I have several theories about why kneeling was abandoned in the 1970's:
The first has to do with the silly argument that we were returning to an earlier tradition--which is silly because if we do that for Holy Communion, then why not for the Mass? We will need to close our institutional churches and return to home Masses as was common before Constantine.
Standing for Holy Communion means we are "raised up" in Christ--it is a resurrection posture. Of course this is false because any posture to receive Holy Communion, even dying in bed, one is "raised up"!
Old priests with bad knees, weak hearts and other health issues, such as morbid obesity, could not walk the altar railing back and forth without fainting, dying or some other emergency. The same can be said for the elimination of so many priestly genuflections at Mass in the Ordinary Form.
Parishes need more Eucharistic Ministers when there is a "chow" line and accommodating the common chalice.
Thanks to the generous bequest of a parishioner, we were able to restore the altar railing of St. Joseph Church in Macon three years ago. We were able to use parts of the old railing that was stored on the church's property. Only one brass gate was located but new ones were fabricated as well as new pieces of marble railing that were identical to the old.
The 12:10 Mass knelt at the full length of the railing and all that is written in an article in the National Catholic Register article below is true at St. Joseph's:
Altar Rail Puts Communicants on Right Track
Priests and parishioners explain the value of kneeling when receiving Communion.
In many parishes, a once-standard sanctuary staple is making a comeback: the altar rail.
“Having an altar rail has really brought back a sense of reverence,” said Laurie Biszko, a parishioner at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Tiverton, Rhode Island.
Receiving Communion this way, she said, “You have a chance to focus, make an act of contrition, make an offering, and think about what’s going on. It contributes to making this a much more holy occasion.”
At Immaculate Conception Church in Westerly, Rhode Island, where altar rails were installed this spring, Paul E. Servideo has found receiving Communion kneeling makes him “recognize the level of importance that we should be placing on this particular sacrament.”
“Just by having to kneel — your posture, your body manner — it’s impossible to deny the importance of the sacrament and the truth to be found in the sacrament when you’re receiving the Eucharist,” he said.
For parishioner Barb Kohout at St. Mary Church in Fennimore, Wisconsin, this practice “brings so much reverence back into our church. People realize we’re before God, before Our Lord, because we’re on our knees receiving him.”
This trio are among a growing number of parishioners who understand how the return of altar, or Communion, rails restores reverence for the Blessed Sacrament.
Appearing with Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa on EWTN Live during Advent 2008, Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, Kazakhstan, spoke about receiving the Holy Eucharist at Mass.
To turn the tide of the crisis and move towards greater reverence when receiving Holy Communion, he asked that “people be encouraged to receive Communion on the tongue and kneeling.”
He said that after the Second Vatican Council, altar rails were removed or destroyed, although this was not the Council’s directive.
“The Church from Rome never said to remove the altar rails,” Cardinal Francis Arinze explained during a 2008 video conference while still prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
The results of returning the Communion rail have been fruitful, according to Father Finelli.
“The vast majority of the parish receives on their knees, whether on the tongue or in the hand,” he reported. “And I noticed more also now receiving on the tongue.”
Parishioner Biszko observed: “Kneeling [for Communion], a person knows that Christ is present.”
And Biszko said, “The people in our parish feel more comfortable receiving on the tongue.”
Of course, people have the option of receiving on the tongue or in the hand while kneeling or standing. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in Redemptionis Sacramentum, instructs that the faithful can receive Communion “kneeling or standing” as the bishops’ conferences will have determined (90).
According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (160), the “norm established for the dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling. … The consecrated Host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant.”
At Immaculate Conception Church (ImmCon.org), the Communion rails put the finishing touch on the restored sanctuary that Father Giacomo Capoverdi, the pastor, turned from a plain space to a restored sacred space. A parishioner-carpenter from Italy fashioned the wooden railing with spindles and columns that wrap around the sanctuary in a half-oval.
“This altar rail is the pièce de résistance, the culminating point to everything he has done to the sanctuary,” said lifelong parishioner Servideo. Attending with his wife, Adrienne, and their 2-year-old, he perceives an important connection between postures at Mass and at the altar rail.
“We kneel frequently throughout the Liturgy of the Eucharist and [are] expected to kneel to show that reverence,” he explained. “It seems to follow that level of reverence when we’re actually receiving the Eucharist.”
He added, “When we’re all at the Communion rail, it feels like we’re all together there at the Lord’s table.”
Father Capoverdi explained that we as a Church kneel for the epiclesis, when the priest invokes the Holy Spirit, as well as for the consecration, the “Behold the Lamb of God,” and when the Blessed Sacrament is consumed. “Why not kneel?” for Communion, he said. “They’re kneeling all these other times when in the presence of the Eucharist.”
Though the option remains to receive Communion standing and/or in the hand, the pastor said the overwhelming majority — 98% — kneel. Some of the elderly faithful want to kneel but can’t, understandably.
Similarly, Queen of All Saints parish (QueenofAllSaints.net) in Fennimore, Wisconsin, comprises three churches — St. Mary’s being the main one. After Father Miguel Galvez, the pastor, completed a major restoration to its original glory, St. Mary’s was featured on the EWTN series Extraordinary Faith.
Restoring the altar rails “was one of the best aspects of the renovation,” said Father Galvez. At the first Mass he celebrated in the renovated church, he explained to the congregation the use of the Communion rail, how he never touched the Blessed Sacrament until he was a deacon, why a paten is used, and more. He gave the parishioners the option to kneel when receiving Communion. Many people chose to kneel, including very little children.
“It’s beautiful to see very little ones come to the Communion rails with their families and kneel and know this is something very special,” Kohout said. “It returns the sacredness to our Mass.”
Kneeling undoubtedly brings positive change, contended Father Capoverdi.
“I noticed an incredible difference,” he explained. “I see the expression on their faces being much more emotional kneeling, excited about Communion, more than receiving standing.”
Sharon Burges at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Salisbury, North Carolina, shared, “This is a totally different experience.”
The parish’s previous pastor added altar rails to the church (SalisburyCatholic.org), which was built in 2009.
Father John Eckert of Sacred Heart Church introduced the use of the altar rail first at daily Masses and then at all Masses more than a year ago.
“You have that opportunity to prepare as the priest approaches; and then as he goes on to the next person, you have an opportunity to recollect, make a brief thanksgiving and then move on,” he said.
Burges told him, “Being able to kneel there for a few minutes and get yourself prepared means so much more to me … to get everything else out of my mind, be quiet and reflect on the Body of Christ.”
Father Eckert added, “It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
Father Galvez encourages fellow priests to explain the value of kneeling when receiving Communion. “I would encourage any priest: It’s easy to explain when people have their minds and hearts open to the truth. They want a liturgy that is supernatural.”
On EWTN, Auxiliary Bishop Schneider made an observation about joining kneeling and receiving Communion: “I’m kneeling now because here is Someone who is greater than I, even this little Host, and so I open my mouth like a little child to receive the Kingdom of God like a child — even more than the Kingdom of God, the Lord of the Kingdom of God.”
In June 2008, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI began distributing Holy Communion only to people kneeling and on the tongue.
“The form adopted by Benedict XVI is meant to highlight the force of this valid norm for the whole Church,” the master of pontifical liturgical celebrations, Msgr. Guido Marini, said in L’Osservatore Romano June 28, 2008.
Msgr. Marini, who wrote Liturgical Reflections of a Papal Master of Ceremonies, explained “the [Pope’s] preference for such form of distribution, which, without taking anything away from the other one, better highlights the truth of the real presence in the Eucharist, helps the devotion of the faithful, and introduces more easily to the sense of mystery: aspects which, in our times, pastorally speaking, it is urgent to highlight and recover.”
Father Galvez emphasizes that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our life of faith. He noted St. Mary’s was the first parish in the diocese to institute perpetual adoration 17 years ago and believes that is why it was easy to renovate the church and for people to understand the reverence of kneeling and receiving on the tongue, since they well understand “Who the Eucharist is.”
“Having an altar rail has really brought back a sense of reverence,” said Laurie Biszko, a parishioner at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Tiverton, Rhode Island.
Receiving Communion this way, she said, “You have a chance to focus, make an act of contrition, make an offering, and think about what’s going on. It contributes to making this a much more holy occasion.”
At Immaculate Conception Church in Westerly, Rhode Island, where altar rails were installed this spring, Paul E. Servideo has found receiving Communion kneeling makes him “recognize the level of importance that we should be placing on this particular sacrament.”
“Just by having to kneel — your posture, your body manner — it’s impossible to deny the importance of the sacrament and the truth to be found in the sacrament when you’re receiving the Eucharist,” he said.
For parishioner Barb Kohout at St. Mary Church in Fennimore, Wisconsin, this practice “brings so much reverence back into our church. People realize we’re before God, before Our Lord, because we’re on our knees receiving him.”
This trio are among a growing number of parishioners who understand how the return of altar, or Communion, rails restores reverence for the Blessed Sacrament.
Appearing with Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa on EWTN Live during Advent 2008, Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, Kazakhstan, spoke about receiving the Holy Eucharist at Mass.
To turn the tide of the crisis and move towards greater reverence when receiving Holy Communion, he asked that “people be encouraged to receive Communion on the tongue and kneeling.”
Practical Proof
As pastor of Holy Ghost Catholic Church (HolyGhostCC.org) in Tiverton, Father Jay Finelli’s major renovation of the church included the installation of altar rails. A number of parishioners themselves had requested this return to reverence.He said that after the Second Vatican Council, altar rails were removed or destroyed, although this was not the Council’s directive.
“The Church from Rome never said to remove the altar rails,” Cardinal Francis Arinze explained during a 2008 video conference while still prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
The results of returning the Communion rail have been fruitful, according to Father Finelli.
“The vast majority of the parish receives on their knees, whether on the tongue or in the hand,” he reported. “And I noticed more also now receiving on the tongue.”
Parishioner Biszko observed: “Kneeling [for Communion], a person knows that Christ is present.”
And Biszko said, “The people in our parish feel more comfortable receiving on the tongue.”
Of course, people have the option of receiving on the tongue or in the hand while kneeling or standing. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in Redemptionis Sacramentum, instructs that the faithful can receive Communion “kneeling or standing” as the bishops’ conferences will have determined (90).
According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (160), the “norm established for the dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling. … The consecrated Host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant.”
At Immaculate Conception Church (ImmCon.org), the Communion rails put the finishing touch on the restored sanctuary that Father Giacomo Capoverdi, the pastor, turned from a plain space to a restored sacred space. A parishioner-carpenter from Italy fashioned the wooden railing with spindles and columns that wrap around the sanctuary in a half-oval.
“This altar rail is the pièce de résistance, the culminating point to everything he has done to the sanctuary,” said lifelong parishioner Servideo. Attending with his wife, Adrienne, and their 2-year-old, he perceives an important connection between postures at Mass and at the altar rail.
“We kneel frequently throughout the Liturgy of the Eucharist and [are] expected to kneel to show that reverence,” he explained. “It seems to follow that level of reverence when we’re actually receiving the Eucharist.”
He added, “When we’re all at the Communion rail, it feels like we’re all together there at the Lord’s table.”
Father Capoverdi explained that we as a Church kneel for the epiclesis, when the priest invokes the Holy Spirit, as well as for the consecration, the “Behold the Lamb of God,” and when the Blessed Sacrament is consumed. “Why not kneel?” for Communion, he said. “They’re kneeling all these other times when in the presence of the Eucharist.”
Though the option remains to receive Communion standing and/or in the hand, the pastor said the overwhelming majority — 98% — kneel. Some of the elderly faithful want to kneel but can’t, understandably.
Similarly, Queen of All Saints parish (QueenofAllSaints.net) in Fennimore, Wisconsin, comprises three churches — St. Mary’s being the main one. After Father Miguel Galvez, the pastor, completed a major restoration to its original glory, St. Mary’s was featured on the EWTN series Extraordinary Faith.
Restoring the altar rails “was one of the best aspects of the renovation,” said Father Galvez. At the first Mass he celebrated in the renovated church, he explained to the congregation the use of the Communion rail, how he never touched the Blessed Sacrament until he was a deacon, why a paten is used, and more. He gave the parishioners the option to kneel when receiving Communion. Many people chose to kneel, including very little children.
“It’s beautiful to see very little ones come to the Communion rails with their families and kneel and know this is something very special,” Kohout said. “It returns the sacredness to our Mass.”
Spiritual Benefits Multiply
Kneeling undoubtedly brings positive change, contended Father Capoverdi.
“I noticed an incredible difference,” he explained. “I see the expression on their faces being much more emotional kneeling, excited about Communion, more than receiving standing.”
Sharon Burges at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Salisbury, North Carolina, shared, “This is a totally different experience.”
The parish’s previous pastor added altar rails to the church (SalisburyCatholic.org), which was built in 2009.
Father John Eckert of Sacred Heart Church introduced the use of the altar rail first at daily Masses and then at all Masses more than a year ago.
“You have that opportunity to prepare as the priest approaches; and then as he goes on to the next person, you have an opportunity to recollect, make a brief thanksgiving and then move on,” he said.
Burges told him, “Being able to kneel there for a few minutes and get yourself prepared means so much more to me … to get everything else out of my mind, be quiet and reflect on the Body of Christ.”
Father Eckert added, “It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
Father Galvez encourages fellow priests to explain the value of kneeling when receiving Communion. “I would encourage any priest: It’s easy to explain when people have their minds and hearts open to the truth. They want a liturgy that is supernatural.”
On EWTN, Auxiliary Bishop Schneider made an observation about joining kneeling and receiving Communion: “I’m kneeling now because here is Someone who is greater than I, even this little Host, and so I open my mouth like a little child to receive the Kingdom of God like a child — even more than the Kingdom of God, the Lord of the Kingdom of God.”
In June 2008, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI began distributing Holy Communion only to people kneeling and on the tongue.
“The form adopted by Benedict XVI is meant to highlight the force of this valid norm for the whole Church,” the master of pontifical liturgical celebrations, Msgr. Guido Marini, said in L’Osservatore Romano June 28, 2008.
Msgr. Marini, who wrote Liturgical Reflections of a Papal Master of Ceremonies, explained “the [Pope’s] preference for such form of distribution, which, without taking anything away from the other one, better highlights the truth of the real presence in the Eucharist, helps the devotion of the faithful, and introduces more easily to the sense of mystery: aspects which, in our times, pastorally speaking, it is urgent to highlight and recover.”
8 comments:
I wonder whether the restoration of altar rails/kneeling when receiving Holy Communion at parishes has altered the manner in which people dress at Mass?
Do Catholics at such parishes continue to arrive at Mass dressed in t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops...beach attire?
I agree with Father McDonald that kneeling to receive Holy Communion is the key step to restore reverence and tradition to the Novus Ordo.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Here is a 2011 A.D. article by the same person (Joseph Pronechen, National Catholic Register) on the restoration of altar rails:
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/altar-rails-returning-to-use
Pax.
Mark Thomas
It is amazing as liberal as the Episcopal Church is, their parishes by and large still retain altar rails for communion, though they also offer the option of receiving by standing for those who cannot kneel or otherwise would prefer standing.
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, there have been varying stances on kneeling during their Divine Liturgy, but standing has been the norm for reception of communion.
By removing the altar rails and letting people grab the Holy Eucharist with their hands has likely contributed to the loss of belief in the Real Presence or Transubstatiantion.
ps: we don't keed a lecture from Kavanuagh on cause and effect.
"I have several theories about why kneeling was abandoned in the 1970's:"
The reasons you list are all plausible, but I think the primary objective of those who pushed communion while standing (and on the hand) was to alter the belief of Catholics--to dilute or even eradicate "medieval" belief in the Real Presence. And it's certainly had the effect they wanted.
Sunday Divine Liturgy (for the Orthodox and the Byzantine Christians - I cannot speak to the Oriental Churches) is the commemoration and celebration of the resurrection. Therefore, kneeling is not permitted. Only during Lenten pre-sanctified liturgies and during the kneeling prayers of Pentecost do priest and people kneel.
To me, removal of altar rails removed the distinction between the area exclusively reserved for priests and instituted acolytes (e.g. heaven and earth) and allowed all to exercise a Presbyterian notion of participation. I have witnessed (and perhaps, others as well) Extraordinary Ministers exceeding their bounds with their actions and embellishments while distributing holy communion - almost as though they mentally were having a priest-like moment.
While their return in places is laudable, it would seem that to truly have 2+2=4, ad orientem worship should be re-instituted for why would you supplicate yourself in the manner described in the article only when receiving the true presence and not when the spirit is called down upon the altar and when pleading for God's mercy etc?
Despite the canonical norm, kneeling does occur during the Epiclesis in most Greek Orthodox churches (as well as other Orthodox churches) on Sundays. Even the Orthodox parishes that emphasize Sunday standing still have those who kneel during parts of the Anaphora on Sundays.
The real significance of the altar rail is in the demarcation of sacred space, as mentioned by ByzRC. While there are no altar rails in the majority of the Orthodox Church (Western-rite Orthodox do have them), the Iconostasis with the Royal Doors serve as the equivalent of the western altar rail and gates. Historically, both Churches have forbidden lay entrance into the sanctuary and lay touching of sacred objects in and on the altar and the separation markers of East and West denoted the space of the clergy from that of the laity. Today, only the Orthodox Church and traditional Catholics retain this tradition. I hope the growing re-introduction of the altar rail brings back this old commonality between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
Adam Michael -
Thank you for clarifying. My focus was only on the canonical norm, not the practice of kneeling during the Anaphora which, it would appear, is neither encouraged nor rebuked. In the Byzantine Catholic Church, there are those that still kneel but, their numbers are shrinking. My experience has been that in some parishes none kneel, in others some or, many do. The elimination of kneelers would solve the problem but, I'm afraid there would be a revolt during Lent!
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