Should you kneel when you watch the Blessed Sacrament on T.V.?

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Alma

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On several Catholic T.V. Channels there are Holy Hours for Eucharistic Adoration, durng which the Most Holy Sacrament is placed on a on an altar, surrounded by lit candles, for viewers to watch and adore the Lord, present on the Eucharist.:signofcross:

However, a priest friend of mine told me I should not kneel in front of the TV because what appears on the screen is not the Real Presence of our Lord, but only the electronic image of a Consecrated Host.:ehh:

He says only the TV crew in the TV Studio is before the Real Presence, not the TV viewers. :imsorry:

What do you think about this?:hmmm:

I always knelt during Consecration when watching Mass on T:V., have you?

To kneel or not to kneel? that is the question…🤷

Alma
 
I would say kneel if you like…as long as you understand that Christ is not literally, physically present in the room and that an electronic image does not compare to actually being there in the church. Afterall, we kneel before statues of Our Lord or the saints…while Our Lord is present in statues and icons through the Holy Spirit, this presence does not compare to the Real Presence in the Eucharist, yet kneeling is practiced.
 
Personally, I either kneel or genuflect when the Real Presence is on TV (either at a Mass or in a Monstrance). I realize it isn’t something that I do on pain of sin, however I want to show respect. If I’m sick and can’t do the above, I bow. I may not be able to continue it all the time, however I feel that I’ve shown reverence and that He’ll understand.🤷
 
In some cases, as on EWTN, the Exposition Rite may be on videotape and not live. Therefore, it is not even happening at the time.
 
The 7th EC determined that reverencing the images of holy persons and events is a sign of reverence for the items, persons, and actions pictured. (It also requires icons in churches, and on the vestments and chalices and books.)

While we don’t think of televisions as icons, the principle is the same; in showing reverence for the actions portrayed, one shows reverence for the items pictured.

It is functionally the same as genuflecting before an Icon: it calls to mind the holy actions, and therefor calls to mind a reverential state.
 
If I know the show is live I might kneel and say, “Lord, I know that this is only an image but I adore you who are present there in that chapel.” However, I don’t even watch the ones that are recorded since they aren’t now happening. I just feel weird if I do.
 
Listen to the priest.

GIRM no. 274: A genuflection, made by bending the right knee to the ground, signifies adoration, and therefore it is reserved for the Most Blessed Sacrament, as well as for the Holy Cross from the solemn adoration during the liturgical celebration on Good Friday until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.

An image of the Blessed Sacrament remains precisely that: an image. Just as Catholics do not adore images of the Sacred Heart, neither should we adore images of the Most Blessed Eucharist. We may reverence these images, but to genuflect would confuse the meaning behind these gestures and lead to scandal.

The Blessed Eucharist, of course, being the Real Presence of Jesus, deserves our utmost worship, adoration and praise.
 
Aramis said:
The 7th EC determined that reverencing the images of holy persons and events is a sign of reverence for the items, persons, and actions pictured. (It also requires icons in churches, and on the vestments and chalices and books.)

While we don’t think of televisions as icons, the principle is the same; in showing reverence for the actions portrayed, one shows reverence for the items pictured.

It is functionally the same as genuflecting before an Icon: it calls to mind the holy actions, and therefor calls to mind a reverential state.
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I beg to differ. The substance of the holy image is the holy image itself: it doesn’t change. Thus a statue of our Lady of Fatima remains always the the statue of the Blessed Mother. It always recalls us to the mystery of Mary’s maternal love for us.

But there is no substance to a TV image, which constantly mutates. So when someone reverences an image of Mary projected on the TV screen, I think he is simply reverencing the TV screen, not Mary. While God will probably not be particularly upset with overzealous piety, we shouldn’t encourage it or promote it either.
 
peregrinus_sg said:
Listen to the priest.

GIRM no. 274: A genuflection, made by bending the right knee to the ground, signifies adoration, and therefore it is reserved for the Most Blessed Sacrament, as well as for the Holy Cross from the solemn adoration during the liturgical celebration on Good Friday until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.

An image of the Blessed Sacrament remains precisely that: an image. Just as Catholics do not adore images of the Sacred Heart, neither should we adore images of the Most Blessed Eucharist. We may reverence these images, but to genuflect would confuse the meaning behind these gestures and lead to scandal.

The Blessed Eucharist, of course, being the Real Presence of Jesus, deserves our utmost worship, adoration and praise.
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The OP didn’t mention GENUFLECTION (one knee), he (she?) mentioned KNEELING (both knees). Different kettle of fish entirely.

Many a church will have a kneeler placed in front of a crucifix, or a statue or picture of the Sacred Heart, Divine Mercy, Our Lady or some other saint - specifically so that the faithful might be encouraged to kneel before that representation and address their prayers to Our Lord, Our Lady or whomever.

By the same token, the representation of the Blessed Sacrament on tv being an icon of sorts, there is nothing wrong with kneeling before it.
 
You have been given latitude to do what you think is best. So, rather than worry about it, do what you think is best.
 
LilyM is right. The OP mentioned KNEELING, not genuflecting. We kneel before images of Our Lord, Our Lady, and the saints all the time. Many parishes in my diocese have kneelers before statues of the saints.
 
Claire_from_DE said:
However, I don’t even watch the ones that are recorded since they aren’t now happening. I just feel weird if I do.
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I don’t know whether any of your TV stations carry the Daily Mass from St. Ann’s Basilica, but they are taped weeks in advance. It is aired all over the world. Think how weird it must feel for the priest who has to tape Easter season Masses while it is still Lent!
 
Alma said:
On several Catholic T.V. Channels there are Holy Hours for Eucharistic Adoration, durng which the Most Holy Sacrament is placed on a on an altar, surrounded by lit candles, for viewers to watch and adore the Lord, present on the Eucharist.:signofcross:

However, a priest friend of mine told me I should not kneel in front of the TV because what appears on the screen is not the Real Presence of our Lord, but only the electronic image of a Consecrated Host.:ehh:

He says only the TV crew in the TV Studio is before the Real Presence, not the TV viewers. :imsorry:

What do you think about this?:hmmm:

I always knelt during Consecration when watching Mass on T:V., have you?

To kneel or not to kneel? that is the question…🤷

Alma
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Alma,
If your pastor or confessor advised you, then you should follow his directions. If the priest friend who advised you did so in conversation, keep reading.

We should not kneel to an image of the Blessed Sacrament on television if we do so in a way that we are believing that the image on the screen is anything more than that–an image (not an Ikon, an image). If you are thinking of the image as something holy, please do not kneel (in fact, please don’t think that way)

On the other hand, if you are in the habit of keeping the gestures and postures of the Mass when you watch it at home as a way of being in solidarity and community with the people who are actually there, or the larger Church which does these gestures, then that would be fine.

If you are kneeling to the television, don’t.
If you are kneeling with the people, feel free to do so.
 
"FrDavid96:
We should not kneel to an image of the Blessed Sacrament on television if we do so in a way that we are believing that the image on the screen is anything more than that–an image (not an Ikon, an image).
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Can you elaborate on the distinction between an icon and an image? Certainly most icons are created by trained artists and blessed, but is there anything preventing us from creating our own icons?
peregrinus_sg said:
The substance of the holy image is the holy image itself: it doesn’t change. Thus a statue of our Lady of Fatima remains always the the statue of the Blessed Mother. It always recalls us to the mystery of Mary’s maternal love for us.

But there is no substance to a TV image, which constantly mutates. So when someone reverences an image of Mary projected on the TV screen, I think he is simply reverencing the TV screen, not Mary.
Click to expand...
Is the unchanging nature of the image key to its holiness? I’ll grant there is the chance the producer may cut from the Blessed Virgin to a shot of someone picking his nose. But if that didn’t happen, and there were simply multiple changing shots of a statue on a loop, or even say a half hour of film footage of a Saint praying or saying mass or the like, could that not qualify? And while we’re at it, could a photograph qualify as an icon?
 
Digitonomy said:
Can you elaborate on the distinction between an icon and an image? Certainly most icons are created by trained artists and blessed, but is there anything preventing us from creating our own icons?Is the unchanging nature of the image key to its holiness? I’ll grant there is the chance the producer may cut from the Blessed Virgin to a shot of someone picking his nose. But if that didn’t happen, and there were simply multiple changing shots of a statue on a loop, or even say a half hour of film footage of a Saint praying or saying mass or the like, could that not qualify? And while we’re at it, could a photograph qualify as an icon?
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A proper Ikon is a holy thing. There are all kinds of “rules” that apply to writing a proper Ikon (the “artist” must do so prayerfully, sometimes even fasting, the image must be consistent with the faith, if possible a relic of the saint is even incorporated into the paint, there are certain necessary color schemes, etc. etc.) I suggest that you look at some Eastern Orthodox web pages for more information (or at least links to other sites).

To make an extreme example, if Sacred Heart parish makes up bumper stickers for parishioners, and they include a small image of Christ’s Sacred Heart, that would not at all be considered an Ikon. An image of a holy Thing, yes, but not an Ikon.

There’s nothing preventing you from making your own images. To write an Ikon, however requires proper spiritual direction, training, etc. You certainly may do it, and if you’re thinking about it, I encourage you to pursue this further, but the spiritual direction and training is a prerequisite. Also, the fact that it is blessed after it’s completed does not an Ikon make.
 
Any blessed statue or icon is worthy of reverence…it is the priest’s blessing, on behalf of the Church, that “makes” the image holy. (Together with the artist’s intent to depict a holy person). The image or statue has been set aside by the Church to assist in worship. Through the prayer of the Church, Our Lord, Our Lady, or the saint depicted in truly present through the statue/icon in a limited, but real, sense. Would this apply to an image on a television screen? Probably not in the same way, as the image has not been blessed by the Church, but if the intent is to honor the blessed sacrament I would not see a problem with it.
 
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