Stand until all have received?

[Elzee]

I read an article the other day that said (me paraphrasing) "*…our oneness at Mass gets muddied when we don’t share the same posture during Communion. That is why we all stand from the Lord’s Prayer until after all have received. It’s as if some people are in the food line waiting to be served while others have found their own place to sit and eat. "

*The man wrote this as if this was how we are supposed to do it…not just his opinion.

Is standing during communion until all have received an option? Is it at the discretion of the Bishop, or can a parish priest make this decision? I can’t imagine not kneeling after receiving communion. Maybe if we re-installed altar rails we could all be one and kneel together during communion, I’d much prefer that ‘one posture’.

 

[beckyann2597]

The Bishop. At our church we are all encouraged to stand until the host has been put into the tabernacle. Of course if you can’t you can’t but I do.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Elzee:

I read an article the other day that said (me paraphrasing) "…our oneness at Mass gets muddied when we don’t share the same posture during Communion. That is why we all stand from the Lord’s Prayer until after all have received. It’s as if some people are in the food line waiting to be served while others have found their own place to sit and eat. "

The man wrote this as if this was how we are supposed to do it…not just his opinion.

Is standing during communion until all have received an option? Is it at the discretion of the Bishop, or can a parish priest make this decision? I can’t imagine not kneeling after receiving communion. Maybe if we re-installed altar rails we could all be one and kneel together during communion, I’d much prefer that ‘one posture’.

Is standing during communion until all have received an option?
Is it at the discretion of the Bishop, or can a parish priest make this decision?

Standing from the Our Father until you return to your pew after receiving Communion can be determined by the Bishop for his diocese.

After you return to your place in the pew The Vatican has said that no one is to dictate your posture it is totally up to you if you wish to stand ,kneel, or sit.

 

[Habemus_Papam]

That seems odd and disrespectful to me.

In most Nova Scotia churches I have been in, We kneel until the priest is done at the altar and has sat down.

It seems to make sense. The Blessed Eucharist is still present in the crumbs and drops of wine he will consume and he is performing a sacerdotal act, still an alter christus.

Does your church not have kneelers. A few of ours are like that. One even has the tabernacle out view around a corner, which I am pretty sure is a violation of church law.

 

[HelpingHands]

I think that some Bishops are requiring this. When I went to So Calif I was surprised to see it and was told that the Archdiosese had just started requiring it. I just did whatever everyone else did.

I can see that they think it’s a sign of respect just as one would stand when someone enters a room. Actually, it’s only in the U.S. I believe that kneeing is done the second time. Elsewhere it’s only done during the consecration.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

HelpingHands:

I think that some Bishops are requiring this. When I went to So Calif I was surprised to see it and was told that the Archdiosese had just started requiring it. I just did whatever everyone else did.

I can see that they think it’s a sign of respect just as one would stand when someone enters a room. Actually, it’s only in the U.S. I believe that kneeing is done the second time. Elsewhere it’s only done during the consecration.

For those who might be interested:

Clarification on Posture of the Faithful Following Individual Reception of Holy Communion

During recent months, the Secretariat for the Liturgy has received numerous inquiries concerning the proper posture of the faithful after each communicant has individually received Holy Communion at Mass.

Many Bishops have directed that the appropriate posture of the faithful during the distribution of Holy Communion is to stand. They have based this on the text of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), no. 431 which states that the people stand until the period of sacred silence following the reception of Holy Communion has begun. But when does this period of sacred silence begin? GIRM, no. 86 notes that “the singing [of the communion song] is continued for as long as the Sacrament is being administered to the faithful.” The period of sacred silence would seem to begin, therefore, once all have received Holy Communion; hence, the appropriate posture of the faithful during the distribution of Holy Communion is standing.

However, because of the widespread and longstanding practice of individuals returning to their places to kneel or sit in private prayer after having individually received Holy Communion, this provision has caused controversy in many dioceses.

In an effort to clarify the situation, Cardinal Francis George, O.M.I., Chairman of the Committee on the Liturgy, submitted a dubium concerning this matter to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on May 26, 2003. On June 5, 2003, Cardinal George received the following response (Prot. n. 855/03/L) from Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments:

Dubium: In many places, the faithful are accustomed to kneeling or sitting in personal prayer upon returning to their places after having individually received Holy Communion during Mass. Is it the intention of the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia, to forbid this practice?

Responsum: Negative, et ad mentem. The mens is that the prescription of the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, no. 43, is intended, on the one hand, to ensure within broad limits a certain uniformity of posture within the congregation for the various parts of the celebration of Holy Mass, and on the other, to not regulate posture rigidly in such a way that those who wish to kneel or sit would no longer be free.

In the implementation of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, therefore, posture should not be regulated so rigidly as to forbid individual communicants from kneeling or sitting when returning from having received Holy Communion.

 

[Lorrie]

I always kneel upon getting back to my seat. I attend two different Churches here, at one (the Cathedral that our Bishop attends 9 times out of 10) everyone always kneels after getting back to their “spot” - at the other one they always stand (with a few, including myself kneeling).** I** feel its the most reverent thing to do and honestly I couldn’t imagine not kneeling after receiving the Eucharist (even if I ended up being the only one who was doing it).