Receiving While Kneeling- A Question, Not A Debate

[havok579257]

ti was told by a priest that the bishops say the norm is to receive standing and not kneeling. obviously we should listent to our bishops. although i thought something new came out that said kneeling was ok. any help would be appriciated on what on is allowed to do and what one is also SUPPOSED to do when receiving communion.

[dUSt]

You are allowed to kneel. The norm is to stand.

Listen to your bishop. If he says either way is fine, then choose. If your bishop says that the preferred method is to stand, then stand. He knows his diocese better than us.

[Papist]

At the Feast of the Immaculate Conception mass the priest stood behind a kneeler and each person could either receive standing up or kneeling with minimal notice. I thought that was cooI.

[FutureSister2009]

I love to kneel and receive but I can only do it at my Parish's Latin Mass. It just seems so right. I wish it could be normal at every Mass. I know some people who will kneel right down in the aisle to receive but I won't do that because I don't want the people behind me to fall over me. We just go up to the Altar rail at the Latin Mass

[cmaD2006]

[quote name='FutureSister2009' timestamp='1325709539' post='2362925']
I love to kneel and receive but I can only do it at my Parish's Latin Mass. It just seems so right. I wish it could be normal at every Mass. I know some people who will kneel right down in the aisle to receive but I won't do that because I don't want the people behind me to fall over me. We just go up to the Altar rail at the Latin Mass
[/quote]

At my normal parish a good number of us do kneel to receive. Everyone is used to this, so it hasn't been a problem. Well, except the one lady who almost tripped on her skirt when she tried standing back up from kneeling but then again, with that sort of skirt I would have not kneeled (on a floor anyway).

At another parish I had been attending I cleared it with the priest there before I knelt to receive. But when I go to any other parish I don't make a spectacle of myself by kneeling. I don't know but I am a believer of "when in Rome, do what the Romans do."

[Aloysius]

the new translation of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal makes it clear that kneeling is actually a legitimate option.

this is the outdated translation, which used to indicate that there was something wrong with kneeling and that pastors should correct people who chose to kneel even though they shouldn't deny them communion: GIRM 160:
"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."

that translation is no more. this is the current translation:
"The norm established for the Dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, [b]unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling[/b]"

I recommend printing out both versions so that if any priest or bishop ever tries to tell you that you are not supposed to kneel, you can kindly point them to the change in wording and say that you were under the impression that the General Instruction now perfectly allows it as a legitimate option even if the norm is standing.

[Sarah147]

I want to kneel on the floor at each Communion, but I worry that they won't be able to reach me or I'll fall.

[cmaD2006]

[quote name='JoyfulLife' timestamp='1325715707' post='2362969']
I want to kneel on the floor at each Communion, but I worry that they won't be able to reach me or I'll fall.
[/quote]

If it's any help, I'm only about five feet tall and they can reach me . I'm more worried about falling, but until I see that I can't safely kneel I'll keep doing so at my home parish.

[Sarah147]

[MargaretTeresa]

[quote name='JoyfulLife' timestamp='1325715707' post='2362969']
I want to kneel on the floor at each Communion, but I worry that they won't be able to reach me or I'll fall.
[/quote]

I wouldn't have to worry, I don't think, since my priest is shorter than I!

[Sarah147]

Thank y'all! I'm going to be brave and try it. Maybe, little by little, I'll work up the confidence to keep doing it!

[AccountDeleted]

Personally, I love kneeling and miss the Communion rail at the Latin Mass - it moves so smoothly with everyone kneeling and the priest coming to each person. But, I do what is appropriate for the parish I am in at the time. If it seems that kneeling would hold up the line or cause others to stumble, I receive standing. I asked my first spiritual director (an 85 year old priest) about this, explaining that I wanted to show my reverence for God. He told me that true reverence is in the heart, not the knees. After that, I felt okay about following the customs of the parish. But if I had more choice of churches, I would definitely choose one where kneeling was the norm.

[his_remnant]

[quote name='JoyfulLife' timestamp='1325720727' post='2362997']
Thank y'all! I'm going to be brave and try it. Maybe, little by little, I'll work up the confidence to keep doing it!
[/quote]
Good for you. here at my college we all receive on our knees, with our Chaplin standing behind a kneeler, and there is something beautiful about it.

[Sarah147]

[quote name='nunsense' timestamp='1325721151' post='2363002']
He told me that true reverence is in the heart, not the knees. [/quote]

[MissyP89]

I think a lot of us want to kneel -- myself included -- but for whatever reason it's a difficulty socially, physically, etc. I've received kneeling a handful of times at churches with altar rails, and if I could, I'd go there all the time.

I choose not to kneel now because it would likely cause scandal, at least in my parish. In a lot of ways, offering up that decision to stand means just as much.