Kneeling during Eucharistic adoration

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simonjosiah1

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Hi all,

I’m just wondering, the church teaches us that we must kneel during Eucharistic adoration as a sign of respect and recognising the eucharist is Jesus.

But why does the church not teach us to kneel when we receive him in holy communion?

Makes no sense.
 
simonjosiah1 said:
But why does the church not teach us to kneel when we receive him in holy communion?
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The Church used to require everybody to kneel for communion. It only changed to standing as an option when the Church created a new Mass in 1970.

Kneeling for communion is one of the reasons I personally like the old Mass and attend it whenever possible.
 
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but why would the church change it to something less respectful, I don’t understand.
 
simonjosiah1 said:
but why would the church change it to something less respectful, I don’t understand
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Many of us who prefer the old Mass don’t understand it either. We also don’t understand why the Vatican allowed communion in the hand. That used to be banned too.
 
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It seems to me that Vatican II produced some bad fruits :confused:
 
simonjosiah1 said:
the church teaches us that we must kneel during Eucharistic adoration
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Where, exactly, is this taught by the Church? I’ve never heard there was a mandatory posture during adoration other than proper reverence upon entering and leaving.
 
Lets not get hung up on man made disciplines. God doesn’t actually care providing we have good reasons for whatever we do given circumstances like our age, disposition and practical logistics.
 
One may choose the posture one pleases during adoration. There is nothing disrespectful about sitting and praying.
 
Kneeling while receiving communion has more practical implications than kneeling whilst in a pew.
 
Cor_ad_Cor said:
Where, exactly, is this taught by the Church? I’ve never heard there was a mandatory posture during adoration other than proper reverence upon entering and leaving.
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That’s what I was taught as well. A lot of regular adorers sit and read scripture or some form of spiritual reading.
 
Personally, I kneel for communion (during Novis Ordo) and receive on my tounge. I prostrate myself for Adoration until my knees give out, then I sit.

I heard a Muslim once say that he did not believe that the consecrated bread and wine were the real flesh and blood of God and he did not think most Catholics did either. He said that if he believed it, he would have to fall on his face in front of God.

Just one point of view.

Patrick
AMDG
 
Maybe be the OP is pointing out the common circumstance of seeing more people kneeling (teaching by example) before the exposed Eucharist in the monstrance than seeing people kneeling to receive Holy Communion. When people see common practices, they might believe those common practices reflect laws or rules of the Church. So, why do more people kneel for adoration than kneel for receiving Communion? Given that there is no teaching on it, according to the Deacon.
 
There are some discrepancies, like kneeling during the consecration but standing to receive Our King.

or the encouragement to kneel while praying, but the “it’s just as reverent to stand” statement for communion.

“Come, let us bow low and do reverence; kneel before Yahweh who made us!” Psalm 95:6

“as scripture says: By my own life says the Lord, every knee shall bow before me, every tongue shall give glory to God.” Romans 14:11

“By my own self I swear it; what comes from my mouth is saving justice, it is an irrevocable word: All shall bend the knee to me, by me every tongue shall swear, saying, ‘In Yahweh alone are saving justice and strength,’ until all those who used to rage at him come to him in shame.” Isaiah 45:23
 
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It is not less respectful not to kneel.
Some people cannot kneel, and even prior to the OF, if one could not kneel at the altar rail, one stood.

It is not inherently better to kneel, in fact, in most of the Eastern churches, kneeling is not done.
 
A distinction is to be made between “kneeling” and “bending the knee.”

The latter is of course what we know better as a genuflection.
An ancient posture of fealty or submission to a ruler adopted by a petitioner or conquered army.

In ancient times THE respectful posture for public prayer was standing.
In fact Councils have at times prohibited kneeling in public prayer.
The catacombs have many frescoes of Christians in standing prayer, not kneeling prayer.

However kneeling (an advanced form of genuflecting) has often been traditional in private prayer which is often petitionary.

It is understandable that kneeling at public worship was not common. It would be very easy for people to trip over each other in such crowds where there were no orderly seating arrangements at all.
 
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Interesting story on reverence to the Eucharist

Padre Pio reported to Padre Anastasio di Roio: “One night I was alone in the choir and I saw a friar cleaning the altar late at night. I asked him to go to bed since it was so late. He said, ‘I’m a friar like you. I did here my novitiate and when assigned to take care of the Altar, and I passed many times in front of the Tabernacle without making the proper reverence. For this sin I am in Purgatory, and the Lord sent me to you. You decide how much longer I have to suffer in those flames.’ I told him, until the Mass in the morning. He said “Cruel” and disappeared. I still have a wound in my heart. I could have sent him immediately to Paradise, instead he had to stay one more night in the flames of Purgatory.”
 
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