Reverence or Revolt

[Tony_Souza]

No, you were not sinning at all. In order for sin to occur, you must first know it is a sin. It wouldn’t matter anyway, because I do not believe it is a sin to go against the norms anyway. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. I do know that you weren’t, at those times, sinning.

 

[SacredHeartFan]

This past advent my husband and I came into full communion with the Catholic Church (we were previously very involved Evangelicals). My joy at coming home is inexpressible. The Real Presence is such an incredible gift, one that I longed for such a long time. Currently I am in a parish that does not kneel during the consecration. When my husband and I were in preparation class with the parish priest I asked whether we should stand or kneel during the consecration. I was told that since there are not kneelers in the front pews, everyone stands in order to be in the same posture, and that I should follow the customs of each parish that I find myself regarding kneeling or standing. I have been listening to catholic answers for several months now and the answer given on the program has been unanimous – in America faithful Latin-rite Catholics must kneel during the consecration. The gift of the Eucharist is so great that I want to kneel during the consecration, but I am torn between obeying my parish priest and the guidelines set down by the Church. This past Sunday I knelt during the consecration but besides the oldest members of the congregation I was the only one. Since I am a new Catholic (and while a protestant I was very protestant), is it presumptuous of me to kneel during the consecration even though my priest has instructed me not to?

I know that you probably get a lot of questions about kneeling during the consecration but any bit of information on this would be much appreciated!!!

First welcome home!!! :clapping: :extrahappy:
Kneeling did not become popular until the Mideval Ages. Up until then the most reverent posture for prayer was standing. Many people still believe this today. That might be why your pastor wants you to stand. If you have any questions that are not answered here go to vatican.va/phome_en.htm

 

[benedictgal]

Actually, kneeling doesn’t date back to the Middle Ages. Here is what Pope Benedict XVI notes in his book, “The Spirit of the Liturgy”:

Kneeling does not come from any culture – it comes from the Bible and its knowledge of God. The central importance of kneeling in the Bible can be seen in a very concrete way. The word proskynein alone occurs fifty-nine times in the New Testament, twenty-four of which are in the Apocalypse, the book of the heavenly Liturgy, which is presented to the Church as the standard for her own Liturgy.

Furthermore, the Holy Father makes a very interesting observation. He notes:

However, Saint Luke, who in his whole work (both the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles) is in a special way the theologian of kneeling prayer, tells us that Jesus prayed on His knees. This prayer, the prayer by which Jesus enters into His Passion, is an example for us, both as a gesture and in its content. The gesture: Jesus assumes, as it were, the fall of man, lets himself fall into man’s fallenness, prays to the Father out of the lowest depths of human dereliction and anguish.

Finally, he writes:

Worship is one of those fundamental acts that affect the whole man. That is why bending the knee before the presence of the living God is something we cannot abandon.

In saying this, we come to the typical gesture of kneeling on one or both knees. In the Hebrew of the Old Testament, the verb barak, “to kneel”, is cognate with the word berek, “knee”. The Hebrews regarded the knees as a symbol of strength, to bend the knee is, therefore, to bend our strength before the living God, an acknowledgment of the fact that all that we are we receive from Him. In important passages of the Old Testament, this gesture appears as an expression of worship.

You can find the whole article at:

adoremus.org/1102TheologyKneel.html

I hope this helps you.

 

[nsm]

Thank you so much for all your replies and for this information! This really helps me a lot! :heaven:

 

[scylla]

What a mess…

What we should look at is the reflection of our faith in our actions. If we acknowledge the presence of God with kneeling as people in the Bible did then we should do that. If there is a good reason to reject that then it should be stated, rather than use the reason, this is what everyone else is doing.
Follow the directions of the Church, if your pastor is encouraging a practice which reflects a rejection of the Presence of Christ then do not follow him. Rather rebuke him, but only when you are sure he is teaching against the Presence of Christ

Kneel when necessary, stand when necessary, do not make a scene you do it for Christ and be respectful\obedient. Unless you are denying the faith you follow directions.

I know that Jesus is present and I know the proper reaction to Christ is to kneel so I kneel. When I am up on the Altar serving, I request to kneel, I am constantly denied and I kneel in my heart. Soon I will probably quit and just pay respect to Christ from the pew as I do not want to cause scandal, I just want to put Christ first. I do not kneel as an MC as I am denied the permission and it would cause trouble to do it in defiance of direct orders not to.
(they cannot give me a good reason and I will ask again o illustrate their repudiation of being faithful to Christ) I pray that the lead MC and the parish coordinator discover Christ in the Eucharist.

You will find people like this in many Catholic Churches these days, it is a hospital for sinners and we should be strong and faithful to Christ first, and help others to come to faithfulness in Him.

God Bless
Scylla

 

[THurifer2]

This past advent my husband and I came into full communion with the Catholic Church (we were previously very involved Evangelicals). !!

Welcome home and on a side note…I have discovered that Most converts from Evangelicalism are those who continued their seeking in the Lord…I have also concluded (because it has happened in my family) that Catholics who “leave” for evangelicalism for the most part uncatechised,nominal, or cultural Catholics…Interesting but completely understandable…for why explore the Ocean when the nice clean shallow pool feels more secure.

Anyways…since you are a recent convert I would consider baby steps…perhaps you could find a part of the church that it isn’t so obvious to kneel. THere is always the option of finding a new parish.

 

[nsm]

That is what I was thinking about. During Sunday mass which is very large, I have been kneeling. Daily masses are small, and held in a small chapel with little room between the rows of chairs to kneel , so I have been not kneeling then (one caveat is that while difficult to kneel in the chapel I have seen another person kneel a few weeks back so I know that it is not impossible).

I think it was Chesterton who said that once you come home you realize that the Catholic Church is far bigger from the inside then it seemed from the outside looking in! I feel that anew every day and I thank God for calling me home!:extrahappy: