Scottish Archbishop bans kneeling during communion

  • Thread starter Thread starter alwayslooking
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Interesting. Why would any bishop want the faithful to refrain from kneeling? The statement that standing is a sign of respect in Western culture is curious. What does he mean? If I am standing in front of the teller at a bank, and the teller is also standing, which of us is rendering respect to the other? I as the supplicant, or the teller as the debtor?

I find it somewhat charming that the bishop feels that too much kneeling is a problem worthy of his intervention. The Church in Scotland must be very strong!
 
Archbishop Conti turned 77-years-old earlier this year and has already handed in his resignation to Pope Benedict. His replacement could be announced within the next few months.
Click to expand...
Why do I get the feeling that some paper work in the Vatican is about to get moved to the top of the pile?
 
Warrenton said:
I find it somewhat charming that the bishop feels that too much kneeling is a problem worthy of his intervention. The Church in Scotland must be very strong!
Click to expand...
We are doing quite well on the east coast, Cardinal O’Brien rocks.
Not sure what is going on in Glasgow.🤷
 
that’s a shame, i think its very respectful to kneel when receiving our Lord i know i will my first Holy Communion
 
Warrenton said:
Interesting. Why would any bishop want the faithful to refrain from kneeling? The statement that standing is a sign of respect in Western culture is curious. What does he mean? If I am standing in front of the teller at a bank, and the teller is also standing, which of us is rendering respect to the other? I as the supplicant, or the teller as the debtor?
Click to expand...
I agree. I feel that kneeling is far more reverent than standing. I suppose that this is only for the OF?
 
Brendan said:
Why do I get the feeling that some paper work in the Vatican is about to get moved to the top of the pile?
Click to expand...
Maybe it is all a ploy to get out of office and onto the golf course faster. 😃
 
But standing is a sign of respect. I remember when I was at school (in the UK) we had to stand when a teacher or visitor came into the room, and stand when asked a question, too.
 
A relative, who had moved to a new area within a state in the North West, attended Mass at his new parish. As a traditional Catholic, he was used to kneeling always when receiving the
Body of Christ. When he went forward towards the Priest, he automatically knelt prior to receiving the Holy Eucharist. The Priest scolded him outloud, in front of everyone, with the words “Get up! No one does that here”. My relative made an appointment to meet with the Priest at that parish and discuss this matter, with no success. That was about 10 years ago.
 
paperwight66 said:
But standing is a sign of respect. I remember when I was at school (in the UK) we had to stand when a teacher or visitor came into the room, and stand when asked a question, too.
Click to expand...
Sure. But God deserves a bit more respect and humility I think.
 
taken from the Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Conti
There are also new instructions with regard to our postures during Mass which reflect the universal custom of the Church as set down within the Missal itself. We have been more used to kneeling than standing during some parts of the Mass, whereas in most other countries, the tradition of standing has been adhered to more faithfully. Standing is of course a sign of respect in our Western culture, and it is from a standing position that we will kneel in adoration in the period following the Sanctus up until the Pater Noster.
It is also from a standing position that we should make our sign of reverence before we receive Holy Communion, approaching the altar in a dignified procession. The option of genuflecting before receiving Holy Communion is also allowed, though we recommend the acceptance of the option which has become commonplace, namelyof bowing our heads before receiving Communion, as this is less likely to interrupt the flow of people and is more sensitive to the fact that there are many in our congregations who would find it difficult to genuflect without having something to hold on to.
This communion procession beautifully expresses the way in which we are a people journeying towards the Lord, for whose land and company, as the psalmist says, our “body pines, like a dry, weary land without water,” for us to be refreshed on that journey by the Holy Eucharist – Christ Himself.
When we return to our places after receiving Holy Communion we can sit or kneel but what we cannot fail to do, surely, is to address in the most intimate sanctuary of our hearts, the Lord, who through the sacrament, becomes our guest. With the centurion, whose faith the Lord commended, we will repeat what we have already said in answer to the priest: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
Click to expand...
the letter in its entirety can be read here

rcag.org.uk/documents/PastoralLetterontheNewTranslationoftheRomanMissal.pdf
 
While I wouldn’t condone the Archbishop’s stand (no pun intended) on kneeling, he is being unfair to those who prefer to kneel. However, we also stand to show respect. We stand when the priest, in persona Christi, enters the church before Mass. We stand in our church, but have a few who genuflect before receiving and the priest has no problem with this and neither does anyone else.
 
According to our friend Wiki, the Archbishop is a member of the Pontificial Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

I will pray extra hard for him. Like so many good men in very stressful positions, he is making the decisions he thinks are best. Even if we don’t agree with them, we need to be very careful that we are highly respectful of the office, and absolutely charitable to the man himself. I know that’s hard to do, in fact it is one of the very hardest things in the world. When our bishops do the ‘right thing’ according to us, we act as though they’re the 13th apostle, St. Francis, and Mother Teresa rolled into one; when our bishops do the ‘wrong thing’ according to us we act like they’re Hitler, Stalin, and the Borgias rolled into one.
 
The_Idiot said:
the letter in its entirety can be read here
Click to expand...
Thank you for the text link. It was interesting, and fairly representative of the encomia to Vatican 2 to which one has become accustomed lo these past 40 years.

The text regarding standing is interesting in particular. His Grace does not forbid kneeling, but says “it is also from the standing position that we should make our sign of reverence…” What does this mean? It implies that some additional sign should be made while we are standing. What sign is that? Kneeling was a sign of reverence itself. Standing is a sign of respect, under some circumstances, but respect is not reverence.

I also was very unclear what was meant by by the comment that some other places have adhered to the tradition of standing more faithfully than (his bishoprick). First, what tradition is his Grace talling about? Second, this is seems to me mixing old wine and new wineskings. If the tradition of standing is so important, what then about the tradition of saying the mass in Latin, or toward the east, and so on?

In His Grace’s favor, he clearly did not “ban” kneeling.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top