Father Mark is our former parochial vicar. He’s great!
So I assume that Father Gantley will let people kneel to receive Holy Communion from him.
Well, I assume so, but it never happened during our masses. He was recently transfered to his own parish. “Parocial vicar” basically is an assisting priest.
Or provide a kneeler, as in my parish.
Ah, but now here’s the other side…I agree with the assertion that it isn’t disobedient in the eyes of the Church, BUT…if the norm in the United States is standing, and the Holy See has approved the norm of the United States, why should accomodation be made for those who wish to kneel? Why should the priest instruct the faithful to leave a little room? I think if I were the priest, the first time you knelt, I’d “caution” you, then I would never say anything thereafter. I’d give you communion each and every time. Then, when someone DOES trip over you and injures themselves, I’d say,“I’m sorry, I’ve spoken with that person, but I cannot force him not to kneel. Perhaps you’d like to talk to them about how YOU felt falling on the floor.” And what will you do when someone trods on you? Sue the Church? I think that I’d protect the Church by announcing from the pulpit at every Mass for a week and publishing in the bulletin thereafter that standing is the norm and that you kneel at your own risk. Why should we make it easy for you to break from the norm? I don’t care if you do, it genuinely doesn’t make any difference to me one way or another. But why should we make special accomodations, in the face of the approval of the Holy See? They simply said you couldn’t be called disobedient, they never said you had to be helped.
Oh, I quite agree. She hasn’t chosen to impose accomodation, for example.
First of all, they are to do that afterward, not at the time of reception.
I’ve long wondered about the “reasons for this norm” ? Is it because they’ve ripped out the communion rails so it becomes “uncomfortable” to receive kneeling? Is it to speed things up, so the communicant can receive under both species without it taking all day to distribute communion? It it because that’s what the bishops decided and get with the program or else?
I was thinking of posters who claim to know the hearts of those who kneel and attribute their kneeling to ego.
(they are nailed to the floor, I checked), for those who wish to kneel to receive Holy Communion. I mentioned this to the Priest afterward, and he said that some people had told him that they wanted to kneel to receive Holy Communion, but found it difficult, because there wasn’t anything to hold on to. So Father put these kneelers up front.
OK I’ll bite. what exactly are the reasons for this norm? I’ve never seen a rationale for the practice except that the Bishops wanted it. And please don’t bring up the primitive church argument again. The primitive church had a lot of things we no longer do or would even consider doing.
Quite right, my apologies. I would never presume to say I had “a mirror into another man’s soul.”
Kneeling is an act of reverence. Holding hands during the Our Father is charismaticI’ve got to admit, I find it humerous that the folks who kneel often seem to be the ones crying the loudest about the holding hands in the Our Father - and vice versa. Neither is specified in the GIRM.
, and a really bad idea!