No kneeling during the consecration?

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JLCecilia

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So, I was a guest at another church this weekend while we were on a mini-vaca and the ONLY time this parish kneeled was during the prayer: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

Normally, in my small parish, we kneel during the consecration. Also, at the church we visited, there was NO break between the communion hymn and standing for the closing prayer. At our parish, the music may still play softly, but the singing stops after the last communicant and you have time to contemplate the sacrament while Fr. cleans the alter.

What are your thoughts on this? I don’t mean to be rude, but I found it somewhat irreverant.
 
JLCecilia said:
So, I was a guest at another church this weekend while we were on a mini-vaca and the ONLY time this parish kneeled was during the prayer: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

Normally, in my small parish, we kneel during the consecration. Also, at the church we visited, there was NO break between the communion hymn and standing for the closing prayer. At our parish, the music may still play softly, but the singing stops after the last communicant and you have time to contemplate the sacrament while Fr. cleans the alter.

What are your thoughts on this? I don’t mean to be rude, but I found it somewhat irreverant.
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If it was a Latin Rite parish in the US, that is against the rubrics.

God Bless
 
JLCecilia said:
So, I was a guest at another church this weekend while we were on a mini-vaca and the ONLY time this parish kneeled was during the prayer: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

Normally, in my small parish, we kneel during the consecration. Also, at the church we visited, there was NO break between the communion hymn and standing for the closing prayer. At our parish, the music may still play softly, but the singing stops after the last communicant and you have time to contemplate the sacrament while Fr. cleans the alter.

What are your thoughts on this? I don’t mean to be rude, but I found it somewhat irreverant.
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I have been to mass like this before, and i was very uncomfortable with it. I thought it was irreverant as well!

Do you mean that they only kneeled for the few seconds that the prayer was said, or did they kneel after the prayer until they recieved communion?
 
JLCecilia said:
So, I was a guest at another church this weekend while we were on a mini-vaca and the ONLY time this parish kneeled was during the prayer: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

Normally, in my small parish, we kneel during the consecration. Also, at the church we visited, there was NO break between the communion hymn and standing for the closing prayer. At our parish, the music may still play softly, but the singing stops after the last communicant and you have time to contemplate the sacrament while Fr. cleans the alter.

What are your thoughts on this? I don’t mean to be rude, but I found it somewhat irreverant.
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Regrettably; you are right it is irreverent.
I know this is no consolation but your not alone in your thinking.
It’s happening everywhere in numerous Catholic diocese’s not only in the United States but my own country Canada as well.

Philippians Chap 2

So if in Christ there is anything that will move you, any incentive in love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any warmth or sympathy – I appeal to you,
2 make my joy complete by being of a single mind, one in love, one in heart and one in mind.
3 Nothing is to be done out of jealousy or vanity; instead, out of humility of mind everyone should give preference to others,
4 everyone pursuing not selfish interests but those of others.
5 Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped.
7 But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being,
8 he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.
9 And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names;
((“10 so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
11 and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”)))
 
JLCecilia said:
So, I was a guest at another church this weekend while we were on a mini-vaca and the ONLY time this parish kneeled was during the prayer: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

Normally, in my small parish, we kneel during the consecration. Also, at the church we visited, there was NO break between the communion hymn and standing for the closing prayer. At our parish, the music may still play softly, but the singing stops after the last communicant and you have time to contemplate the sacrament while Fr. cleans the alter.

What are your thoughts on this? I don’t mean to be rude, but I found it somewhat irreverant.
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Did someone come up and make you stand up when you kneeled down after the Holy, Holy?
 
It’s funny b/c my body instinctively knew (out of habit I guess) when we should have kneeled. I was really close to just pulling the kneeler down and going it alone, but our neighbor’s personal effects were on the floor in the way . . . yada, yada.

No, we did kneel from the ‘centurian’ prayer clear through communion and on till the closing prayer.
 
Same issue at my parish. You know what happened this sunday? I went ahead and pulled out the kneeler and within seconds, the senior next to me said " Stop! Get up!" and I thought… what??? I stood up and I said " Why?" ( I honestly thought she was going to tell me that we don’t kneel anymore and to stop it! ) and she said " Because you were kneeling on my foot!"

Oops… I felt like a real idiot. I still went back and knelt. Yikes…!!
 
Sina said:
Same issue at my parish. You know what happened this sunday? I went ahead and pulled out the kneeler and within seconds, the senior next to me said " Stop! Get up!" and I thought… what??? I stood up and I said " Why?" ( I honestly thought she was going to tell me that we don’t kneel anymore and to stop it! ) and she said " Because you were kneeling on my foot!"

Oops… I felt like a real idiot. I still went back and knelt. Yikes…!!
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Hehe, that is kinda funny =]
Good for you!!

I always pull out the kneeler as well.
 
Sina said:
Same issue at my parish. You know what happened this sunday? I went ahead and pulled out the kneeler and within seconds, the senior next to me said " Stop! Get up!" and I thought… what??? I stood up and I said " Why?" ( I honestly thought she was going to tell me that we don’t kneel anymore and to stop it! ) and she said " Because you were kneeling on my foot!"

Oops… I felt like a real idiot. I still went back and knelt. Yikes…!!
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I thought that the Bishops in Canada did make standing during the consecration as a norm?

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
I thought that the Bishops in Canada did make standing during the consecration as a norm?

Jim
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It all depends on which Canadian diocese your in.

In my own archdiocese there are two deaneries in my city. French and English. Being fully bilingual myself and weird as it might sound if I go to the French Mass, most parishioners in the French Churches Kneel during consecration. My home parish which is English is the only English Church in the entire English deanery that kneels during consecration which by the way is irksome crux in our archbishops derriere. Approximately a decade ago the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops made some revised adaptations to the G.I.R.M. ( General Instruction to the Roman Missal ) which entailed discretionary changes as to whether the Archbishop in a Diocese choose to have congregations stand or knee during consecration. The same thing is being met with unbridled disunity not only across Canada but in American Catholic Diocese’s also. Is this another ploy of liturgical abuses with no unity amongst different parishes and diocese’s ? I think that all Catholics should be able to walk into any Catholic Church whether in any city, province, state, or country and partake in the same identical Mass. Is that to much for all Catholics to ask for ?
 
I am not sure whether my diocese ( Southern Alberta ) is a kneeling one or not. My downtown parish kneels, and this new church in the suburbs I am now attending does not. So who knows! I love kneeling, I really feel it is important so I want to do it regardless even if I am the only one. As long as I don’t hurt anymore seniors in the process!!!
 
Sina said:
I am not sure whether my diocese ( Southern Alberta ) is a kneeling one or not. My downtown parish kneels, and this new church in the suburbs I am now attending does not. So who knows! I love kneeling, I really feel it is important so I want to do it regardless even if I am the only one. As long as I don’t hurt anymore seniors in the process!!!
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I think it’s only proper to kneel before the most humble presence of Jesus making Himself present in Faith to believe and utter My Lord and My God. Kneeling during consecration has been in the Catholic Church for over a thousand years. Why change something so beautiful and humbly reverent.
 
Well I would say, go with the directive of the Bishop.

From my understanding, the proper position for worship in the East, is standing.

Kneeling is a custom developed in the West.

However, I do prefer kneeling, but I have attended Mass in Monasteries, where standing is the norm. In fact where I go on retreat, if you kneel, you won’t see the altar, its so far away and the way the monastery chapel is set up. All the monks stand and so do the people who are behind them.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Well I would say, go with the directive of the Bishop.

From my understanding, the proper position for worship in the East, is standing.

Kneeling is a custom developed in the West.

However, I do prefer kneeling, but I have attended Mass in Monasteries, where standing is the norm. In fact where I go on retreat, if you kneel, you won’t see the altar, its so far away and the way the monastery chapel is set up. All the monks stand and so do the people who are behind them.

Jim
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Maybe there is some priest out there who has the wisdom to explain WHY does the Faithful all around the world KNEEL during the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and during the Mass (Consecration) choose to kneel or stand as per custom prescribed by the local archbishop ? Are we not making adoration towards the same Jesus invisibly and wholly present in wonder and awe for all Catholics to Adore.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
I thought that the Bishops in Canada did make standing during the consecration as a norm?

Jim
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No, they didn’t. In fact, according to the Archbishop of Ottawa, the Atlantic Bishops have supposedly decided that kneeling is to be done for the entire Eucharistic Prayer throughout the 4 Atlantic provinces. Somehow that seems to have been missed by my Bishop, or if not missed, certainly ignored.

wcr.ab.ca/news/2008/1215/kneel121508.shtml

In my own diocese you kneel in one parish and stand at the church 5 miles down the road. When someone complained about the standing in our own parish the bishop asked who had decided to have everyone standing during the EP. “The pastor” came the answer. I knew better but I wasn’t there to correct them – the pastor had made the announcement, but he’d pretty much been nagged into it. “Then you stand, it’s his call.”
 
Phemie said:
No, they didn’t. In fact, according to the Archbishop of Ottawa, the Atlantic Bishops have supposedly decided that kneeling is to be done for the entire Eucharistic Prayer throughout the 4 Atlantic provinces. Somehow that seems to have been missed by my Bishop, or if not missed, certainly ignored.

wcr.ab.ca/news/2008/1215/kneel121508.shtml

In my own diocese you kneel in one parish and stand at the church 5 miles down the road. When someone complained about the standing in our own parish the bishop asked who had decided to have everyone standing during the EP. “The pastor” came the answer. I knew better but I wasn’t there to correct them – the pastor had made the announcement, but he’d pretty much been nagged into it. “Then you stand, it’s his call.”
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Excellent article from the Ottawa Citizen. I remember when Archbishop Pendergrass was Archbishop in the Diocese of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Thanks for submitting this article
 
centurionguard;
Maybe there is some priest out there who has the wisdom to explain WHY does the Faithful all around the world KNEEL during the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and during the Mass (Consecration) choose to kneel or stand as per custom prescribed by the local archbishop ?
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I don’t believe this is true, especially in the East, where kneeling is a form of sitting, and standing is the proper posture for prayer.
Church’s don’t even have pews, never mind kneelers. This is what I have heard various people say, but I’m not an expert on the subject to know for sure.

As far as Canada, the US and Western Europe goes, kneeling is the proper posture for worship, so we should kneel during the consecration.

Jim
 
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