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the diocese of belleville: kneeling before the incarnation and the real presence of christ in the eucharist

    The celebration of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord focused our minds and hearts on the Great Mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God in Jesus Christ. This Mystery is at the center of our faith. Christmas celebrates more than the coming of Christ in Mary’s womb more than 2,000 years ago. Christmas celebrates our hope for the coming of the risen Christ in our world today and His coming in glory at the end of time. Who among us would not kneel in reverence and awe before the risen Lord? Catholics in the United States have been kneeling as a sign of reverence to the Real Presence of the risen Christ during the Eucharistic Prayer for generations. They have done so in every parish in this Diocese for generations. In recent years the Faithful have been directed to stand rather than kneel in three or four parishes. The Chancery has often received letters from the Faithful expressing dismay at this anomaly. Some have been scandalized by this departure from a common posture or reverence. It is important for all to remember that the Mass does not belong to an individual Bishop, Priest, or parish. It belongs to the whole Church. The Catholic people have every right to experience the Mass celebrated in their parish as the Church wishes it to be celebrated.

Recently, letters were sent from the Office of the Bishop to certain parishes that have departed from the perennial posture of kneeling, asking them to resume the traditional posture. This was not an “order.” It was not a statement of which pastoral concerns in the Diocese were of the highest priority. Nor was it an arbitrary expression of the Bishop’s personal preference. It was a request by the Bishop for parish priests and parishioners follow the liturgical norms that apply to all American Catholics. It was a reminder to the priests that, on their Ordination Day, they made a solemn promise to the Church when they resolved “to celebrate faithfully and reverently, in accord with the Church’s tradition, the mysteries of Christ, especially the sacrifice of the Eucharist…for the glory of God and the sanctification of the Christian people.”

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal is the official instruction for all Catholics in the United States concerning the celebration of Sunday and daily Mass. This Instruction is promulgated with the authority of the Vatican, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Bishop of each diocese. Within the structure of the Catholic Church this represents the highest authority governing the proper celebration of the Mass. No priest or bishop has the authority to arbitrarily depart from its contents. The Instruction states, “In the Dioceses of the United States of America, (Catholics) should kneel beginning after the singing or the recitation of the ‘Sanctus’ until after the ‘Amen’ of the Eucharistic Prayer…The faithful kneel after the ‘Agnus Dei’ unless the Diocesan Bishop determines otherwise.” (#43) The Instruction also states, “For the Diocesan Bishop, the chief steward of the mysteries of God in the particular Church entrusted to his care, is the moderator, promoter, and guardian of the whole of its liturgical life.” (#22) The Instruction continues, “The priest must remember that he is the servant of the sacred Liturgy and that he himself is not permitted, on his own initiative, to add, to remove, or to change anything in the celebration of Mass.”(#24) These are not recommendations but normative liturgical directives well known to all diocesan priests. Individuals who find themselves in conflict with the norms of the Instruction are ultimately not in conflict with an individual Diocesan Bishop. Ultimately, they are in conflict with the Church herself.

The norms presented in the General Instruction are not based on public opinion surveys which ask whether norms for Catholic worship should be determined by the bishops or by individual priests and their parishioners. Such surveys reveal a lack of understanding of the nature and structure of the Catholic Church. Catholics believe that Catholic Bishops are the Successors of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. As such, the Church has given them three very distinct ministries, or responsibilities. Bishops are ordained to teach, govern, and sanctify the People of God in Christ’s name. In the Catholic Church, norms concerning public worship are determined by the bishops in communion with the Holy See, rather than by random surveys.

The General Instruction’s norms concerning kneeling in the presence of the Holy Eucharist do not in any way suggest a departure from the common sense practice that allows those who are infirm to sit during the Eucharistic Prayer and for those who arrive when a church is crowded to stand. However, it is significant to note that even in these circumstances, many faithful Catholics choose to kneel even when there are no kneelers to give expression to their adoration before the Great Mystery of the Incarnation and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
We live in a secular culture where reverence before the grandeur of God is sometimes eclipsed by superficiality and materialism. Catholic people sometimes lament the lack of reverence even during Mass. Kneeling during the Eucharistic Prayer is a profound manifestation of reverence before the Incarnate Word of God made flesh and the consecrated Bread and Wine that have become Real Presence of the risen Lord’s Body and Blood. It is harmful to the unity of the liturgical experience of the Faithful, if individual parishes depart from the liturgical norms that are binding on all parishes in the United States. No individual has the authority to change the postures determined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, approved by the Apostolic See, and mandated by the Diocesan Bishop. This is what the Bishop’s letter to certain parishes was intended to communicate.

Two millennia ago Saint Paul wrote these words to the Christian community living in Philippi, Greece.
“Therefore, God also highly exalted Him
and given Him the Name
that is above every name,
so that at the Name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father”. (Philippians 2:22)

At the dawn of the second decade of the twenty-first century, we do well to ponder these words anew.