No Kneeling During Mass -- New Rule?

[pilots13]

If they are competing with each other then some consolidation should be in order. Parishes should not be competing with each other. They are not meant to be centres of political power jockeying for attention, they are meant to be centres of worship. The day our parishes start fighting with each other for the lion’s share of the worshippers is the day we have lost them to Satan. Perhaps you could write to your bishop?

Problem is, all the parishes and Catholic schools are basically competing against each other. If your parish doesn’t find it’s niche, then it’s done. There was an ethnically Italian parish on the East Side of St Paul who’s only niche was it had AC when no one else in the area did. Then several other parishes got AC, the Italian parish’s attendance dropped, and they “moved” to the suburbs. Also on the East Side, I watched us go from having 7 Catholic grade schools and 1 high school to just 1 grade school over the course of about 20 years. Why did they all close, tuition go too high, people and the parishes couldn’t afford to keep things open, mergers happened, and then everything shut down. Meanwhile the suburban parishes were building unnecessarily ornate buildings with all their money. If that isn’t competition between parishes, I don’t know what is.

Our archbishop did recently consolidate several parishes and schools. It’s ended up (especially on the school side) creating more tension between parishes than anything else.

 

[KenChute]

Personally I do not think it wise to blindly follow/ obey their judgement…

It seems imho that by making the congregation stand and therefor not kneel and reflect on the communion they have just taken that…Less and less importance is being given to the Eucharist. There is no way that you can focus on prayer when you are standing watching for the last man/women to the altar!!

The other side of the coin is if your kneeling during communion and your back aches and pounds, how focused are then?

 

[KenChute]

Problem is, all the parishes and Catholic schools are basically competing against each other. If your parish doesn’t find it’s niche, then it’s done. There was an ethnically Italian parish on the East Side of St Paul who’s only niche was it had AC when no one else in the area did. Then several other parishes got AC, the Italian parish’s attendance dropped, and they “moved” to the suburbs. Also on the East Side, I watched us go from having 7 Catholic grade schools and 1 high school to just 1 grade school over the course of about 20 years. Why did they all close, tuition go too high, people and the parishes couldn’t afford to keep things open, mergers happened, and then everything shut down. Meanwhile the suburban parishes were building unnecessarily ornate buildings with all their money. If that isn’t competition between parishes, I don’t know what is.

Our archbishop did recently consolidate several parishes and schools. It’s ended up (especially on the school side) creating more tension between parishes than anything else.

Competition is only natural, as an example when there is several Catholic churches in an 15 mile radius fund raisers and charitable donations all collide and compete.

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

We kneel where I am, but afterwards are instructed to stand.
For my ‘rebellious part’ I continue to kneel as I can not find myself worthy to stand in the pressence of my Lord God and King.

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

Yeah, they’ve omitted it for years now. I heard it was for the possible health risk.

What I was wondering about was the fact that there was no kneeling at all during the Mass (I did see people kneeling to pray after communion, though), and I thought this was odd, but if it’s allowed, then okay shrugs just thought it was weird.

A health risk?! LMAO. Well with the flu and what have you I can see that, yes.
Although thats odd otherwise.

I’d like to see a few more ‘health risks’ not to be mean, in my parish. Folks rush all over the place to shake each other’s hands. Its so distracting. I’m sometimes wondering what they’d do if we had to go underground and keep quiet, how would they deal with not being able to rush about to music to grab someone’s hand?!

 

[surritter]

We kneel where I am, but afterwards are instructed to stand.
For my ‘rebellious part’ I continue to kneel as I can not find myself worthy to stand in the pressence of my Lord God and King.

We all must kneel during the consecration. I think you are talking about after receiving Holy Communion. In that case there may be places where you are instructed to stand, and that’s fine.

However, even that is not mandatory. If someone prefers to kneel after receiving Holy Communion, even if the rest of the congregation is standing, it is within the rules to do so.

I personally don’t like it when we’re told to stand until all have received. When I’ve got Jesus Himself within me, I prefer to focus on him, not the rest of the congregation! That is one point in the Mass where I like the “vertical” element, not the “horizontal.”

 

[ZhaneAugustine]

We all must kneel during the consecration. I think you are talking about after receiving Holy Communion. In that case there may be places where you are instructed to stand, and that’s fine.

However, even that is not mandatory. If someone prefers to kneel after receiving Holy Communion, even if the rest of the congregation is standing, it is within the rules to do so.

I personally don’t like it when we’re told to stand until all have received. When I’ve got Jesus Himself within me, I prefer to focus on him, not the rest of the congregation! That is one point in the Mass where I like the “vertical” element, not the “horizontal.”

No I meant after the Consecration takes place, I believe after the Lord’s prayer?
Well I know after the Consecration when folks go up to receive Communion my parish would prefer people to Stand as it is what the Bishop wants.

I don’t HAVE to see the Host to know my God is there. I can feel Him. And that’s good enough. Tis why I kneel.

 

[Faithdancer]

Why would a vanic pagan care??

LOL I wasn’t gonna say it! Well, at least he goes every other Christmas, that’s a start! Pray for him to start attending annually!

 

[Faithdancer]

We all must kneel during the consecration. I think you are talking about after receiving Holy Communion. In that case there may be places where you are instructed to stand, and that’s fine.

However, even that is not mandatory. If someone prefers to kneel after receiving Holy Communion, even if the rest of the congregation is standing, it is within the rules to do so.

I personally don’t like it when we’re told to stand until all have received. When I’ve got Jesus Himself within me, I prefer to focus on him, not the rest of the congregation! That is one point in the Mass where I like the “vertical” element, not the “horizontal.”

Our priest wants us to go back to our pews after the Eucharist and SING! He feels that the Mass is not the place for private prayer, but it is the place for communion with the rest of the faithful, and that singing together is a vital expression of that communion. Being reminded of this got me thinking about Matthew 6:5…am I sometimes guilty of conspicuous public prayer??

 

[Lokabrenna]

A health risk?! LMAO. Well with the flu and what have you I can see that, yes.
Although thats odd otherwise.

I’d like to see a few more ‘health risks’ not to be mean, in my parish. Folks rush all over the place to shake each other’s hands. Its so distracting. I’m sometimes wondering what they’d do if we had to go underground and keep quiet, how would they deal with not being able to rush about to music to grab someone’s hand?!

I heard it was due in part to the SARS outbreak in Toronto that they first stopped doing it, or maybe it was just the fact that people would come to church with bad colds and who knows what else?

LOL I wasn’t gonna say it! Well, at least he goes every other Christmas, that’s a start! Pray for him to start attending annually!

Again, I wasn’t aware that non-Christians weren’t allowed to ask questions about curious things that departed from what they were used to growing up as a Catholic, and I’m a she, and thank you for the prayers, but I don’t intend on attending again unless compelled to by family (weddings, funerals, and the like).