Kneeling during Mass

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Canto said:
There are zillions of OT and NT verses of kneeling for God. Two that come to mind are as follows…

Romans 14:11 For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend to me

Philipians 2:10 That in the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth
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Let’s remember, though, that in the culture of many of our Orthodox Catholic brothers and sisters, it is better to stand than to kneel (this does not excuse us who have grown in a culture where it is more reverent to kneel).

What really disturbs me is when a Church has no kneelers. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the congregation doesn’t kneel (some parishes don’t have kneelers but still kneel), but what it does mean is that before or after Mass, or any other time of day, one cannot go into the Church and kneel to pray. It seems like it makes the Church building more of something that you go to for an hour once a week, instead of the focal point of our life and culture.
 
If a church has kneelers, I will use the kneelers and be thankful for the comfort during the solemn moments of the liturgy that call for kneeling (traditionally).

If a church doesn’t have kneelers, I thank God for the opportunity to sacrifice my knees a little bit for the poor souls in purgatory.
 
In my suburban Jesuit parish, we still do “all” of the traditional kneeling. It is my custom to get to church early for prayer and meditation, and I would guess that 80% to 90% of those attending pull down the kneelers and pray as soon as they enter the pews. It is quiet and peaceful. This is at 7:30 AM mass on Sunday morning, so it could be different at 9:30 mass where there are larger crowds and many more children present. AND, all of this is in Northern California!😉
 
I’ve never seen a Catholic Church without the kneelers. Though I don’t doubt for second they exist.
 
Saint Peter’s Basilica has neither pews nor kneelers… Kneelers are largely an Anglo-American thing. Very big with the Anglicans.
 
Luger said:
Saint Peter’s Basilica has neither pews nor kneelers…
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That’s actually not precisely true, which is why I posted Sta. Maria Maggiore instead of St. Peters. I won’t embed the photo since it’s quite large, but take a look here. From the looks of them, I would guess that they’re moveable rather than fixed, but they’re definitely pews with kneelers.
 
MarkThompson said:
That’s actually not precisely true, which is why I posted Sta. Maria Maggiore instead of St. Peters. I won’t embed the photo since it’s quite large, but take a look here. From the looks of them, I would guess that they’re moveable rather than fixed, but they’re definitely pews with kneelers.
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I don’t think that’s what people have in mind when you say St. Peter’s. (Where are Bernini’s columns?) 🙂

That photo must be from a chapel elsewhere in the Basilica…
 
surritter said:
I don’t think that’s what people have in mind when you say St. Peter’s. (Where are Bernini’s columns?) 🙂

That photo must be from a chapel elsewhere in the Basilica…
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That’s actually in the apse of the main basilica, west of the high altar. You can see the same window (showing the Dove of the Holy Spirit) and the Chair of Peter in the photo below, behind the baldacchino. Nonetheless, my original point stands, that the absence of pews and kneelers is hardly, by itself, some automatic indicator of heresy or liturgical goofiness. 🙂

http://www.travlang.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/interior-of-St.-Peters.jpg
 
Paganus said:
This church also had a complete array of unfamiliar (to me) practices regarding the Eurcharist. I am not passing judgement on these, just mentioning that they made me uncomfortable:
  1. The hosts are very few in number, large and brown
  2. The parishioners “bless themselves” with the unconsecrated hosts upon entering the church
  3. The lector announces (before Mass) that everyone is welcome to receive Communion
  4. No kneeling or bowing before or after consecration
  5. One white chalice and five wine glasses are used during consecration
  6. The Communion procession begins with the back rows and ends with the front rows
  7. A single line is formed to receive communion, despite the large size of the church.
  8. Women are dispatched throughout the church to tap the shoulders of anyone remaining in the pews and urge them to join in Communion
  9. As each communicant presents himself, a tiny portion of the giant host is torn off and handed to them
  10. After all have received Communion, the Eucharistic ministers are blessed with great ceremony and sent from Mass to deliver Communion to the sick
I just chalked it up to being an unusual church, until I went to Mass in a different diocese and there was (again) no kneeling or bowing during Mass. However, the second church had none of the other Eucharistic practices mentioned.
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If I had a choice in the matter, I wouldn’t be going back to this one. #3 alone is a SERIOUS issue.
 
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