When do you stop kneeling after communion?

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graceandglory said:
I was a bit bothered, okay, surprised would be more like it, yesterday when the priest was cleaning the vessels, a speaker got up to give the Archbishop’s Appeal spiel. I didn’t notice if the tabernacle was open or not.

Should that have happened? I’m sure it was a mistake, I’m not pointing any fingers, but it was really abrupt.
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No, that should have waited until after the Prayer After Communion. Announcements are part of the Concluding Rites, not Communion Rites, per GIRM # 90:
  1. The concluding rites consist of
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  1. Brief announcements, if they are necessary;
  2. The priest’s greeting and blessing, which on certain days and occasions is enriched and expressed in the prayer over the People or another more solemn formula;
  3. The dismissal of the people by the deacon or the priest, so that each may go out to do good works, praising and blessing God;
  4. The kissing of the altar by the priest and the deacon, followed by a profound bow to the altar by the priest, the deacon, and the other ministers.
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Evan said:
We have a completely different experience in my diocese:hypno: . We STAND during the communion procession. Until it is completed in union with those who have not yet received. An image that we are all united through Christ.
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The default position according to the GIRM is standing but we are free to sit or kneel as we wish after receiving communion – Rome has spoken on this specific topic. I stand until the last person has received, then I sit.
 
Kevin.D said:
I continue to kneel until the celebrant says: “Let us pray”, although I believe we are free to kneel or sit as we see fit when we return from receiving Communion. What seems sort of comical to me is that it is commonplace for virtually the entire congregation to sit down en masse at the moment the celebrant sits down, as though it were required by some rubric. In most cases, the celebrant is not going to be sitting down for very long, so I don’t see the point in bothering to change positions when another change is soon to follow.
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Yep - me too. 👍

The majority of our parish does this as well.

~Liza
 
qmvsimp said:
My mother taught me that we stay kneeling until the tabernacle is closed after communion. But we (my family) seem to be the last ones kneeling while the tabernacle is being closed.

Is there guidance on this from any source? What do you all do?
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It varies by local parish customs. Some parishes will even change this mass by mass, week by week based on the makeup in the pews.

I always kneel until the tabernacle is closed. Sometimes I am one of two or three who do it. That is fine with me, I am allowed to do it my way and others in the parish do it their way. There is no completely correct answer to this, it comes down to personal preference in the end.
 
Evan said:
We have a completely different experience in my diocese:hypno: . We STAND during the communion procession. Until it is completed in union with those who have not yet received. An image that we are all united through Christ.

So we BEGIN to kneel (or sit) when the procession ends. When is that? Some begin when the tabernacle door closes. Some when the priest sits, I begin when the last particle of the body is distributed and the last drop of the blood of Christ is consumed. Then remain kneeling while the priests sits (2 minutes or more… the holy silence after communion and AFTER the last communion song is completed. In fact our priest will not sit till the last song is completed to begin the holy silence.) I rise when he rises and says “Let us pray”.
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In my diocese, we stand during the communion procession and remain standing until the ciborium is returned to the tabernacle. When Father closes the tabernacle, we may kneel or sit.
 
Kevin.D said:
I continue to kneel until the celebrant says: “Let us pray”, although I believe we are free to kneel or sit as we see fit when we return from receiving Communion. What seems sort of comical to me is that it is commonplace for virtually the entire congregation to sit down en masse at the moment the celebrant sits down, as though it were required by some rubric. In most cases, the celebrant is not going to be sitting down for very long, so I don’t see the point in bothering to change positions when another change is soon to follow.
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What I like is that our bishop has encouraged all his priests to leave a fairly long time of silence after the homily and after communion. So it is quite long (a couple minutes) to reflect on the gospel, the homily, on reception of the holy eucharist in the quiet of the church (no music either)
 
Kevin.D said:
I continue to kneel until the celebrant says: “Let us pray”, although I believe we are free to kneel or sit as we see fit when we return from receiving Communion. What seems sort of comical to me is that it is commonplace for virtually the entire congregation to sit down en masse at the moment the celebrant sits down, as though it were required by some rubric. In most cases, the celebrant is not going to be sitting down for very long, so I don’t see the point in bothering to change positions when another change is soon to follow.
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I do this also because I like having the maximum time to pray after Communion and focus on Jesus within me. (Of course, the good nuns taught us years ago to stay kneeling until the tabernacle was closed.) How wonderful that Evan says his bishop has actually addressed this. There is so little time for silence. The late Pope reminded us that we need some time for silence and reflection during the Mass.
 
NewUlm1976_2000 said:
It varies by local parish customs. Some parishes will even change this mass by mass, week by week based on the makeup in the pews.
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I have noticed this. At Sunday Masses, we usually sit when the tabernacle closes. At daily Masses, the time is so short (fewer Communicants) that almost everyone continues to kneel until the priest says “Let us pray”.
 
acadian said:
I have noticed this. At Sunday Masses, we usually sit when the tabernacle closes. At daily Masses, the time is so short (fewer Communicants) that almost everyone continues to kneel until the priest says “Let us pray”.
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What I have seen happens week to week on Saturday evening or Sunday masses. It is interesting watching the group dynamics when this happens.
 
I wouldn’t mind kneeling longer, but I feel strange kneeling when the priest is sitting. He always cleanses the vessels and closes the door before sitting so it’s not an issue there.
 
Everyone in my parish stands from the moment they walk to receive communion till the priest sits, then they sit. I thought we were supposed to kneel but no one except maybe one or two families does. The priest said we are supposed to stand…what?!!
 
I remember when I was a kid and made my first communion, our teacher, a wonderful nun, had covered almost every possible detail with us. We practiced, and had most everything down perfectly. The one thing she didn’t tell us, however, was when to sit after communion! So, during communion, after I had received, I decided sometime during the communion processional that I was ready to sit, and so I did. Later on, my mom told me that I should kneel until the priest sat down… so I have always remembered that! I always remembered that I had “messed up” something during first communion. (My mom didn’t make me feel guilty, I made my self feel guilty!)

Later on, I started kneeling until the tabernacle was closed, or until the priest sat down, whichever one happened last.

Our archdiocese now stands during communion, which was just implemented within the last 2-3 years. At first, I didn’t like it at all, but the priest at the parish where I first heard about it didn’t explain it very well. Later, I was at another parish where the priest explained it much better, and I understood and accepted the standing posture better.

Our new archbishop is currently addressing some variations on posture during different portions of Mass, and he wrote an article in our diocesan paper explaining some of the things, and he had this to say:

“Standing during the distribution of Holy Communion: The posture for receiving Holy Communion, as established by the U.S. bishops, is standing. The assembly will stand for the distribution of Holy Communion after the response, “O Lord, I am not worthy. … I shall be healed.” The standing posture covers the priest’s reception and continues for the distribution of Holy Communion to all the faithful. This posture best expresses the communal nature of this part of the Communion Rite and acknowledges the presence of Christ in the midst of the assembly.”

We are also encouraged to have a period for silent prayer after communion. The archbishop also wrote:

“Period of silent prayer after the distribution of Holy Communion: After everyone in the assembly has received Holy Communion, the celebrant and the faithful will kneel or sit for silent, individual prayer to “praise and pray to God in their hearts” (GIRM no. 45). Since this period of prayer is private and individual time, the faithful are given the choice of kneeling or sitting for this prayer. During this time period, when there is no movement or music, there should be a one- to two-minute time period for individual prayer.”

However, most priests I have experienced do not give much time to this portion, especially if Mass has run long… (probably because they can see the Mass exodus of people after communion… If it weren’t for fire regulations, I would say we should chain the doors shut until Mass ends! 😛 )
 
The decon of my parish [we have no permanent priest] has just introduced the ‘everbody should stand together’ teaching, and its driving me mad.

Here I am, at what should be the most profound moment of my week, standing around like we do at the bar when all the stools are taken.

It is innovation for its own sake, and it is a large part of what is killing the Church in America. No time for reverence, no time for God, its all about ‘US’ to heck with ‘HIM’-- better to stand for ‘US’ than kneel for ‘Him’…

I used to try to sit near the front of the Church so I’d have as much time to kneel in prayer as possible after receiving, now if I can’t sit in the last pew, I’ll just stand in the rear aisle so I have less time to contemplate what I’m missing-- by the time the last people are back in their pews, the concluding right is starting.

My deacon is a good man, his son is in the seminary in an orthodox diocese. But he’s awfully prone to trying to ‘improve’ the liturgy-- sometimes within the rules, like this, sometimes not, as when he washes women’s feet on holy Thursday.

I wonder, though: considering how deeply this offends me, would I be justified in kneeling, since I beleive that’s still an approved posture, or is unity with the rest of the congregation a more important consideration? Thoughts?

My faith is already hanging by a thread, and I just don’t want to have to deal with another upset in my prayer life.
 
I know a lot of Catholics who do not like the whole standing rule. The three different churches my mother goes to all kneel in unison…and I kneel too while other people stand. At least long enough to say a little prayer. What is the priest going to do? (or deacon) Walk over to you and pop you upside the head? I love Catholic traditions…I wish people would stop getting rid of them!!!
 
qmvsimp said:
My mother taught me that we stay kneeling until the tabernacle is closed after communion. But we (my family) seem to be the last ones kneeling while the tabernacle is being closed.

Is there guidance on this from any source? What do you all do?
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I agree with your mother. Most of the people that I see at mass at my parish, also, agree with her.
 
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