By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK
No one believes it’s true that we can say we love and then do whatever we want. If it were true, there would be no divorce. That is certainly not the case, as millions who suffer the devastating effects of broken marriages and families can attest.
In the 1960s and ever after we’ve been told as long as we believe we could eliminate signs of belief. Many repeated the mantra that no one can judge your faith and this defense was often wielded in reaction to anyone who claimed that traditional devotion was worth saving.
This happened when people were told to stand for Communion and we formed two ticket-taking lines in all our churches, cheapening if not completely eliminating any reverence acknowledging the true Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
If we kneel during the Mass beginning at the Sanctus or Agnus Dei to proclaim the divinity of Him who becomes present at the consecration, why would we not also kneel at the moment we receive the One whose coming we proclaimed?
Yet many don’t. Beginning soon after Vatican II we were told kneeling was no longer necessary for reception of Communion. Lines were formed, so-called lay “extraordinary ministers” multiplied and the process sped up to accommodate everybody and clear the parking lot in time for the next Mass.
Reception of Communion became a frenetic, hurried, perfunctory process. As a result for many the most important aspect, a reverent and adoring encounter with the living God, a meeting with Christ truly Present, became diminished, perhaps undermined completely.
The studies about diminishing numbers of Catholics who believe Christ is present in the Eucharist speak eloquently of the results. If faith is necessary for salvation, isn’t faith in Christ’s Eucharistic Presence worth defending? Doesn’t defense require the utmost effort if it is to be sincere and effective?
While the traditional posture of bending the knees was removed (some say it was done so unauthorized), we continued to kneel after the Sanctus or Agnus Dei until the “Amen” of the Memorial Acclamation. The Mass already contained an apparent internal contradiction. Why kneel to proclaim and greet the presence of the One who becomes present for the purpose of being received but not for the exalted moment of reception itself?
As chaplain on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower for three years, I offered Mass on the fo’c’sle of the ship while it was underway. The compartment in the bow has the same steel deck found throughout the ship, making kneeling very uncomfortable. In my desire to offer the authentic Catholic worship and familiarity of Mass at home, I decided to offer cushions for the use of the sailors. I found a merchant in Virginia Beach who was willing to donate foam material for the cushions. The parachute loft on the ship crafted Naugahyde covers for the foam, so we had our cushions.
The religious program specialists, enlisted Sailors and petty officers who assist the chaplains, were then trained to place these cushions with the chairs each time the fo’c’sle was set up for Mass. Also, a young officer who became a Catholic on the first deployment in 1998 was a woodworker. He handcrafted a prie-dieu which we also set out for use during Communion.
I never instructed the Sailors as to whether they were to kneel or not. I left the choice up to them. A large number of the Sailors chose to kneel.
As then, so now: I haven’t seen anyone yet who has a problem kneeling during some portions of the Mass, even in places where bishops have largely proscribed it. So why stand for Communion?
The bishops, who always act in conference, later realized they had made a collective error: In eliminating kneeling for Communion, they had removed any sign at all of reverence for Christ. They then tried to close the barn door after the horse escaped by calling for a bow prior to receiving for those choosing to stand. They later admitted people could kneel if they wished to, anyway.
Almost seven years ago I introduced Communion side by side at the altar rail at my parish. Most people knelt to receive without being invited and still do so.
I have witnessed parishioners in the context of a meeting vocally and publicly refuse to bow during the Creed where it is stipulated to do so in the rubrics. Getting them to bow at Communion has been no small task. On the other hand, I have never had to teach anyone how to kneel; it’s “dummy proof.” I have repeatedly urged those standing to muster a more energetic effort than the merest nod of the head, a task both exhausting and pastorally ineffective.
I suspect that some of my folks who choose to stand for Communion worship also at other parishes and want to receive the same way at both. Infections spread.
Even with his bodily vision restored, the man born blind never believed without the spiritual vision necessary for faith. Yes, the same Christ who miraculously restored his sight stood truly present before him and, asked him, “Do you believe in the Messiah?” Having trust in the Lord as a prophet the man allowed himself to be led further and responded, “Who is he that I may believe?” The Lord answered inviting his faith by saying, “I am he.”
Faith requires response. Throughout the Gospels those who acclaim Christ as Lord fall down before Him in worship which puts faith into action, beginning with the apostles who, the Scriptures record, “fell down and worshipped.” Kneeling is the more dignified and less socially awkward version of prostration.
Our Catholic tradition is worthy of trust and the means by which Christ Himself becomes present among us in the Eucharist. That same tradition hands down all of our beautiful customs which enable us to put our faith into action. Denying our Catholic people the knowledge and ability to practice these traditions makes faith, already a difficult and demanding way of life, even more difficult.
Priests and everyone of faith are also ones who stand before others in the Church and the world to speak the same truth as did the Lord before the man born blind, “This is the Messiah.” Our most compelling witness is not our words, important and necessary as they are in imparting the truth, but our whole witness, including our actions. Our genuflections upon entering the church where the Lord is present in the tabernacle, our kneeling when He becomes present during the Canon of the Mass and upon receiving Him in Communion are powerful teachings by their use of the body which sees and responds in faith.
Christ teaches, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he” (John 9:1-41). The man born blind accepts, “‘I do believe, Lord’ and he worshipped him” (John 9:1-41).
“And he worshipped Him”: Words and actions. The man born blind moved beyond the sight of his eyes to accept the vision of faith. But he went further: The Scriptures do not specify how, but the man most likely worshipped by kneeling, as is implied by the fact that his verbal response is already recorded for us.
Teach Christ and save souls through worship. Bend the knee in loving adoration.
@MCITLFrAphorism
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