Kneeling to receive in the Mass of Paul VI

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Brother_John said:
Then what WAS their purpose? And, why the big to-do by some when they were removed?

🤷
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Altar rails separated the Sanctuary from the rest of the Church. Only the Priests and those directly involved in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass were allowed inside the sanctuary. Most of the uproar about their removal stems from the belief that the Church had adopted or was in the process of adopting a more Protestant view of the faith…

For example. Protestants don’t believe that the sacrifice is actually re-presented and therefore they see no need for a Priest class at all. In fact they believe by and large that the existence of a priestly class is un biblical. The separation of the sanctuary from the rest of the Church therefore was unneeded, unnecessary and quite possibly an affront to God.

The belief that the Sanctuary needed to be separate from the rest of the worship places goes all the way back to Jewish times and is still practiced in the Orthodox and Coptic faiths. In the Orthodox for instance you often have screens which separate the laity from the altar. In the Coptic rites the altar is often in a completely different room attached behind the sanctuary,

Of course, proponents of the more open space will give as a reason that the rails were designed to keep livestock out of the Sanctuary when the laity brought their animals in for Mass.👍

As an old Altar Boy with many years of serving I can honestly tell you, it makes no difference if you have a rail or not in order to receive Holy Communion while kneeling.

Now when they were still using Communion Cloths which covered the altar rail they served a purpose as the cloth was attached to the rail. The people would hold the cloth under their chins to catch any fragments of the Host that fell.
 
Now when they were still using Communion Cloths which covered the altar rail they served a purpose as the cloth was attached to the rail. The people would hold the cloth under their chins to catch any fragments of the Host that fell.
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We have these too!
 
palmas85 said:
I’m surprised. I haven’t seen one since the late 50’s.
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Our parish predates VII. It’s the only Tudor Gothic Church on the West Coast from what I understand. After VII it always had a Novus Ordo in Latin and we’ve had a EF for almost 20 years. We’ve always had kneeling rails although I seem to remember a time when there was no cloth. Of course, it was so long ago I can barely remember it. We might have been in the process of getting a new one or something. Anyway, we use it. I always crack up when my 4 year old who comes up with use for Communion kneels down and immediately sticks his folded hands under the cloth and lifts it up. He doesn’t quite get what it’s for evern though I’ve explained it to him. Either that or he just wants to help.👍
 
The TLM parish I attend had the altar rail removed…we still recieve kneeling anyway, they just set up kneelers where the altar rail would usually be.

Going by the idea of the 2nd council of Nicea, that one cannot disobey any ecclesiastical tradition, written or unwritten or they will be anathema, it almost seems like a requirement to kneel to receive the Eucharist. I’m struggling with this, as I don’t want to make a scene and distract people from focusing on Christ at the NO masses I attend, nor do I want to create a safety hazard when these masses are crowded and rushed. In the second case, I recognize that charity trumps all law and such, but is the first concern valid enough to justify standing, taking into account the words of the 2nd council of Nicea?
 
The devil has no knees…

Every knee should bend to receive Our Lord.
 
joelacour said:
At my Mom’s parish, I’ve seen people genuflect before receiving commmunion (ala EWTN), then stand to receive the Host.

To me, it is the best compromise available at this point in time. Communion is not the time nor place to make a statement.
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After reading the posts on this subject, I think this one sums it up very well. As an EMHC, I have offered communion to many people on the tounge, without a problem due to their size. Also, I would be surprised at first if one was to kneel for communion when they approached me. At communion, we are receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus. I do not think it is the time to make a statement. Blessed Holy Week to all
 
keepitreal said:
Receiving Communion the traditional way,kneeing and on the tongue,is quite foreign the the whole ethos of the Ordinary Form
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I beg your pardon. I was born after VII and made my first communion at a NO Mass kneeling at the rails with a paten, and continued to receive communion that way for some years afterwards.
 
**
Every knee should bend to receive Our Lord.**

Standing is the normal practice in Eastern Churches, both those in communion with Rome and not. When you receive both kinds from a spoon, as is usually done, standing is actually safer.
 
hamburglar said:
I have a concerns regarding kneeling to receive Holy Communion in the Mass of Paul VI (what some would call the Novus Ordo).

I would love to kneel while receiving, but I see two problems.

(
Any thoughts?
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you forgot problem # 3, it would represent direct disobedience of the norms for reception of communion. when the restore communion rails, kneeling with again be an option. IMO reception on the tongue and standing go together, when the first abuse is addressed, kneeling as the preferred option will return, because it will quickly become obvious
Oh, reception on the tongue, how awkward when standing, now easy when kneeling, duh.
 
bpbasilphx said:
**
Every knee should bend to receive Our Lord.**

Standing is the normal practice in Eastern Churches, both those in communion with Rome and not. When you receive both kinds from a spoon, as is usually done, standing is actually safer.
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As you said – standing is the tradition for the Eastern Churches. We of the Latin Church – kneel.
 
6kids said:
After reading the posts on this subject, I think this one sums it up very well. As an EMHC, I have offered communion to many people on the tounge, without a problem due to their size. Also, I would be surprised at first if one was to kneel for communion when they approached me. At communion, we are receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus. I do not think it is the time to make a statement. Blessed Holy Week to all
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When I am baptised in 2 days (hallelujah!) I plan to (and asked permission to) kneel to receive Communion. I am not trying to make a statement, I simply feel that I personally would be disrespectful to receive standing. I just think that because of the kind of person I am, if I received standing, I would not be in the mindset of receiving the literal Body and Blood of Christ. Kneeling helps me with that tremendously.

Just wanted to make sure you knew not everyone who kneels at NO Masses is trying to seem ‘holier-than-thou’.
 
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