Stand or Kneel prior to communion

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We moved this past August which required us to leave a parish that my husband and I both loved (my husband was confirmed there, I went through RCIA there and we were married there) and search for a new parish. We started with the parish that is only 5 minutes from our house but I never felt at “home” there (mainly due to what we both viewed as a lack of reverence at least from our perspective) so last week we tried a parish in the next town over, about 20 minutes away. From the moment I stepped into the church I felt at “home” and I think we have finally found our new parish. We are going to attend for a while longer before registering just to make sure.

There is one difference in this parish from our old parish, they remain standing after the Lamb of God and do not kneel again until they return from receiving communion. Is this proper? In our old parish we would kneel prior to communion, stand up when it was our pews turn to go up to receive and then kneel again when we returned until the priest sits down.
 
At my parish, we also remain standing after the Lamb of God, kneeling when we return from receiving communion, and remain kneeling until Father sits down. This seems to be the way most of the parishes in my city proceed.
 
We stand until Father returns to his chair.

I watched a video on an Orthodox Mass. In that particular Church there are no pews, worship throughout the service is standing room only.

Oh, my back!
 
At the two parishes I have attended on a regular basis, we kneel after the agnus die but then most remain standing after returning from communion. Personally I kneel _ (I also don’t sing the communion songs but rather pray and reflect on what I have received.

Peace
James
 
Our parish priest (FSSP trained) gave us a simple rule that corrected the error of kneeling during the Agnus Dei:
**
If one is singing, stand.**
If one is not singing, kneel.

Note: this does not mean that if one particular individual is not singing, if there is a sung part in the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass, than they can feel free to kneel.

There are actually practical reasons for standing when one sings, as it helps to make the singer sing properly.

This, and other small “bad habits” that have been allowed for a number of years in more liberal parishes are now being corrected. The parish I attend offers the Traditional Latin Mass, and the Nuevo Ordo, but will not give communion in the hand in either one. The kneeling/standing issue was minor, but those who kneeled, tho’ they were really few, should have gotten the message without an announcement. Strange how that works in a group of people, but it seems until the priest themselves correct the parishioners, then some do not know what to really do. This is why there often remains some confusion, but nothing that time and constant conscious self correction cannot change.

The reason that he cited was not so much that we are expressing a reverence at that point, but as we are supposed to be unified, we should act in a unified way, so this is the main reason why it is important to get all the people to do the same thing.
 
In the GIRM adapted for the US, the USCCB has written that everyone is to kneel after the Agnus Dei but it also gave permission to diocesan Bishops to opt for another posture for their own flock. All parishes in a particular diocese should be doing the same thing because their posture at that point is to be either the universal posture for the US or the posture decreed by their Bishop for all parishes in his diocese.

After Communion the general posture called for by the GIRM is standing but kneeling and sitting are also allowed.
 
Barbkw said:
We stand until Father returns to his chair.

I watched a video on an Orthodox Mass. In that particular Church there are no pews, worship throughout the service is standing room only.

Oh, my back!
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Yes but this is because generally there is no kneeling in the East. The tradition of kneeling as a gesture of reverence exists only in the Roman Catholic Church. In the East we stand on Sundays because Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, and standing is the posture of the Resurrection, so we join Christ in His Resurrection.

As Phemie pointed out, its acceptable to stand if that is what the parish pastor wishes for. We should follow what everyone else does.
 
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, except when prevented on occasion by reasons of health, lack of space, the large number of people present, or some other good reason. Those who do not kneel ought to make a profound bow when the priest genuflects after the consecration. The faithful kneel after the Agnus Dei unless the Diocesan Bishop determines otherwise.
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usccb.org/liturgy/current/chapter2.shtml#sect2

The rule requires that the priest is waiting after the choir and faithful sing the Agnus Dei.

In some churches to have better turnaround in the parking lot between the masses this is not done, the priest says the prayers, receives the communion, distributes the communion to the Eucharistic ministers while the faithful sing; so the process to the communion start immediately after the Agnus Dei. In this churches the faithful kneel only after receiving the communion.

I believe this belongs to the value system, what is more important: the rubrics, or to avoid accidents. Christ is not hurt if people stand before the communion process.
 
alaska said:
At my parish, we also remain standing after the Lamb of God, kneeling when we return from receiving communion, and remain kneeling until Father sits down. This seems to be the way most of the parishes in my city proceed.
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In our church we kneel right after the Agnus Dei and remain kneeling until it is our turn to receive Communion. After Communion we kneel until the priest returns the chalice to the tabernacle.

That’s what was so good about the Latin Mass. Everyone knew what to do regardless of what church or country you were in. Now each pastor makes up his own rules and this causes much confusion.
 
In my RC parish we kneel, but people remain kneeling until after the EMHCs receive. If my son is in his car seat/carrier, I would have stood up after Father received to unbuckle my son and carry him. I just hope the intention is to keep kneeling until its time to get up and fall in line, and not because they are waiting for the EMHCs to receive. We only wait for Father to receive and other concelebrants plus deacons if there are.
 
Phemie said:
In the GIRM adapted for the US, the USCCB has written that everyone is to kneel after the Agnus Dei but it also gave permission to diocesan Bishops to opt for another posture for their own flock. All parishes in a particular diocese should be doing the same thing because their posture at that point is to be either the universal posture for the US or the posture decreed by their Bishop for all parishes in his diocese.

After Communion the general posture called for by the GIRM is standing but kneeling and sitting are also allowed.
Click to expand...
What if the Bishop decrees that the Pastors are each free to chose for thier particular parish? 😃

Sorry couldn’t resist rattling the cage

Peace
James
 
JRKH said:
What if the Bishop decrees that the Pastors are each free to chose for thier particular parish? 😃

Sorry couldn’t resist rattling the cage

Peace
James
Click to expand...
I guess I should have thought of that one since that’s pretty much what happened in Canada with the 1975 GIRM. Bishops left it up to the pastors. Don’t know if the same thing is being done in the US.
 
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