I noticed that some parishes, we sit at some point during the Gloria (when the priest sits), and at some point during the Creed (when the priest sits).
Why do we sit during these songs? Is it that hard to stand for a full song?
If we are going to stand at the beginning then why not stand all the way? If it is not necessary to stand for the whole song, then why not sit the whole time during the song?
Since you are asking about the EF, Laszlo is right. You may not realize it, but the Gloria and Credo are long over by the time the priest sits down. The priest simply reads them to himself, finishes, and goes to sit down. There is no particular need to stand while the choir goes on with whatever choral version they’re doing, since that is not the actual liturgical Gloria or Credo.
If you sense a slight disconnect here, this is the problem then-Fr. Joseph Ratzinger was referring to when he said “superimposing a kind of para-liturgy on the archaized actual liturgy.” In the most egregious form, with a full orchestra and soloists, “[a]ccompanied by the splendor of orchestral performance, the baroque high Mass became a kind of sacred opera in which the chants of the priest functioned as a kind of periodic recitative.” In other words, the para-liturgical trappings metastasize into a full-blown concert. Have you ever seen Masses advertized by the music? “They’re doing a Palestrina Mass next week!” “Oh how lovely, and make sure you go on All Souls, it’s Mozart’s Requiem!” – that is the concert mentality.
As a result, since the para-liturgical elements have been made to
seem so important, it is easy to become confused and think that they
are important. “Why is the priest sitting during this marvelous Gloria?,” one asks. Little do you realize that you are not listening to the
real Gloria of the Mass, which was over probably five minutes ago!
The modern form solved this problem by abolishing, in these places, the distinction between the liturgy (what the priest is doing) and the para-liturgy (what everybody else is doing around him). Thus for instance the people sing the same Gloria as the priest, and it the actual Gloria of the Mass. And the priest and people say the Credo together. The people, in this way, are participating in the actual liturgy, not just the para-liturgy. Sometimes people are confused by statements in Vatican II and elsewhere concerning the benefit of the people participating in Mass. It’s not just about whether you get to do things like sing the Credo, it’s about whether the Credo you’re singing belongs to the Mass or the para-Mass. The main drawback to the reform is that it occasionally makes older musical settings awkward to use.
Also, why do we sit during the Epistle readings? They are the word of God as well.
The distinction is maintained to give the greatest honor to the Gospels, in which the Jesus’ actual words are recorded.
