Kneeling/Obedience QUESTION from Margaret Mary, MI SFO February 29, 2000
I received a newsletter and in it is the list of Liturgical Abuses. In the list of required actions, People are required to kneel after the end of the Sanctus and remain kneeling through the consecration until after the Great Amen. Sunday night a priest said it is more reverent to stand before the Lord. This is the position we are to take. I realize God looks first at our heart, but in obedience to our Bishops, what position should our bodies take? We wish to kneel, but get confused wanting also to be obedient..... Thank you and God bless you..Margaret Mary ANSWER by Mr. John Miskell on April 5, 2000
Dear Margaret Mary, If you wish to be obedient to the bishops and to the Church then you should kneel from the Holy, holy, holy... until the Great Amen. . . . They [the people] should kneel at the consecration unless prevented by the lack of space, the number of people present, or some other good reason. [General Instruction of the Roman Missal, #21] There’s also a recent statement from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops / United States Catholic Conference. This statement can be found in it’s entirety on-line at; http://www.nccbuscc.org It says; The assembly is to kneel after the Sanctus [Holy, holy, holy...] and stand after the [great] Amen of the Eucharistic Prayer… These statements carry the force of law and have not been overruled, changed, or repudiated. You might remind this priest that his Holiness Pope John Paul II said; One who offers worship to God on the Church’s behalf in a way contrary to that which is laid down by the Church with God-given authority and which is customary in the Church is GUILTY OF FALSIFICATION. [Inaestimabile Donum, April 17, 1980]. I hope this helps. John Miskell Back to Index Page