Kneeling At Communion

[Red Rose]

I am a returning Catholic. I came back last September. The Catholic Church has changed and I have been trying to figure out many things. But, last week as I was attending a weekly Mass, Father stopped the Mass before the sign of peace and stated something about Canon Law and stated he expected everyone to be standing after the Lamb of God. I went to Catholic School and in 3rd Grade, preparing for First Holy Communion, was taught that we should follow the example set by the angel when he gave communion to the children at Fatima. I also remember the prayer we were taught to say praising the Trinity and thanking Him for giving us His Son and to ask for conversion for all sinners and forgivness for the sins committed against the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart.
Well, I was stunned but knelt down when Our Lord was presented to us. When I went to received communion, Father said to me: "Shame on you" not Body of Christ. I did not know there was a problem in the first place. And Father was no where to be found after Mass.
My question is: When did the Catholic Church forbid Catholics to kneel down to praise and thank the Trinity for the sacrifice of Our Lord? And doesn't God's example sent to us by His angel superceed any man made law (which is changable)?

[Cherie]

This is a subject which has had much heated debate amongst pastors and some members of their congregations as of late. Many priests are of a certain mindset that the common gestures and postures throughout Mass, which create a sign of "unity" among believers gathered there, are of greater importance or serve a greater spiritual good than one person's private inclination. This is the general mindset of the USCCB, since they sought, and obtained from the Holy See, a particular norm for the United States regarding the posture for reception of Holy Communion; The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) 160 was adapted for the United States to read:

[quote][indent] [b]160[/b]. The priest then takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants, who, as a rule, approach in a procession.

The faithful are not permitted to take the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them from one to another. The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. Rather, such instances should be addressed pastorally, by providing the faithful with proper catechesis on the reasons for this norm.

When receiving Holy Communion, the communicant bows his or her head before the Sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister. The consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant. When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverenceis also made before receiving the Precious Blood.
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The following is the "universal" norm from the GIRM; you can see the difference from the one adapted for the US:

[quote][indent] [b]160[/b] The priest then takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants, who, as a rule, approach in a procession.

The faithful are not permitted to take up the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice themselves, and still less hand them on to one another. The faithful may communicate either standing or kneeling, as established by the Conference of Bishops. However, when they communicate standing, it is recommended that they make an appropriate gesture of reverence, to be laid down in the same norms, before receiving the Sacrament.
[/indent][/quote]

The following is taken from an article on the subject from EWTN's website: [url="http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/communion_posture.htm"]http://www.ewtn.com/...ion_posture.htm[/url]

It is well-written and I think serves to help us know the history and interpretation of this norm:

[quote][font="Arial"][size="2"]In the 1967 document [i]Eucharisticum mysterium[/i] (Instruction on the Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery), the Sacred Congregation of Rites (now called the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments) established that,[/size][/font]

[indent] [font="Arial"][size="2"][b]34[/b]. ... In accordance with the custom of the Church, the faithful may receive communion either kneeling or standing. One or the other practice is to be chosen according to the norms laid down by the conference of bishops.[/size][/font]

[/indent][font="Arial"][size="2"]At the time this directive was issued the US Bishops did not establish a posture, although Communion processions with reception standing quickly became the custom throughout the United States, as they did in much of the world. [/size][/font]

[font="Arial"][size="2"]The [/size][/font][font="Arial"][size="2"] [i]General Instruction of the Roman Missal[/i] (3rd edition) gives the same legislation, stating, [/size][/font]

[indent] [b]160[/b] ... The faithful may communicate either standing or kneeling, as established by the Conference of Bishops.

[/indent]Acting upon this provision of the GIRM, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sought and obtained, in March 2002, a particular norm for the United States.

[indent] [b]160[/b]. The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. Rather, such instances should be addressed pastorally, by providing the faithful with proper catechesis on the reasons for this norm.

[/indent]This norm seeks a single posture among communicants. The purpose spoken of in the norm is given earlier in the [i]General Instruction[/i].

[indent] [b]42.[/b] The gestures and posture of the priest, the deacon, and the ministers, as well as those of the people, ought to contribute to making the entire celebration resplendent with beauty and noble simplicity, so that the true and full meaning of the different parts of the celebration is evident and that the participation of all is fostered. Therefore, attention should be paid to what is determined by this General Instruction and the traditional practice of the Roman Rite and to what serves the common spiritual good of the People of God, rather than private inclination or arbitrary choice.

A common posture, to be observed by all participants, is a sign of the unity of the members of the Christian community gathered for the Sacred Liturgy: it both expresses and fosters the intention and spiritual attitude of the participants.

[/indent]While the desirability of everyone in the congregation making the common gestures and postures throughout the Mass is clear (a sign of unity), recent interpretations of these norms by the Holy See provides some insight into the mind of the Church. It should be noted that the Holy See alone can authentically interpret legislation it has initiated or approved. The following was issued in response to a [i]dubium[/i] of Cardinal George of Chicago. The reference is to the general posture norm, GIRM 43, and whether communicants can kneel down for their thanksgiving after Communion when everyone else is standing, however, it is clear that the mind ([i]mens[/i]) of the Holy See on the role of posture is expressed. The general principle enunciated in the response would therefore also apply to GIRM 160, and the issues of kneeling to receive and genuflecting before receiving.

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

5 June 2003

Prot. n. 855/03/L

[b]Dubium[/b]: In many places, the faithful are accustomed to kneeling or sitting in personal prayer upon returning to their places after individually received Holy Communion during Mass. Is it the intention of the [i]Missale Romanum[/i], [i]editio typica tertia[/i], to forbid this practice?

[b]Responsum:[/b] [i]Negative, et ad mentem[/i]. The [i]mens[/i] is that that the prescription of the [i]Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani[/i], no. 43, is intended, on one hand, to ensure within broad limits a certain uniformity of posture within the congregation for the various parts of the celebration of the Holy Mass, and on the other, to [b]not regulate posture rigidly in such a way that those who wish to kneel or sit would no longer be free.[/b]

Francis Cardinal Arinze
Prefect [/quote]

(Bolded part in Cardinal Arinze's answer my own)
[b]

[/b]GIRM 42 (quoted above) gives the reason for unity in posture, and in the United States it is the norm to receive Holy Communion standing. However, as also stated in the GIRM, you should never be denied Our Lord if you choose to kneel. I hope that helps!

It seems that the priest was at the very least startled at your kneeling to receive Our Lord. It is very unfortunate he chose to say those words to you as you were receiving Our Lord; try to give him the benefit of the doubt in that we all tend to say things we wish we hadn't when we are startled. Definitely pray for him; he is a holy priest of God.

Remember, too, regarding what you mentioned about God's example sent to us by His angel superseding any man made laws, that God chooses to work through fallen human beings in His Church; otherwise we wouldn't have the Sacrament of Confession! Or the Mass! Or [i]any[/i] Sacraments! In His Wisdom from all eternity, this is how He established the Church. The Church is never going to require you to do something that is sinful, and we as obedient children of the Church are never wrong in obeying, even if we have other preferences which we feel are better. Sometimes God is more pleased with our sacrifice of obeying than He would be if we "did our own thing", however holy we think it is.

[Cherie]

I would also like to clarify that my above answer was directed at the part of your question pertaining to [i]kneeling to receive Holy Communion.[/i]

[size="2"]In the other part of your question, you mention that the priest told the congregation to stand after the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God).

[/size][size="2"]GIRM 43 states:

[quote][/size]In the dioceses of the United States of America, they should kneel beginning after the singing or recitation of the [i]Sanctus[/i] until after the [i]Amen[/i] of the Eucharistic Prayer, except when prevented on occasion by reasons of health, lack of space, the large number of people present, or some other good reason. Those who do not kneel ought to make a profound bow when the priest genuflects after the consecration.[b] The faithful kneel after the Agnus Dei unless the Diocesan Bishop determines otherwise[/b]. [/quote]

(Bolded part my own)

Unless the bishop of your diocese declared that the congregation should stand after the Agnus Dei, the norm is to kneel.A priest alone does not have the authority to alter this norm.