This may be slightly off topic, but does anyone else get bothered a bit by the sense of urgency the Communion line, like all lines - especially long lines while standing (as someone said above, standing increases blood pressure) - naturally induce? I don’t know if its just social conditioning, the whole “hurry up and die” mentality or the consequences of modern culture but I find the Communion line distracting to an extent; for example, I feel a pressure by the not-so-steady speed of the line (some people take a little longer to receive than others) and by the awareness of the people behind me, or sometimes in a line beside me themselves moving forward, and not always harmoniously, etc. So you get to the priest, and you try to focus on the RP, and truly say your “Amen”, but still that social pressure is there from the knowledge of the people behind you, sometimes moving past/around/by you, etc. I figured this, like stage fright, would pass, yet the anxiety is still there, and I don’t think it has anything to do with the “societal” nature of Mass, but purely with the natural social pressure lines exert on us (or maybe its just me?).
Now I’m hardly in a hurry if that’s what you think -in fact, I love Mass, especially Holy Communion and the parts around it, so quite the opposite- but that’s exactly what throws me off while in line waiting to receive Communion. Normally I pray mentally and repetitiously, and that helps, but still you need to be conscious of the line (i.e., stepping forward), which makes even that difficult. Now, I think if there was a “break” before receiving Communion -something to break up the “line mentality”- that would certainly help; for example, maybe kneeling would do the trick? I hate feeling like “get it and go” but that’s what the Communion line often does make me feel like, and I hate that for obvious reasons, given the nature of Communion.
Anyone ever felt this way?