Priest posture during purification of the vessels

[RosaLydia]

Hello:

We have a new priest in our parish that sits while the deacon finishes purifing the Cup. Is this correct?

I teach catechism classes and I tell my students to kneel during comunion until the vessels are purified. But now the priest sits before this is completed & now I am confused.

Also, I was taught to stay kneeling until after the great amen, but our new priest signaled the congregation to stand during the great amen (rather long song I must admit…) Is this correct also?

Thank you for your help!

 

[WavyGravy]

Hello:

We have a new priest in our parish that sits while the deacon finishes purifing the Cup. Is this correct?

I teach catechism classes and I tell my students to kneel during comunion until the vessels are purified. But now the priest sits before this is completed & now I am confused.

Also, I was taught to stay kneeling until after the great amen, but our new priest signaled the congregation to stand during the great amen (rather long song I must admit…) Is this correct also?

Thank you for your help!

It’s correct. The Church mandates only that ordained or instituted men complete the purification, but not specifically whom.

On EWTN’s daily Mass, the deacon takes care of the purification. If one is not available then the priest takes care of it.

We are supposed to kneel until the end of the great amen. Also, the posture assumed after someone has received communion is up to the individual – standing, kneeling or sitting. The Church is extremely clear on this matter.

 

[Phemie]

The Great Amen is a long song?? Oh, I guess you meant the Eucharistic Prayer, since the Great Amen can be just 2 syllables. But yes, in the US the norm is to kneel until after the AMEN.

As for the purification, the priest can certainly be seated and the GIRM says that you may kneel or sit at that time. It’s up to the person.

 

[japhy]

The Great Amen is a long song?? Oh, I guess you meant the Eucharistic Prayer, since the Great Amen can be just 2 syllables. But yes, in the US the norm is to kneel until after the AMEN.

No, the OP likely means The Great Amen. I’ve heard it done in ways that takes 30 seconds.

And as GIRM 43 states: “In the dioceses of the United States of America, they should kneel beginning after the singing or recitation of the Sanctus until after the Amen of the Eucharistic Prayer…”

 

[Phemie]

No, the OP likely means The Great Amen. I’ve heard it done in ways that takes 30 seconds.

And as GIRM 43 states: “In the dioceses of the United States of America, they should kneel beginning after the singing or recitation of the Sanctus until after the Amen of the Eucharistic Prayer…”

30 seconds is only long if you’re in cardiac arrest. Kneeling for an extra 30 seconds is not exactly taxing.

As for GIRM 43, I guess I was thinking of the Eucharistic Prayer as starting after the Preface, IOW after the Sanctus.

 

[japhy]

30 seconds is only long if you’re in cardiac arrest. Kneeling for an extra 30 seconds is not exactly taxing.

As for GIRM 43, I guess I was thinking of the Eucharistic Prayer as starting after the Preface, IOW after the Sanctus.

I wasn’t disagreeing with you about the posture. As for the “Amen” being long, 30 seconds is awfully long for something that’s supposed to be two syllables. My parish (during non-Lent times) uses “Amen, Alleluia, Amen, Alleluia; Amen, Alleluia, Amen, Amen, Amen.” I really can’t stand it. I’ve heard another one that’s “Amen, Alleluia, Forever and ever, Forever, Alleluia, Forever and ever, Amen.” WHY?

 

[RosaLydia]

To clarify my original post.

Yes - the Great Amen is sung and it is very long!
So do you kneel until the loong Great Amen song is over?

And my second question was what is the correct the posture of the priest - standing or sitting while the deacon purifies the vessels?

Thanks for your help,

 

[Phemie]

To clarify my original post.

Yes - the Great Amen is sung and it is very long!
So do you kneel until the loong Great Amen song is over?

And my second question was what is the correct the posture of the priest - standing or sitting while the deacon purifies the vessels?

Thanks for your help,

Yes, kneeling until the AMEN has been sung.

Priest may sit while the deacon purifies the vessels and so may everyone else if they so choose. We aren’t told to kneel at that point, the choice of posture is left up to us.

 

[japhy]

So do you kneel until the loong Great Amen song is over?

Yes, you kneel until the end of the “Amen” (cf. GIRM 43).

And my second question was what is the correct the posture of the priest - standing or sitting while the deacon purifies the vessels?

The minister doing the purification stands at the altar or credence table (cf. GIRM 163, 171). If the deacon does the purification, he does so “while the priest returns to the chair” (GIRM 183). I think it is reasonable to expect that the priest returns to the chair to sit there, rather than to wait there standing until the purification is complete. That’s just my interpretation, though; I don’t think his posture at that time is specifically dictated (so I would not impose my preference – sitting – on the priest if he chose to stand).

 

[RosaLydia]

Got it!
Thanks!

One more follow-up question.

What is the correct posture of the congregation during communion?

We kneel for the Agnus Dei. When is it correct to go back to sitting? While waiting for communion? Or after you take communion? Or until purification of the vessels?

I thought the congregation was to remain kneeling from Agnus Dei until the purification of the vessels out of respect fot he Blessed Sacrament.

Thanks for your help,

Lydia

 

[Phemie]

You stand to go to Communion and then are free to stand, kneel or sit after that.

 

[RosaLydia]

Thanks!So you kneel from the Agnus Dei until is your turn to go to Communion & after you take Communion & go back to your seat you are free to stand, kneel or sit.It would then be incorrect to sit while waiting their turn to take part in the Communion line.The GIRM should come in video format to eliminate confusion!* =)

 

[Phemie]

For what it’s worth, when it comes to kneeling at the Agnus Dei the GIRM for the US says:

*The faithful kneel after the Agnus Dei unless the Diocesan Bishop determines otherwise.
*
So if you go to Mass in another diocese you may see everyone standing at that time.

 

[japhy]

Thanks!So you kneel from the Agnus Dei until is your turn to go to Communion & after you take Communion & go back to your seat you are free to stand, kneel or sit.It would then be incorrect to sit while waiting their turn to take part in the Communion line.The GIRM should come in video format to eliminate confusion!* =)

It is my personal preference to kneel until I get up to receive Communion, and then to kneel when I get back to my seat. I do not sit until the Blessed Sacrament has been reserved in the tabernacle and the priest and other ministers genuflect. Then I sit. My parish does not purify the vessels during the course of the Mass, but I would not feel obliged to kneel during that time.

 

[WavyGravy]

It is my personal preference to kneel until I get up to receive Communion, and then to kneel when I get back to my seat. I do not sit until the Blessed Sacrament has been reserved in the tabernacle and the priest and other ministers genuflect. Then I sit. My parish does not purify the vessels during the course of the Mass, but I would not feel obliged to kneel during that time.

As someone noted, if your local ordinary has instructed his flock to stand during the Agnus Dei then you are obliged to stand. You should certainly drop to your knees during the period between the end of the Agnus Dei and the point at which you left your pew to receive communion, however.

 

[japhy]

As someone noted, if your local ordinary has instructed his flock to stand during the Agnus Dei then you are obliged to stand. You should certainly drop to your knees during the period between the end of the Agnus Dei and the point at which you left your pew to receive communion, however.

Well, yes, I wouldn’t kneel after the Agnus Dei if it were not the custom of the diocese; in my diocese, however, we kneel. I do find it odd that, in dioceses where you stand after the Agnus Dei, no one knows quite when (and if) to stop standing, and what posture they assume afterwards.

 

[WavyGravy]

Well, yes, I wouldn’t kneel after the Agnus Dei if it were not the custom of the diocese; in my diocese, however, we kneel. I do find it odd that, in dioceses where you stand after the Agnus Dei, no one knows quite when (and if) to stop standing, and what posture they assume afterwards.

I was talking about during the Agnus Dei. The posture you assume during the Agnus Dei is up to your local ordinary.

 

[japhy]

I was talking about during the Agnus Dei. The posture you assume during the Agnus Dei is up to your local ordinary.

The posture from after the “Amen” at the end of the doxology of the Eucharistic Prayer is standing (cf. GIRM 43). The posture after the Agnus Dei is kneeling “unless the Diocesan Bishop determines otherwise” (ibid.). That means that standing is the posture dictated by the GIRM during the Agnus Dei.

 

[WavyGravy]

The posture from after the “Amen” at the end of the doxology of the Eucharistic Prayer is standing (cf. GIRM 43). The posture after the Agnus Dei is kneeling “unless the Diocesan Bishop determines otherwise” (ibid.). That means that standing is the posture dictated by the GIRM during the Agnus Dei.

Ultimately the posture you assume during the singing of the Agnus Dei is up to your ordinary.

 

[Phemie]

Ultimately the posture you assume during the singing of the Agnus Dei is up to your ordinary.

Only if he’s not being obedient and ignoring the GIRM. The posture AFTER the Agnus Dei is up to him, not the posture during the Agnus Dei.