Kneeling to receive Communion

[Dolores_IHS]

I would like to ask what to do in my situation… I deeply desire to kneel to receive Communion.

I am a Catholic convert from Pentecostalism and Anglicanism. I came out of a rather high-church Anglican parish where there was a Communion rail. We received the bread in the hand whilst kneeling, and the minister with the Chalice held it up to our mouth.

Then when I came to the Catholic Church, I was faced with the majority of churches, including my own parish, where there were no Communion rails. When I heard how they were largely removed and not used anymore I got reeeeeeally upset! But I went along with the crowd, standing to receive Communion (on the tongue). Nobody knelt for Communion. On Sundays in my parish, we receive only the Host, and on weekdays we receive both the Host and the Chalice. I have always longed to kneel, because it just seems to make it more reverent. When we kneel and wait for the priest/minister, we pause and can then reflect on the special moment before receiving Jesus. But I found when we receive standing, the special moment was performed in too much of a rush; there is not enough time to pause and reflect before receiving.

My dilemma is that I want to kneel for Communion with all my heart, but if I do so on Sundays, I could be a distraction and feel self-conscious, or hold up the queue. I could much better do it in weekday Masses when there are less people, but the problem there is that if I kneel for the Host, what about when I receive the Chalice? It would be funny to kneel for the Host and stand for the Chalice, or kneel twice when there are people standing behind you! The only way it could work, is if I just receive the Host alone. It is a sore point of contention for me that the churches don’t have Communion rails anymore. What is a traditional-hearted Catholic to do???

Dolores

 

[choy]

I would like to ask what to do in my situation… I deeply desire to kneel to receive Communion.

I am a Catholic convert from Pentecostalism and Anglicanism. I came out of a rather high-church Anglican parish where there was a Communion rail. We received the bread in the hand whilst kneeling, and the minister with the Chalice held it up to our mouth.

Then when I came to the Catholic Church, I was faced with the majority of churches, including my own parish, where there were no Communion rails. When I heard how they were largely removed and not used anymore I got reeeeeeally upset! But I went along with the crowd, standing to receive Communion (on the tongue). Nobody knelt for Communion. On Sundays in my parish, we receive only the Host, and on weekdays we receive both the Host and the Chalice. I have always longed to kneel, because it just seems to make it more reverent. When we kneel and wait for the priest/minister, we pause and can then reflect on the special moment before receiving Jesus. But I found when we receive standing, the special moment was performed in too much of a rush; there is not enough time to pause and reflect before receiving.

My dilemma is that I want to kneel for Communion with all my heart, but if I do so on Sundays, I could be a distraction and feel self-conscious, or hold up the queue. I could much better do it in weekday Masses when there are less people, but the problem there is that if I kneel for the Host, what about when I receive the Chalice? It would be funny to kneel for the Host and stand for the Chalice, or kneel twice when there are people standing behind you! The only way it could work, is if I just receive the Host alone. It is a sore point of contention for me that the churches don’t have Communion rails anymore. What is a traditional-hearted Catholic to do???

Dolores

here’s what you can do:

a. attend TLM/EF where kneeling is the norm
b. wait to be at the back of the line for communion so you wouldn’t be holding anyone up
c. kneel anyway for the chalice

kneeling in the OF masses is allowed and priests are instructed not to refuse anyone who would want to receive kneeling. it would also be nice to consult your pastor about this so there won’t be a surprise during Mass

 

[Shin]

I always kneel to receive Communion. It’s just like genuflecting, but you go to both knees, then rise up swiftly again.

I do this in lines where people receive standing without a problem. Once was there a difficulty, where I was visiting a church were a priest who had heretical magazines like America and U.S. Catholic to fill his vestibule, refused to give me Communion while kneeling, glaring at me like the devil himself and urging me up until I stood.

Another time, a priest gave a homily about people kneeling for show and people must not do this, that the tabernacle should be off to the side, not in center, and then talked about U.S. politics for awhile.

Visiting parishes can be a bit o 'hell if you go to a hellish parish by accident.
Generally, however, it is not a problem at all, and having begun it, I cannot live without it. It is quite spiritually rewarding. To do it, is the reward itself in so many ways. Once you begin – you continue forever.

Most parishes not too far gone, it is not a problem at all, and you can feel the happiness of kneeling before God. You wouldn’t want a parish where it was a problem to be your home parish anyway as a general rule, it’s a grave sign of grave problems throughout when there’s a fuss.

Used to go to a parish with a Communion rail, now that was a bit of Heaven – Going to go to one again soon I believe, God willing.

And yes, if TLM is an option GO THERE.

 

[Canto]

Many seem to suggest to kneel once others have recieved. They would be at prayer, rather than staring at you. Perhaps you could nicely let your Priest know your intention beforehand.

Those who wish to receive Communion kneeling and/or on the tongue are free to do so, while any such denial of Communion for these reasons could result in “disciplinary action consonant with the gravity of the pastoral abuse.”

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Notitiae, November and December, 2002.

 

[Chirp]

Kneeling to receive communion seems to me to be a means displaying a ‘holier than thou’ attitude. I seriously doubt that the apostles knelt at the last supper to receive Christ’s body and blood.
The communion rail was removed to bring a closer feeling with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. We don’t need a barrier between the faithful and the tabernacle.
Also, if you are a civilized human being, please receive in the hand. Don’t lower the Eucharist to the form of giving your pet a treat by taking it directly on the tongue. That’s the form I use when I give my pet a bone.

 

[Canto]

Kneeling to receive communion seems to me to be a means displaying a ‘holier than thou’ attitude. I seriously doubt that the apostles knelt at the last supper to receive Christ’s body and blood.

Were the wise men being ‘holier than thou’ “when falling down they adored him”? What about St Paul who said that “at the name of Christ, every knee should bend”? How about the countless other cases in the OT and NT and two milleniums of Church tradtion of people kneeling for God?

The communion rail was removed to bring a closer feeling with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. We don’t need a barrier between the faithful and the tabernacle.

Could you kindly cite an authorive document that called/calls for the removal of altar rails. Hint: none such exists.

How about the temple veil in the book of Exodus. How would God have felt if some liturgist simply walked in and tore it down because he/she saw it as a ‘barrier’?

Also, if you are a civilized human being, please receive in the hand. Don’t lower the Eucharist to the form of giving your pet a treat by taking it directly on the tongue. That’s the form I use when I give my pet a bone.

Receivng on the tongue is the universal norm east and west. At any moment the indult for COTHand could be given the boot.

Don’t ‘civilised’ human beings, babies aside, feed themselves. Yet isn’t that what Christ does, he feeds us. And don’t civilised human beings eat sitting, not standing around with their hand out waiting for somone to put food in it? And do civilised human beings all drink from the same cup, or do they each have their own cup?

 

[Cat]

I always kneel to receive Communion. It’s just like genuflecting, but you go to both knees, then rise up swiftly again.

:crying:
Sorry, Shin. I’m just laughing (and crying) at the idea of going to both knees and then “rising up swiftly again.”

I wish!

I agree with others on this thread who say to speak with the priest in advance and ask him for advice. If he tells you not to kneel, it might be a good idea to look for a parish where the priest is more open to kneeling, because kneeling is supposed to be allowed in the OF Masses. However, I can understand why priests discourage it because it really can trip people up, people like me who don’t move very easily. Try to imagine yourself 40 years older with standing, walking, or vision limitations, and a very real fear of tripping and falling and becoming even more disabled.

Here’s another suggestion. I’m not much of a kneeler (physical limitations), but I have had to receive Holy Communion after Mass at various times because of playing piano and being unable to get into the line. When I do this, I kneel–it just seems appropriate when Father is giving me the privilege of a “private” Holy Communion. Usually no one is around except for a few people who spend time in prayer after Mass, so I don’t have to worry about looking like I’m showing off. Maybe you could receive after Mass, too?

 

[oneGODoneCHURCH]

Kneeling to receive communion seems to me to be a means displaying a ‘holier than thou’ attitude. I seriously doubt that the apostles knelt at the last supper to receive Christ’s body and blood.
The communion rail was removed to bring a closer feeling with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. We don’t need a barrier between the faithful and the tabernacle.
Also, if you are a civilized human being, please receive in the hand. Don’t lower the Eucharist to the form of giving your pet a treat by taking it directly on the tongue. That’s the form I use when I give my pet a bone.

every thing you have just said is contary to what the Holy Father has said.

 

[choy]

Kneeling to receive communion seems to me to be a means displaying a ‘holier than thou’ attitude. I seriously doubt that the apostles knelt at the last supper to receive Christ’s body and blood.

it is a good practice and if you’re intention is to show respect and reverence for Jesus, then there’s nothing wrong with it.

The communion rail was removed to bring a closer feeling with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. We don’t need a barrier between the faithful and the tabernacle.
Also, if you are a civilized human being, please receive in the hand. Don’t lower the Eucharist to the form of giving your pet a treat by taking it directly on the tongue. That’s the form I use when I give my pet a bone.

wow, i’ve finally met the anti-bleep (sorry can’t say the name, its uncharitable)

 

[Shin]

:crying:
Sorry, Shin. I’m just laughing (and crying) at the idea of going to both knees and then “rising up swiftly again.”

I wish!

I agree with others on this thread who say to speak with the priest in advance and ask him for advice. If he tells you not to kneel, it might be a good idea to look for a parish where the priest is more open to kneeling, because kneeling is supposed to be allowed in the OF Masses. However, I can understand why priests discourage it because it really can trip people up, people like me who don’t move very easily. Try to imagine yourself 40 years older with standing, walking, or vision limitations, and a very real fear of tripping and falling and becoming even more disabled.

If you can’t kneel, you don’t have to. There’s no need to ask a priest for advice about it, and it has never tripped anyone up that I have ever seen. People oddly enough don’t tend to walk into other people.

‘you understand why priests discourage it because it really can trip people up’, no I do not believe this at all. Despite your disabilities. I think this is something said mostly from the motivation of discouraging kneeling, not a real issue with it.

 

[choy]

If you can’t kneel, you don’t have to. There’s no need to ask a priest for advice about it, and it has never tripped anyone up that I have ever seen. People oddly enough don’t tend to walk into other people.

‘you understand why priests discourage it because it really can trip people up’, no I do not believe this at all. Despite your disabilities. I think this is something said mostly from the motivation of discouraging kneeling, not a real issue with it.

i just bow and i occasionally bump my bum into someone else. i don’t know why they’re standing so close behind me on the Communion line though

speaking with the priest is just good prudence. while a priest cannot refuse someone who kneels for Communion, a priest may be surprised if you do kneel and since this isn’t the norm in OF masses, he might make a hasty judgment and refuse you or do something else. just take the element of surprise out of the equation and let him know whats coming.

 

[GwenL]

Dolores_IHS, I recently started kneeling to receive in my parish. I figure that when the Lord and Creator of the universe invites me to communion with Him, there is no better posture to show my reverence and love.

I asked our rector if it was OK, and he thought it was great. He was worried about people tripping over me, and asked me to go the end of the line. I don’t think that’s a real danger, but he asked me charitably. So that’s usually what I do.

I don’t think it’s very consistent to receive the host kneeling and then the Precious Blood standing. At our parish, it is always EMHCs holding the chalice. I just don’t know what they will do if I go kneel in front of the chalice, so I just bow deeply as I pass it by. I have visions of possible spillage, which I don’t want to be the cause of. Since I’m at the end of the line, the chalice is usually empty anyways.

Don’t worry about critics who think you might be presenting a “holier than thou” attitude. People ought to be concentrating on Jesus, not critiquing others’ posture. The Lord knows what is in your heart, and what is in the heart of the critics. One of our priests kneels and prays before the tabernacle after Mass is over. I don’t think anyone considers him “holier than thou.” In fact, his practice tends to prevent the usual post-Mass chatter, and many people also stay after Mass to pray in thanksgiving.

After about a month of kneeling to receive, one man at daily Mass has starting following me to do the same, two others are trying to get their courage up, and several others have talked about wanting to do the same. Sometimes all it takes is one person in a parish to step forward and others will follow, because they see it can be done.

 

[GwenL]

Don’t lower the Eucharist to the form of giving your pet a treat by taking it directly on the tongue. That’s the form I use when I give my pet a bone.

Did you know that the Holy Father distributes Holy Communion to communicants only on the tongue, and only to those kneeling? Are you accusing the Pope of lowering the Eucharist?

 

[centurionguard]

i just bow and i occasionally bump my bum into someone else. i don’t know why they’re standing so close behind me on the Communion line though

speaking with the priest is just good prudence. while a priest cannot refuse someone who kneels for Communion, a priest may be surprised if you do kneel and since this isn’t the norm in OF masses, he might make a hasty judgment and refuse you or do something else. just take the element of surprise out of the equation and let him know whats coming.

i don’t know why they’re standing so close behind me on the Communion line though

I experience this occurrence frequently coming up the main aisle to receive holy communion. It’s even more uncomfortable for me because I have to walk with cane due to chronic back pain and dizziness caused by having to take large doses of anti-seizure medication. I truly wish I could kneel before my Lord and God. But I do interiorly disposition my soul to kneel

 

[choy]

i think people should be educated to take a step or two behind the next person who’s about to receive so that if they want to bow or genuflect or kneel, there’s enough space. people shouldn’t crowd but i guess the way we approach most queues nowadays, its a habit

 

[benedictgal]

Kneeling to receive communion seems to me to be a means displaying a ‘holier than thou’ attitude. I seriously doubt that the apostles knelt at the last supper to receive Christ’s body and blood.
The communion rail was removed to bring a closer feeling with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. We don’t need a barrier between the faithful and the tabernacle.
Also, if you are a civilized human being, please receive in the hand. Don’t lower the Eucharist to the form of giving your pet a treat by taking it directly on the tongue. That’s the form I use when I give my pet a bone.

With all due respect, your post, in my opinion, is a gross misrepresentation on many levels. Your last statement I found most insulting.

Perhaps you should read this exerpt from the Holy Father’s homily back in 2008 during the Solemnity of Corpus Christi:

At this point we cannot forget the beginning of the “Decalogue”, the Ten Commandments, where it is written: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex 20: 2-3). **Here we find the meaning of the third constitutive element of Corpus Christi: kneeling in adoration before the Lord. Adoring the God of Jesus Christ, who out of love made himself bread broken, is the most effective and radical remedy against the idolatry of the past and of the present.**B] Kneeling before the Eucharist is a profession of freedom: those who bow to Jesus cannot and must not prostrate themselves before any earthly authority, however powerful. We Christians kneel only before God or before the Most Blessed Sacrament because we know and believe that the one true God is present in it, the God who created the world and so loved it that he gave his Only Begotten Son (cf. Jn 3: 16).

We prostrate ourselves before a God who first bent over man like the Good Samaritan to assist him and restore his life, and who knelt before us to wash our dirty feet. Adoring the Body of Christ, means believing that there, in that piece of Bread, Christ is really there, and gives true sense to life, to the immense universe as to the smallest creature, to the whole of human history as to the most brief existence. Adoration is prayer that prolongs the celebration and Eucharistic communion and in which the soul continues to be nourished: it is nourished with love, truth, peace; it is nourished with hope, because the One before whom we prostrate ourselves does not judge us, does not crush us but liberates and transforms us.

Anyone who receivevs Holy Communion from the Holy Father must do so on the tongue while kneeling. Here is what the Papal Master of Ceremonies, Msgr. Guido Marini, said about this practice:

The practice adopted by Benedict XVI tends to emphasize the continued validity of the norm for the whole Church. In addition, one might also note a preference for the use of this manner of distribution which, without taking anything away from the other, better highlights the truth of the real presence in the Eucharist, aids the devotion of the faithful, and makes it easier to enter into the sense of mystery. In our time, pastorally speaking, it is urgent to recover and emphasize these aspects.

With all due respect, before making such comments as those you posted, I suggest that perhaps you might avail yourself of the writings of the popes and the authoritative documents of the Church. They might prove edifying.

 

[Shin]

Dolores_IHS, I recently started kneeling to receive in my parish. I figure that when the Lord and Creator of the universe invites me to communion with Him, there is no better posture to show my reverence and love.

I asked our rector if it was OK, and he thought it was great. He was worried about people tripping over me, and asked me to go the end of the line. I don’t think that’s a real danger, but he asked me charitably. So that’s usually what I do.

I don’t think it’s very consistent to receive the host kneeling and then the Precious Blood standing. At our parish, it is always EMHCs holding the chalice. I just don’t know what they will do if I go kneel in front of the chalice, so I just bow deeply as I pass it by. I have visions of possible spillage, which I don’t want to be the cause of. Since I’m at the end of the line, the chalice is usually empty anyways.

Don’t worry about critics who think you might be presenting a “holier than thou” attitude. People ought to be concentrating on Jesus, not critiquing others’ posture. The Lord knows what is in your heart, and what is in the heart of the critics. One of our priests kneels and prays before the tabernacle after Mass is over. I don’t think anyone considers him “holier than thou.” In fact, his practice tends to prevent the usual post-Mass chatter, and many people also stay after Mass to pray in thanksgiving.

After about a month of kneeling to receive, one man at daily Mass has starting following me to do the same, two others are trying to get their courage up, and several others have talked about wanting to do the same. Sometimes all it takes is one person in a parish to step forward and others will follow, because they see it can be done.

Speaking for myself, in general I do not go to the chalice at the new liturgy, it is beyond enough to receive Christ in the Eucharist. Once received there is no need to go any further, if there is a desire to do so beforehand it disappears after receiving the first.

It’s rather untraditional for EMHCs to be out there and giving a person the chalice in the first place to say the least.

I do believe some parishes will give the host via intinction, and that I have received kneeling as well. I forget whether this is a liturgical abuse in the West or not, or ‘ad experimentum’ in some cases, perhaps someone can let me know – but I can at least say at the one parish where I found it done it was done properly with a chalice with a paten on its base, that is under the chin when the host is given to you on the tongue after intinction.

 

[benedictgal]

Speaking for myself, in general I do not go to the chalice at the new liturgy, it is beyond enough to receive Christ in the Eucharist. Once received there is no need to go any further, if there is a desire to do so beforehand it disappears after receiving the first.

It’s rather untraditional for EMHCs to be out there and giving a person the chalice in the first place to say the least.

I do believe some parishes will give the host via intinction, and that I have received kneeling as well. I forget whether this is a liturgical abuse in the West or not, or ‘ad experimentum’ in some cases, perhaps someone can let me know – but I can at least say at the one parish where I found it done it was done properly with a chalice with a paten on its base, that is under the chin when the host is given to you on the tongue after intinction.

Intinction is allowed and, in fact, encouraged. However, the one doing this must be the priest, not a deacon, not an EMHC, but a priest.

 

[Newbie2]

Intinction is allowed and, in fact, encouraged. However, the one doing this must be the priest, not a deacon, not an EMHC, but a priest.

Intinction is encouraged?

 

[Brendan]

Intinction is encouraged?

It’s really the preffered method for offering both species.

On the practical front, it requires fewer ministers.

On the theological front, it is the fullest sign of the Risen Christ, with Body and Blood united. Substantially, they are certainly united, never more to be seperated. They are consecrated seperately, as it is a represntation of the Death of our Lord on Calvary. The Christ we recieve in the Eucharist is the Risen Christ, and the fullest sign of that is the Intincted Eucharist.