N
Nick_L
Guest
![40.png](https://forums.catholic-questions.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/bc8723/40.png)
This sounds right to me. However, I was wondering if obediance to the Bishop’s directive applies when one is being directed to specifically NOT follow the GIRM.Yes, it would be disobedient to kneel, against the decision of the Bishop. It would also be contrary to the nature of the Sacred Liturgy, as a unified, public prayer of the Church - not our private preferences.
The Bishop is the chief Guardian of the Mysteries of God in his Diocese, the High Priest of his flock and has legitimate authority over all liturgical matters within his competence, which this issue explicitly is.
We must “cling to our Bishop as the Church does to Jesus Christ, and as Jesus Christ does to the Father” (Lumen Gentium)
For example: about two years ago we were directed in the Diocese of San Jose to stand during the entire Eucharistic Prayer, including the consecration. It was explained in the letter from the Bishop that we “stand and pray together as a community” at Mass and that “kneeling is a posture of private prayer”.
I, unlike most in my parish, have chosen to follow the GIRM’s, not the Bishop’s instruction.
Is this wrong?