Churches with no kneelers

[nyj]

I attend the Divine Liturgy at the local Byzantine Rite parish every other week. There is no kneeling, only standing, and for a few moments here and there, sitting. However, those people are devout and reverant as any others I have ever met. I understand, as a Latin Rite Catholic (the practice of which kneeling is a common, but not absolutely required element of the Mass) that kneeling is an important, cultural, sign of reverence. However, it is not the only sign of reverence that can be made, and I've seen many people kneeling (or is it slouching) that it's immediately recognizable as irreverent in nature. If the rubrics of the Mass allow the Bishop to release the requirement to kneel at the consecration, then no Catholic need worry about not showing the proper reverence to Jesus Christ by standing. As a matter of fact, to insist on kneeling at the point would actually imply the exact opposite... a disobedience to your local Bishop and disruption of Mass.

At this point, I would consider offering up the lack of kneeling as spiritual suffering, for the benefit of those in purgatory. I would then purchase a kneeler (you can get them fairly cheaply) and spend all my time in prayer at home kneeling.

 

[ukok]

I might flex the plastic some more at some point in the future...i would love a kneeler ...either that or chat up a carpenter

 

[krstlros]

It's not the "kneeling" per se, it's the availability of a kneeler.

Silly as it may sound, there is, on occasion, a purpose, or need, for a kneeler. Granted, in my Parish, we stand during the Consecration. And the only time a kneeler would be used, as I've stated before, is during Lent. Yet, it's really nice to have one if one is available. I just think we shouldn't just throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Going to an extreme is just as bad as doing nothing at all.

 

[Irenaeus]

I think the Church should at least have the kneelers as a matter of pragmatic option..

Do they know how much it would cost to install new kneelers in places where there is no room for it?

It's best just to have them in case of future changes.

 

[Carrye]

If the rubrics of the Mass allow the Bishop to release the requirement to kneel at the consecration, then no Catholic need worry about not showing the proper reverence to Jesus Christ by standing. As a matter of fact, to insist on kneeling at the point would actually imply the exact opposite... a disobedience to your local Bishop and disruption of Mass.

Well said, nyj.

 

[geocajun]

I read somewhere that if the church has a real lack of space, the bishop can give a dispensation which permits folks to stand, however during the liturgy of the Eucharist, they must make a profound (from the hip) bow when the wread and wine are transubstantiated into our Lord, Jesus.

 

[gzt]

I attend the Divine Liturgy at the local Byzantine Rite parish every other week. There is no kneeling, only standing, and for a few moments here and there, sitting.

Question: do they kneel on weekdays? The usual reasoning for not kneeling on Sundays is that Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection in the Orthodox tradition and I assume Byzantine Rite Catholics would retain that tradition.

 

[nyj]

Question: do they kneel on weekdays? The usual reasoning for not kneeling on Sundays is that Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection in the Orthodox tradition and I assume Byzantine Rite Catholics would retain that tradition.

There is, unfortunately, no weekday services. The parish priest has been given a dispensation to be bi-ritual (don't even know if that's the proper word) and his "home parish" is 70 miles away. So the Byzantine Rite parish meets every other week for the Divine Liturgy. Sorry I could not answer your question, but I would assume that what you have stated (about the Byzantine Rite Catholics retaining that tradition) would be correct.

 

[epiclesis]

Although there isn't a kneeling problem at my parish, when I'm working the bake sale, three times a year, I stand in the back for Mass. Sit on the floor when everyone else sits, and kneels on the floor.
There's usually lots of space in the back, and definitely enough space to kneel.. if all else fails.