Why genuflect with the right knee?

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Having bad knees i’ve decided to adopt the normal practice of the East which is to bow and cross myself. For some odd reason, it is easier to genuflect on my left knee rather than right, so instead of going down on my right knee and having a lot of difficulty getting up again, sometimes it’s less conspicuous to avoid genuflecting on the right knee.
 
I think that Wikipedia and New Advent ought to shed some light on genuflection.

My story as to why we genuflect on the right knee: knights used to do so in front of their king, both to show due reverence and also because it would disarm them. Since the knights sword would be on their right side, kneeling on the right knee would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to draw ones sword. Since our Lord is the King of kings the knights of the Church (The Church Militant, not just knights) would genuflect to Him on their right knee in order to disarm themselves to the Lord.
 
Saul.Tentmaker said:
I think the Roman Catholic Church often times mandates too much. They make so many things required that a legalism is encouraged.

I say use the right knee (both meanings intended), not because it should be mandated, but because it’s tradition!

Tradition, such as it is, big T or small t, is powerful in part because it links us to the past. It links us to a lineage of worship that extends all the way back to Christ at the Last Supper, and even before to Abraham’s sacrifice to God. Tradition is a powerful thing, and its power is not in being mandated as a series of rules in a Code of Canon Law or GIRM, or anywhere else. It’s power is in being an expression of love to God, expected and given out of friendship.
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I can’t help wanting to break into that wonderful song from Fiddler on the Roof when I read things like this …

“Tra-di-tioooooooooooooon, (dum dum dum) tra-di-tion, (dum dum) TRA-DI-TIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON …” 😃
 
So why do we make the sign of the cross with our right hand?

Can someone point me to any ancient documents that give the reasons? (rather than non-backed up reasons because sometimes they’re not actually right) No reasons for it have been given yet.

I’m hoping it’s not because the left hand was seen as la sinistre.
 
Tabitha said:
My cradle Catholic husband genuflects with left knee and crosses with left hand. My 10 yr old son (whose only been Catholic for 2 yrs now) does the same. I used to correct them both. I don’t any more bcause I figured God doesn’t care. He only cares about the intend behind it. Now I just tease a little about how their brains are in their head backwards (because they do a lot of things backwards). They just laugh. :rotfl:
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And maybe God made them left-handed and He doesn’t care which knee they bend. It is the thought (and intention) that counts.
 
I am with Evan, If I genuflected on my right knee, I would be on that knee for the whole mass. I wouldnt be able to get up again. 😃
 
Why should I genuflect at all? After all, God knows what’s in my heart, right?

The reality is that these outward rituals are an opportunity for us to communicate our devotion. To God, of course, but since they are performed when we are together as a worship community, they are also a form of public witness. Genuflection especially, it seems to me, is a ritual expression of our submission to God, that even when we don’t understand something we will submit to His direction just on faith. Of course, we need to follow through on that in our life choices. Still, the ritual is a powerful start. I praise God every time I see somebody display a thoughtful traditional act of piety. And it also tends to endear that person to me, that they felt even this small thing was worth doing right.

I don’t hold anything against people who physically cannot genuflect on the right knee. It’s not about looking for faults in others. As somebody else said, the best thing to do is to assume a person cannot if they did not. Or else that they simply don’t know any better. But if you can do it, and you do know, then I don’t see any adequate reason why you would not do so before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
 
Is the Holy Father the only person who is to be genuflected to on the right knee?
 
When people don’t geneflect when they’re usually obliged to do so, it’s often seen as not only rude but disrespectful to God as well. If they genuflect but don’t kneel down to their knee, it just seems as if they could care less about respect the Lord in his Holy House, which is sad.

P.s. I don’t care what knee you genuflect on, as long as you do it respectfully to God, it doesn’t matter. Also, I’ve never heard of the reverential “bowing” before so, I guess that could be acceptable.
 
I heard once that you get down on your left knee for somebody (a King or something like that) and your right knee for somebody else (someone else like a king, or a holy man, or something). So in church when we get down on our knees we do both knees when we come to God.

Also, observing this convention you genuflect on one knee on your way into the pew, and genuflect on your other knee on your way out of the pew.

The only problem is that I can’t remember which knee as assigned to which kind of person, or which knee is for which direction with respect to the pew.

That’s my contribution. Helpful, ain’t it? LOL!😃 👍
 
salvereginadude said:
Is the Holy Father the only person who is to be genuflected to on the right knee?
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If people genuflect to the Holy Father on their right knee, I assume it is because they are so habituated to using the right knee that they default to it (even if they are Cardinals). Is there a prescribed protocol to genuflect on the right knee to him? I had always been told that one uses the left knee for ‘people.’ Believe me, when I kiss the bishop’s ring (yea, he looks at you weird), I don’t think about which knee, and down I go on the right (oops!). Oh. But God knows my heart. Right?
 
jben said:
Also, observing this convention you genuflect on one knee on your way into the pew, and genuflect on your other knee on your way out of the pew.
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Well, THAT’s a new one on me!
 
ravenonthecross said:
When people don’t geneflect when they’re usually obliged to do so, it’s often seen as not only rude but disrespectful to God as well. If they genuflect but don’t kneel down to their knee, it just seems as if they could care less about respect the Lord in his Holy House, which is sad.

P.s. I don’t care what knee you genuflect on, as long as you do it respectfully to God, it doesn’t matter. Also, I’ve never heard of the reverential “bowing” before so, I guess that could be acceptable.
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That’s a bit rich. I don’t usually go right down to the floor with my knee, but if I don’t it’s either because I know I won’t be able to get back up if I do, or because there’s a line of people behind me and I’m wanting to be considerate to them. Either way it has nothing to do with lack of respect for God.
 
Rawb said:
My Grandma crosses herself with her left hand and genuflects, when she can, with her left knee. She does that because she’s left handed. Somebody mentioned once that your supposed to cross yourself with your right. Her response was that God had made her left handed and that to her it was more respectful to use her dominate hand. She’s my sponsor in RCIA and when she crosses me at the Rite of Acceptance, I bet she’ll use her left hand.
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I’m left-handed too. I genuflect with my right knee and make the sign of the cross with my right hand…
 
My wife genuflects on her left knee because her right suffers from osteoarthritis. Yet, she genuflects anyway, never mind it’s on the “wrong” knee. Her act of adoration carries the same efficacy as the “legal” way.
 
mary_bobo said:
And maybe God made them left-handed and He doesn’t care which knee they bend. It is the thought (and intention) that counts.
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They aren’t left handed, they’re right handed. Like I said though, I used to correct them but I don’t anymore. And I said the same thing you did.
 
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