JReducation:
Yes, I understand in religious houses the choir is set up for Divine Office etc. But in most Parish Churches the people do face the altar and there is absolutely no reason not to have kneelers.
The Carthusians actually lay on the floor during parts of their liturgy. We don’t, as there is no room, but I would love to during the Consecration.
It is not only due to architecture that some do not kneel, it is sometimes pride and the whole, new age take on the idea that “we are all God”. We are not.
I understand that if one is not “able” to kneel due to physical problems they are of course exempt. But this is not the majority.
I look on the Bible for inspiration in this. The awesome reverence in the presence of God. Old and New. Look at Revelation. The Mass is there. The elders throw their crowns down in front of the Lord and “fall on their faces.” Should we do less? We do, when we kneel. That is the least we should do.
I am not trying to “stir up trouble” I am trying to be the “advocate” for a return to awe and reverence in the Mass, as it should be. If we really believe in the Actual Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Mass then how could we not “fall down?”
In the Latin Mass as per the Fraternity of St. Peter etc. this is not an issue. I pray that soon all Parishes will be able to offer this wonderful liturgical expression.
I appreciate your statement and agree. I was simply trying to say that we should not assume that kneeling has always been the case in every situation. Kneeling has been used more by the laity than by religious.
Therefore, not kneeling is not always a lack of reverence. Some people, I don’t mean you personally, because I don’t know you, but some people on these threads judge others who do not kneel and I have often come to the rescue by reminding people that kneeling has not been a universal practice. It is a practice in parishes.
You’d be surprised how many people are surprised to find out that friars and monks don’t always kneel. It really depends on their tradition.
You also mentioned prostration. Mendicants and monastics have prostration, but it is never used during the mass, unless it is part of the ritual, such as profession of vows. Prostration is a tradition used in private prayer among friars, monks, hermits and cloistered nuns.
Monastic tradtion, upon which all the orders base their rule, have always required that the religious be able to see the Eucharist being consecrated. You either kneel or you stand, but you do not prostrate at that time.
The Capuchins and the Camaldolese have an interesting custom of kissing the floor when they enter and leave the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. That is not common to other mendicant and monstic communities. Most communities genuflect. But it is a very beautiful custom and can be used by anyone. There is actually a practical reason why most communities genuflect instead of kissing the floor. Their habits don’t allow it. The Capuchin and camaldolese habit is one piece. There less of a chance of getting tangled and falling, LOL.
But what is important for the purpose of this conversation is that we do not over generalize. Parishes have had a tradition of kneeling during the Eucharistic prayer. It comes from the secular priesthood. Even when religious took over parishes, they kept the tradition, because these parishes belonged to the diocese, not to the religious. Even though inside their own chapel in their house they did things differently. They had no kneelers, no communion rails, no statues, no stain glass and no tabernacle in the main church, if they happened to have an oratory. The smaller houses usually did not have an oratory, therefore the tabernacle was always in the main church. Franciscans have never had oratories. The tabernacle was always in the chapel. I believe it was the same for Carmelites and Dominicans.
We do tend to over generalize and then we scandalize ourselves when we run into something different.
I remember serving in the missions in South America. The chapels in the Amazon were very open, because of the heat. They rarely had windows., just open arches. To prevent theft and damage by the elements, you had the basics. The tabernacle was built into a cement wall with a door that looked like a safe. The floors were usually bamboo, because it was cooler. You did not kneel, because it is very painful to kneel on bamboo floors. We had one chapel that had benches with kneelers that were not padded. They were wooden boards. Talk about penance. These were for the laity. The brothers’ chapel was the traditional chapel without kneelers. Nonetheless, those wee beautiful liturgies. The music was usually indigenous melodies in Quechua. Most of the indigenous people spoke very little Spanish. The mass was in Quechua, which is a language that is actually older than Latin. Some scholars say that it’s about 12,000 years old. I remember those masses with great affection. The people were so humble and very reverent, even though the noise of the wildlife around you sometimes made it impossible to hear, because we did not have microphones.
Sorry, I’m rambling down memory lane here.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
God bless
