We are familiar with most of the parishes in our city (in Ontario, Canada), and before the revision, no one ever stood until the end of the people’s reply. Now, the practice is mixed. Each parish has a set of laminated cards with the new responses, but they come from different sources, some Canadian and some American, and not all of them include the instruction to stand for this prayer. Also, people are resistant to change, especially learning to “rise and reply” when saying a prayer that used to be said while seated. The scattered rumble of people trying to get up while cramming in a prayer that still feels like it ought to be finished before you stand makes for some confusion of mind and body.
Congregations are such individuals. Even in parishes where they have been quite willing to learn to stand, in one they will all stand up together, but in another it will be piecemeal throughout the whole prayer, so that they aren’t all up until it’s over. (and the thought bubbles above all the heads say: “May the Lord OOHH, yes, right, we are supposed to be standing up now …hmmm, OK, … and all His church I mean all His holy church”) And in at least one parish, hardly anyone stands for this prayer, but they still wait until it’s over, except for a few people popping up randomly who have either read the instruction or come in from another parish. But so far, there aren’t enough of them yet to trigger that herd instinct which can sense the point at which there are enough people doing something that maybe I should be doing it too.
Some priests made a point when the revision first came in to remind us to stand, while others haven’t mentioned it much. Eventually I suppose we will all remember, but we aren’t consistent yet. I wish that everyone could agree to delay the prayer for a few seconds until everyone is standing up, but that would be too much to hope for!
As a footnote, I include a private grumble of mine about standing to pray, that sometimes, in places where the congregation is invited or expected to stand up, e.g. at “Let us pray”, some priests don’t wait for us, but just keep on going with the prayer, and then it’s hard to hear them, or to follow the prayer properly. Some of the prayers are so short that we aren’t even all up before it’s over. It seems just plain courtesy to wait until the people whom you have just invited to stand and pray can get themselves ready to join you. But I try and be charitable, and think that maybe they are in a hurry that morning. And maybe they think the same about us when they observe the rush to the parking lot at the end of mass.
