which are in the Apocalypse, the book of the heavenly Liturgy, which is presented to the Church as the standard for her own Liturgy.

…Secondly, we must mention the gesture of falling to one’s knees before another, which is described four times in the Gospels (cf. Mk 1:40; 10:17; Mt 17:14; 27:29) by means of the word gonypetein. Let us single out Mark 1:40. A leper comes to Jesus and begs Him for help. He falls to his

The situation is different, though, with the classical word for adoration on one’s knees – proskynein. I shall give two examples in order to clarify the question that faces the translator.

First there is the account of how, after the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus stays with the Father on the mountain, while the disciples struggle in vain on the lake with the wind and the waves. Jesus comes to them across the water. Peter hurries toward Him and is saved from sinking by the Lord. Then Jesus climbs into the boat, and the wind lets up. The text continues: “And the ship’s crew came and said, falling at His feet, ‘Thou art indeed the Son of God’” (Mt 14:33, Knox version). Other translations say: “[The disciples] in the boat worshiped [Jesus], saying …” (RSV). Both translations are correct. Each emphasizes one aspect of what is going on. The Knox version brings out the bodily expression, while the RSV shows what is happening interiorly. It is perfectly clear from the structure of the narrative that the gesture of acknowledging Jesus as the Son of God is an act of worship.

…At the dedication of the Temple, Solomon kneels “in the presence of all the assembly of Israel” (II Chron 6:13). After the Exile, in the afflictions of the returned Israel, which is still without a Temple, Ezra repeats this gesture at the time of the evening sacrifice: “I … fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God” (Ezra 9:5). The great psalm of the Passion, Psalm 22 (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”), ends with the promise: “Yes, to Him shall all the proud of the earth fall down; before Him all who go down to the dust shall throw themselves down” (v. 29, RSV adapted).

The related passage Isaiah 45:23 we shall have to consider in the context of the New Testament. The Acts of the Apostles tells us how Saint Peter (9:40), Saint Paul (20:36), and the whole Christian community (21:5) pray on their knees.

Particularly important for our question is the account of the martyrdom of Saint Stephen. The first man to witness to Christ with his blood is described in his suffering as a perfect image of Christ, whose Passion is repeated in the martyrdom of the witness, even in small details. One of these is that Stephen, on his knees, takes up the petition of the crucified Christ: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (7:60). We should remember that Luke, unlike Matthew and Mark, speaks of the Lord kneeling in Gethsemane, which shows that Luke wants the kneeling of the first martyr to be seen as his entry into the prayer of Jesus. Kneeling is not only a Christian gesture, but a christological one.

Furthermore, the liturgy of the Last Supper was for the Apostles, their ordination Mass, so to speak. Priests genuflect during the consecration and after the Agnus Dei; they do not kneel. The only time that a celebrant kneels during the liturgy is during the Proclamation of the Passion of Christ on Palm Sunday and on Good Friday.

 

[TheMc]

Also remember that the Apostles weren’t kneeling when they received the bread and wine from Jesus - they were sitting, or rather, reclining, as was the custom at that time.

I might point out that most priests do not kneel to recieve communion at their ordinatioon Mass.

 

[Bonnie]

I also am from the Pacific Northwest and like Bonnie and EasterJoy, we also were told several years ago to remain standing after the Agnus Dei and remain standing after receiving Communion until every one has received. However, when the change was actually implemented, there was clarification made regarding the posture when returning from Communion. So in our parish we remain standing after the Agnus Dei, but no one stands when coming back from Communion. Most kneel, except those with health issues.

Where did the clarification come from?

And a question to anyone/everyone: What does OF mean? As in OF mass.

 

[zab]

Where did the clarification come from?

And a question to anyone/everyone: What does OF mean? As in OF mass.

The clarification came from Rome as was mentioned earlier in this thread. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments responded to questions regarding posture. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops made the clarification and our bishop accepted that clarification as well as our pastor.

OF means Mass in the Ordinary Form, the way Mass is celebrated in most parishes. EF means Mass celebrated in the Extaordinary Form (the Traditional Latin Mass)

 

[Maitland]

I find this discussion particularly interesting because I just moved to the Archdiocese of Portland as a student. I’m from Canada and some of the practices in the Archdiocese of Portland are unheard of in Canada. We always kneel after the Sanctus, and after the Agnus Dei. Also, I’ve noticed that the entire congregation holds hands during the “Our Father.” This makes me feel extremely awkward because that isn’t a practice (some families might hold hands in Canada) that is normal where I’m from.

Could someone please provide me more information as to why the practice is to stand during the communion rite and why people hold hands during the “Our Father?”

Thanks.

 

[BartholomewB]

**Maitland, **you have reopened a four-year-old thread. CAF asks us not to do this, but to start a new thread instead, since the people who posted on the old thread won’t be aware that it has been reopened.

 

[Maitland]

Sorry. Thank-you!

 

[BartholomewB]

Sorry. Thank-you!

My pleasure, Maitland. And welcome to CAF!