Kneeling after receiving Holy Communion

[sbe]

It has been issued to all Parishes in Hawaii Diocese, that all should remain standing during Holy Communion, till all have received. Is it, therefore, a direct diobedience to our Bishop, if upon returning to our pew, that we take the kneeling position, even though there are still others in the reception line? I truly feel that in kneeling we can concentrate on personal prayer in a deeper sense. Being in conformilty is important, but realistically, the Whole Church is not in total unison, if thats the case.

Sonya

 

[CatholicCajun]

I don’t know the “laws” but I think as soon as one gets back to the pew one should kneel (unless physically not able to do so). Personally I would kneel, but there are a lot more people on these forums who know sooooooo much more than I do. God Bless.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

It has been issued to all Parishes in Hawaii Diocese, that all should remain standing during Holy Communion, till all have received. Is it, therefore, a direct diobedience to our Bishop, if upon returning to our pew, that we take the kneeling position, even though there are still others in the reception line? I truly feel that in kneeling we can concentrate on personal prayer in a deeper sense. Being in conformilty is important, but realistically, the Whole Church is not in total unison, if thats the case.

Sonya

The directive from Rome has been that the Faithful may kneel, or sit, or (stand) if they wish. It is each individual persons decision. That the local Ordinary is not to dicate the position.

 

[dandn5000]

We went to a church in Akron over the summer, and they didn’t kneel after Communion. My family were the only ones who knelt immediately. It was the oddest thing…

We did a lot of things differently at that parish . We were the only ones holding hands during the Our Father, too.

 

[John_Lilburne]

Stand as the bishop directs. I agree with his interpretation of the 2002 General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) approved for the USA, which can be accessed from romanrite.com/girm.html :

“43. … They should, however, sit while the readings before the Gospel and the responsorial Psalm are proclaimed and for the homily and while the Preparation of the Gifts at the Offertory is taking place; and, as circumstances allow, they may sit or kneel while the period of sacred silence after Communion is observed. …”.

The period of “sacred silence” is not while the priest is saying “The body of Christ” to people. This is not silence. So the permission to sit or kneel does not apply to that time.

Rather than an approach of private prayer, try to go with the GIRM: “86. While the priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion chant is begun. Its purpose is to express the communicants’ union in spirit by means of the unity of their voices, to show joy of heart, and to highlight more clearly the “communitarian” nature of the procession to receive Communion. The singing is continued for as long as the Sacrament is being administered to the faithful.”

Even if you disagree about the merits of standing, obey. As it has at the end on n. 43: “With a view to a uniformity in gestures and postures during one and the same celebration, the faithful should follow the directions which the deacon, lay minister, or priest gives according to whatever is indicated in the Missal.”

Hopefully everyone else will as well, leading to: “42. … A common posture, to be observed by all participants, is a sign of the unity of the members of the Christian community gathered for the Sacred Liturgy: it both expresses and fosters the intention and spiritual attitude of the participants.”

 

[StDominicSavio]

John is correct. The bishops have come up with a unified posture for after communion.

However, Cardinal George sent the question to Rome a few years back and Cardinal Arinze wrote back that while the intention is uniformity and union in posture, an individual’s freedom is not to be infringed upon, and individuals may sit or kneel at this time.

 

[Brendan]

John is correct. The bishops have come up with a unified posture for after communion.

However, Cardinal George sent the question to Rome a few years back and Cardinal Arinze wrote back that while the intention is uniformity and union in posture, an individual’s freedom is not to be infringed upon, and individuals may sit or kneel at this time.

Cardinal George wrote that Dubium as president of the USCCB on behalf of the USCCB. It is therefore binding on every US Bishop. The Bishop may SUGGEST a posture, but they cannot mandate one in this area.

Upon returning to the pew after they have personally recieved, each person may stand, kneel or sit as they personally choose.

Cardinal Francis George, of Chicago, then chairman of the Bishops’ Committee of the Liturgy, submitted a dubium (question) to the Congregration for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on May 26, 2003, concerning the long-standing practices of individuals kneeling upon returning to their places after having received Holy Communion. Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments responded on June 5, 2003, (Prot.n. 855/03/L).

“In several dioceses people have been instructed that they must stand until the last person has received Communion, despite the long-standing custom that people knelt during the distribution of Communion”.

“Numerous inquiries” received by the BCL led Cardinal Francis George, chairman of the BCL, to submit a dubium (doubt, question) to the Holy See’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDW) on May 26, 2003:

Dubium: In many places, the faithful are accustomed to kneeling or sitting in personal prayer upon returning to their places after having individually received Holy Communion during Mass. Is it the intention of the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia, to forbid this practice?

Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the CDW, responded to the question on June 5, 2003 (Prot. N. 855/03/L):

Responsum: Negative, *et ad mensum *[No, for this reason]. The mens [reasoning] is that the prescription of the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, no. 43, is intended, on the one hand, to ensure within broad limits a certain uniformity of posture within the congregation for the various parts of the celebration of Holy Mass, and on the other, to not regulate posture rigidly in such a way that those who wish to kneel or sit would no longer be free.

The BCL Newsletter continues: “In the implementation of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, therefore, posture should not be regulated so rigidly as to forbid individual communicants from kneeling or sitting when returning from having received Holy Communion” (p. 26. Emphasis added.)

If you read the transcripts from the USCCB meeting that approved the GIRM, the bishops (specifically Bishop Vigneron of Oakland) brought up this very point, and the bishops agreed that the posture was open to the faithful.

So view your bishops suggestion as just that, a suggestion.

 

[benedictgal]

John, I think that your interpretation on this matter might very well differ with Francis Cardinal Arinze, the Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. This is what he said in a Q & A session that appears in the online edition of Adoremus:

Does everybody have to stand until the last person has received Holy Communion?

There is no rule from Rome that everybody must stand during Holy Communion. There is no such rule from Rome. So, after people have received Communion, they can stand, they can kneel, they can sit. But a bishop in his diocese or bishops in a country could say that they recommend standing or kneeling. They could. It is not a law from Rome. They could – but not impose it. Perhaps they could propose. But those who want to sit or kneel or stand should be left reasonable freedom.

You are a wealth of valuable information, and I respect you for it; however, Cardinal Arinze’s opinion is worth more than all of ours combined.