Pastor discouraging genuflecting

[Califman831]

Some clarifications from Cardinal Arinze, at the time the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, the representative of Pope Benedict XVI for all matters pertaining to the Liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church.

youtube.com/watch?v=mPnk9sbXCNE

 

[JM3]

he IS saying we shouldn’t genuflect when going in or out of the pew.

I would write to the Bishop for clarification on the gestures for his diocese without mentioning the name of the priest or the parish, just giving examples. Until you get a response, I would genuflect one or two steps from the holy water font upon enter the church and bow before entering the pew. When leaving, I would genuflect in the pew.

 

[pgepps]

When moving from the pew to receive the Eucharist during the Mass, and returning to the pew, one is “in procession,” is one not? Therefore different movements and gestures are appropriate than when, say, entering and leaving before and after mass, or moving about the church at other times. Have I misunderstood?

 

[PKinsale]

In our rather large cathedral the tabernacle is in a side chapel. When we enter, we bow toward the altar. My recollection is that it is not out of reverence to the altar itself but the sacred relic contained therein.

The GIRM controls the rubrics of the Mass but not all the actions one takes when entering or leaving a church or one’s pew.

 

[Elizium23]

In the norms on the GIRM as established by the Episcopal Conference in the United States, it is stated that a gesture of reverence be made prior to receiving the Eucharist standing. The gesture for the US has been determined as a deep and profound bow.

That is not true. The gesture of reverence when receiving Holy Communion in the United States is a bow of the head.
GIRM:

1. …

When receiving Holy Communion, the communicant bows his or her head before the Sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister. The consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant. When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverence is also made before receiving the Precious Blood.

 

[Lapey]

Sorry, that is incorrect. A bow toward the altar by laity has never been a tradition or customary practice in the Catholic Church until very recently when it was implemented as an underhanded way to increasingly take attention away from the Tabernacle. What is the point to bow to a slab of wood that no longer even contains a relic? I know, “to show respect for the communion meal.”

Sounds cute, but it’s wrong, there is no “proper gesture of reverence” FOR A TABLE! Just as wrong and wacky as holding hands during the Our Father. A blatantly foolish practice that innocent people like you are duped into performing because a misguided priest tells you so.

Reverence - YES! To whom are we showing reverence in a Catholic church? God present in the Blessed Sacrament. So if there is no tabernacle, there is no need for ANY bow, to a table, crucifix or whatever. Your entire posture and disposition is reverent, that’s enough.

Please see if you notice a trend here, in the OP, or in your own parish:

1. Tabernacle is moved to the side.
2. Genuflecting is discouraged, and becomes awkward with the Blessed Sacrament not front and center.
3. With the Tabernacle now being pretty much ignored, suddenly we are told to focus on the altar.
4. Hey, now we are told it’s actually “proper” to bow to the altar!
5. Step five you ought to be able to guess - hey, didn’t there used to be something over there called a tabernacle?

The GOAL (BELIEVE IT!) is to replace the Tabernacle with the altar (which will soon start to be called, ala paganism, “The Table”.)

There are lots of young people on this blog, and it is impressive and inspiring to see their devotion and love of the Faith. However, some of us old grey-hairs have been watching these little shifty maneuvers since Vatican II and let me assure you, and I’m very sad to say it, when you hear a priest tell you to do something and it’s not in the missal, not in the GIRM, and you never heard of it growing up, and it’s now all the rage in progressive parishes, it’s probably wrong.

How do you get to where you are with these statements??? It is as if the tabernacle is more important than the mass, or the altar…I don’t get your point. You do realize without a proper altar, there is no mass, without mass there is no Blessed Sacrement, (you see where I am going) without the Blessed Sacrement there is no need for a tabernacle. It’s guite simple.

During the mass it is proper to bow to the altar, unless one is passing directly in front of the tabernacle, then genuflect. Other than that, the beginning of mass and the end is appropriate to genuflect.

Really, paganism??? I guess Constantine started the RCC too. Should we get rid of the altar and become, like the protestants? A podiem, a man and a book. See, no altar no tabernacle…

 

[oratorymatt]

but he IS saying we shouldn’t genuflect when going in or out of the pew.

The only time I wouldn’t genuflect when getting in and out of the pew are when the tabernacle is empty and when I’m returning to my pew after receiving Our Lord.