Did he actually say, “nod of the head” or did he say a “bow of the head” ?
Though the “normal” posture for receiving Communion in the United States is standing, the Holy See accepted this only “with the stipulation that communicants who choose to kneel may not be denied Holy Communion on these grounds” (Notitiae, Nov-Dec 2002, Prot. no. 1322/02/L; see AB Dec 2002-Jan 2003, p 15).
Wow! So the Church was wrong for almost 2000 years.
The Church wasn’t kneeling at Communion for 2000 years.
If you are in the USA, the 2011 GIRM actually explicitly recognizes that individual members of the faithful may chose to receive kneeling. This is a major change from the prior version which instructed pastors to “catechize” such people as to why standing was better. That has been stricken from the US adaptations and now reads basically as I stated in my first sentence.
Did you miss the key word there buddy?No. You were implying that the Church was wrong to have been making us to kneel for 2000 years during Communion as sarcasm. That of course is not correct, because kneeling to receive Communion is a later development in the Church. They never knelt in the early centuries of the Church. By the Council of Nicaea, the Canon was that people should stand only during Sundays.
This is all wonderful, but it does not matter so much to be making a huge deal out of. It is not a matter of faith or morals. It is only a matter of religious practice / obedience to the particular rite’s tradition. Small t, not big T. The right way is whatever your Bishop tells you. Like Father Larry on EWTN says:
I totally missed the question. thought he was talking about postures during the mass.My “Order of the Mass” (ISBN 978-0-8146-3409-7) that I received for the new Mass (I am in RCIA) says:
Holy, Holy, Holy
etc.
etc
Hosanna in the highest.
- kneel
after the consecration the priest sings or says:
The mystery of faith.
And the people acclaim:
Etc etc…
Lord’s Prayer…
Sign of Peace…
fraction of the bread…
Invitation to communion…
Communion…
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION * stand*
Priest: Let us pray.
…Final Blesssing…
Dismissal…
(don’t run over each other in the parking lot!
Before Vatican II, it had been the custom for almost 1,500 years in the Catholic Church for those receiving Holy Communion to do so kneeling. The Host was received on the tongue, and the priest said: Corpus Domini Nostri Iesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam, Amen. “May the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul unto life everlasting. Amen”.
Of course, I’m not against kneeling in the Latin Rite. What I’m against is people misrepresenting the facts. Many are already poorly Catechized today. Misinforming people further doesn’t help proper spiritual growth even though that misinformation leads to better practice. The end does not justify the means.This is all wonderful, but it does not matter so much to be making a huge deal out of. It is not a matter of faith or morals. It is only a matter of religious practice / obedience to the particular rite’s tradition. Small t, not big T. The right way is whatever your Bishop tells you. Like Father Larry on EWTN says:
“Women cannot be ordained priests- Big T”
“Priests cannot be married, small t”
People stood and received in the hand only during times of persecution. By the time the Church had started flourishing after Constantine, kneeling and receiving on the Tounge quickly became the accepted practice.
Actually no, people stood ever since until today in the Eastern Rites.
You see, the church that we are discussing here happens to be the Roman one. And the Key word the other poster was refering to was “almost” 2000, as in 1500 to 2500.
I don’t follow how “misinformation” can lead to “better practice”…??
When people make up stories (and in fairness, some people here are not the ones making up the stories, but they have been misinformed themselves) so that a correct practice is to be followed. Remember when we were kids and our parents make stuff up just so we’d do the right thing? Its similar. Sometimes stories are made up so people wouldn’t ask too many questions and just do it.I don’t follow how “misinformation” can lead to “better practice”…??
Ok, I understandwhat you are saying about little stories. I just don’t think that we need to say things like “we do it because it was always done this way”, when it is just as easy to say "our bishop wants us to do it thus and so for such and such a reason. I mean really; I can’t really imagine that how you receive the communion host is a matter of faith and morals.
“If you don’t eat your peas, the big bad monster will gobble you up.”I don’t follow how “misinformation” can lead to “better practice”…??