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Part One
Knees
symbolize both strength and humility. Athletes use strong knees to run
for touchdowns in football and to block shots and to slam-dunk in
basketball. Knees also bend in adoration of the Eucharistic King and in
recognition of the grandeur and majesty of the Most High God.
Already
in Biblical times, knees were a symbol of humility and strength. To bend
one’s knee before God was a profound act of worship; it stated boldly
yet simply that God is the source of all power and that the one on
bended knee is ready to place his life and all his energy at the service
of the Lord.
What we
do with our knees gives evidence of what we believe in our hearts. When
we kneel down beside the bed of a dying person, when we stand up for the
dignity of the unborn child, when we genuflect before Christ in the
Blessed Sacrament, we say louder than any rhetoric what matters most in
our lives. Knees express what we believe and make clear what we will
live and die for.
Not
surprisingly, then, knees play an important role in the Church’s Sacred
Liturgy, especially during the season of Lent. What we do with our knees
during worship is anything but trivial. It rivals in importance what we
do with our voices and our ears, what we do with our hands and our
hearts.
When we
gather at the Eucharist, our attention is drawn with awe and devotion to
the sacramental presence of Christ. While the Body of Christ far exceeds
the value of our own bodies, it also gives meaning to them. It reminds
us, too, of the human body’s vital role in that “full, conscious and
active participation in the Sacred Liturgy” called for by the Church at
the Second Vatican Council.
It is
understandable then why our posture at Holy Mass stirs such deep emotion
within us who cherish our Catholic faith, and who know that our greatest
treasure is the Eucharist. In three liturgical postures at Mass, our
knees play a central role: kneeling, standing, and genuflecting. Let us
look, for a moment, at the practice of kneeling.
Kneeling
for the Eucharistic Prayer
The
General Instruction for the Roman Missal (Third Edition) speaks of the
proper posture for the laity during the Eucharistic Prayer. In paragraph
42, it states: “In the dioceses of the United States of America, they
should kneel beginning after the singing or recitation of the Sanctus
until after the Amen of the Eucharistic Prayer, except when prevented on
occasion by reasons of health, lack of space, the large number of
people, or some other good reason. Those who do not kneel ought to make
a profound bow when the priest genuflects after the consecration. The
faithful kneel after the Agnus Dei unless the Diocesan Bishop determines
otherwise.”
It is
expected, then, that the lay faithful kneel during the Eucharistic
Prayer and after the Agnus Dei, unless they are prevented “on occasion”
from doing so. It is only in exceptional situations and on extraordinary
occasions that the laity stand during the Eucharistic Prayer. Or course,
it is understood that some of the elderly and disabled will not be able
to kneel. In chapels in nursing homes and similar environments, kneeling
is often not possible. Special problems are also posed by those few
churches and chapels that presently have no kneelers. In these cases,
until the installation of kneelers can occur (which I hope will be
soon), kneeling may not be possible.
The
practice of kneeling assists our whole person to be attentive to the
Lord, to surrender to His will, to lift our soul and our voices in
worship. Indeed, it points to the heart of what faith in Christ is all
about. We see this reflected already in the earliest days of the Church.
In the Acts of the Apostles we are told that St. Peter “knelt down and
prayed” (9:40), and that St. Paul “knelt down and prayed with them all”
(20:36); we see how the first Christian martyr St. Stephen fell to his
knees and prayed that his enemies be forgiven (cf. 7:60), and we see how
the whole community, men and women and children, prayed on their knees
(cf. 21:5).
Even Jesus
knelt to pray
Jesus
Himself knelt to pray to His beloved Father. We see this most
dramatically in the Garden of Gethsemane where, on His knees, He speaks
those deeply moving words: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup
away from me; still, not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
The
passage of Sacred Scripture that gives the strongest theological
foundation for kneeling is that famous hymn found in St. Paul’s Letter
to the Philippians, 2:6-11, where we are told that, “at the name of
Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.”
Kneeling
is more than a gesture of the overly pious. It is a fundamental act of
faith, a strong expression about Who stands at the center of one’s life
and Who stands at the center of all creation. Bending the knee at the
name of Jesus is a decisive act of those with athletic souls and humble
hearts. There is nothing passive about kneeling in humility and
adoration. When the knees act in response to a heart that loves Christ,
there is unleashed a force so strong it can change the face of the
earth. Grace is the name we give to this force.
The devil
has no knees
According to Abba Apollo, a desert father who lived about 1,700 years
ago, the devil has no knees; he cannot kneel; he cannot adore; he cannot
pray; he can only look down his nose in contempt. Being unwilling to
bend the knee at the name of Jesus is the essence of evil (Cf. Is 45:23,
Rom 14:11). But when we kneel at Jesus’ name, when we bow down in
service of others, and when we bend the knee in adoration, we are
following in the footsteps of the Magi, we are imitating Blessed Mother
Teresa of Calcutta, St. Maximillian Kolbe, and all the saints and angels
in heaven. “Come, let us bow down and worship. Let us kneel before the
Lord who made us.”
Part Two
Our
knees play an important role in our life in Christ, in our service to
others and in our worship of the Lord. In my previous column, I
considered how kneeling has always held such a prominent role in the
prayer of the Church. Now, let us consider the other two postures that
our knees perform in the Sacred Liturgy: standing and genuflecting.
At key
points of the Eucharist, we use our knees to express attentiveness,
reverence and love. As we enter and as we exit a church where the
Blessed Sacrament is reserved, we genuflect as a reverential greeting of
Christ, who is truly present, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. This
action towards Christ in the Tabernacle prepares us to begin to pray as
we enter the church and makes us ready to witness to Christ as we leave
it. Indeed, to bend the knee before Our Blessed Lord in the Tabernacle
also shows a desire to bend our will to God’s plan for us each and every
day.
Standing
out of love for Christ
While we
remain seated to listen to God’s word in the first readings of the
Sacred Scriptures at Mass, we rise to our feet and stand for the
proclamation of the Gospel. Our standing in attentive and prayerful
expectation is often accompanied by the singing of an acclamation, a
procession with the Book of the Gospels and the use of incense. We
always stand, too, at times of intercessory prayer, to show how we
anticipate that the Father will hear and answer the petitions we bring
with confidence before Him.
The
priest stands during the Eucharistic Prayer as he acts in the person of
Christ, in what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls “so great and
so holy a moment” (#1385). The posture of standing reminds us of that
great multitude from every nation and race that “stood before the throne
and before the Lamb, wearing white robes…” joyfully crying aloud in
praise of God the Father on His heavenly throne and in praise of Jesus,
the Lamb of God (cf. Revelations 7:9). We also remember the words of the
Second Eucharistic Prayer in which the priest prays to the Father, “We
thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve
you.”
Clearly,
both the Sacred Scriptures and our liturgical tradition look upon
standing, comparable to genuflecting and kneeling, as a reverential
posture to express our faith in God and our love for Him. We should keep
this in mind when we process forward and stand to receive Holy
Communion, with a bow of the head as a sign of reverence prior to
reception.
You have
probably noticed that priests genuflect before receiving Holy Communion,
rather than bowing their head. Why would priests genuflect at this time
but the laity only bow their head? Because the laity were kneeling
during the Eucharistic Prayer while the priest was standing. Since he
has not been kneeling prior to Holy Communion, it is appropriate that
the priest genuflect at this point to express his belief in the Real
Presence of Christ and to manifest his reverence.
A few of
our laity still kneel or genuflect prior to receiving Holy Communion,
and rightly they are not denied the Blessed Sacrament. While I
appreciate the good intentions that prompt these actions, I invite them
to consider again the reverential nature of standing during the Sacred
Liturgy and the real value of a unified expression of our fraternal
communion in Christ. Taking exception to liturgical norms can distract
others and even divert their attention during this most sacred moment of
communing with our Savior. It can draw undue attention to oneself.
Receiving Communion is also a statement of our union with the entire
Church, not just a time of individual experience.
Nine
Postures of St. Dominic
We are
told that St. Dominic had nine different ways of praying, each marked by
a different bodily posture. This great saint, who is associated with
beginning the Rosary, knew well that praying involves more than just the
soul. Our body plays an important role in our communication with the
Lord. Far from being trivial, what we do with our knees, whether we sit
or stand, whether we genuflect or kneel, greatly impacts on our inner
attitude before the Lord. It can stir our devotion or diminish it. If
done sloppily or ignored, it hinders our openness to God’s grace. But if
done out of love, it assists us in humbly seeking God’s mercy and in
entering into loving communion with the Lord.
As we
celebrate the Sacred Liturgy, then, whether at daily Mass or on a more
solemn occasion, let us aim at more than external compliance with
rubrics. Let us practice deep reverence before these Sacred Mysteries.
Let us use our knees to live our faith every moment of every day and to
express our love for Christ.
Copyright 2005 The Catholic Sun. Used with permission.
http://www.catholicsun.org
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