Standing in the middle of the Great Amen

[Online_Knight]

Our priest recently started having the parish stand up while saying/singing the Great Amen. He quickly mentioned something about instruction from the Bishop. I am in the Madison (Wisconsin) Diocese and have not heard of such a thing. Can anyone shed some light?

 

[japhy]

Our priest recently started having the parish stand up while saying/singing the Great Amen. He quickly mentioned something about instruction from the Bishop. I am in the Madison (Wisconsin) Diocese and have not heard of such a thing. Can anyone shed some light?

That’s not what the GIRM says, and I don’t think the Bishop has the authority to circumvent the GIRM in this instance. GIRM 43: “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…”

 

[uwwhitewater84]

Last Saturday I went to a Mass in my hometown which is also in the Diocese of Madison. Now mind you that this parish isn’t the most traditional or conservative parish (I cringe when the priest skips the Gloria, doesn’t dip hands in holy water before concecration, etc…), but we didn’t stand during the Great Amen, but directly after.

 

[MusicMan]

That doesn’t seem like something that Bishop Morlino would promulgate.

 

[SMHW]

Personally I think it was a mistake to have people kneel during the Great Amen. But that’s because it makes sense to me that people ought to be standing when they are singing. People just sing/chant better when in a standing posture. Changing posture while in the process of singing is crazy, however.

But the rubrics say to kneel so in the United States people ought to remain kneeling.

 

[japhy]

Personally I think it was a mistake to have people kneel during the Great Amen. But that’s because it makes sense to me that people ought to be standing when they are singing. People just sing/chant better when in a standing posture.

If you have trouble singing the “Amen” at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer while kneeling, either a) you need more exercise, or b) the parish needs to find a new tune. The “Amen” should match the concluding doxology (“Through him, with him, and in him…”), which is why a simple “A–me-en” (on two notes) suffices. (It’s not called the “Great Amen” anywhere official.)

 

[Cari]

I’d politely ask your priest where you can find documentation from the bishop regarding the change.

I used to attend a parish in the diocese of Jackson, MS, which did this exact thing- people would start standing DURING the Great Amen. It was just one item on a long list of inconsistencies with Mass there.