Sunday, March 27, 2016

Regarding Kneeling

There are some people who wish to impose their liturgy on the NCW by demanding that we kneel during our celebration of the Eucharist.  According to one anonymous commenter whose comments can be found here, he/she insist that kneeling is the proper way to worship.  His/her comment are in red while mine are in black.  The comments in blue are quotes taken from Catholic documents and websites: 


It is not me that wants to impose anything on your NCW group; I would hope that the members would "want" to adore Eucharistic Jesus - "without" banning kneeling - the official position of adoration in the Roman Catholic Church. I do believe that Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis gave admonishment to the NCW directly and indirectly - I am just repeating their requests/correction.

Apparently, the anonymous commenter is unaware of some of the new rules that were passed after Vatican II.  According to Catholic Answers (the bold is mine):
The question of kneeling versus standing at Mass and when receiving Communion was one of the disputed questions reopened when Pope John Paul II promulgated a new, revised edition of the General Instruction on the Roman Missal (GIRM). Many liturgists today believe that kneeling is alien to modern culture and is an unsuitable posture for modern "democratic" man, even when worshiping. Standing, they say, is the "Resurrection posture." Hence many liturgists have long aimed at getting the faithful to stand, whether during the canon of the Mass, or for the reception of Communion. The idea was to establish the "custom" of standing, following which the practice could then be enshrined in the actual Church regulations governing liturgy.
Persistent liturgist influence succeeded in establishing standing as the "normal" way to receive Communion in the United States. This posture was codified in the new, revised GIRM promulgated by Pope John Paul II during the Jubilee Year 2000 (but not actually issued until March 18, 2001). Among the approved "American adaptations" to this new revised GIRM is one that specifies "the norm for reception of Holy Communion is standing" (GIRM 162:3). The text goes on immediately to say, "Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel."
Still, the now official new rule for the reception of Communion in the United States is to receive Communion standing. The liturgists can be said to have won this particular round; their idea on the reception of Communion has now been enacted into Church law for this country.
The "norm" is no longer kneeling.  The new norm is "standing".  Nevertheless, the Catholic Church emphasized that if anyone wishes to receive the Body of Christ "kneeling", it should not deny them.  It would be wrong for a priest to demand the congregation to "kneel".  The proper way is for the priest to teach the Catholic laity that they are to stand, but if they wish to kneel....that is also okay.  It is inappropriate for a priest in the regular parish to demand that the congregation "kneel" in Holy Communion in order to protest the NEW NORM.  I hope that is not happening in Guam.  Furthermore, standing does not imply any disrespect to God.   

The website further stated (the bold is mine): 
The new revised GIRM specifies that in the United States "people should kneel beginning after the singing or recitation of the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy') until after the Amen of the Eucharistic Prayer.  The faithful [also] kneel at the Ecce Agnus Dei ('Lamb of God') unless the diocesan bishop decides otherwise" (GIRM 43:3).  The fact that the bishop is given discretion in the case of the Agnus Dei means that he does not have discretion to change any of the other GIRM rules (e.g., to allow standing throughout the Mass).

The diocesan Bishop can decide whether the congregation should kneel or stand at the Ecce Agnus Dei.  In the regular parish Mass, the Archbishop allows you to kneel while in the Way, he can allow the NCW to stand.  The decision is his to make.  It was never your decision to make. 

Nevertheless, great care was taken to be in communion with the Catholic Church and the Pope.  According to Catholic News Agency,  Kiko Arguello and Pope Benedict XVI held a private meetings on May 26, 2007 regarding the celebration of the Eucharist.  If Kiko wanted to do his own thing with the Eucharist, it would not make any sense to hold a private meeting with the Pope regarding the celebration of the Eucharist. 

However, allegations of liturgical abuse were sent to the Vatican by those who oppose the Way and who wish to control the NCW.  With a letter personally written to Cardinal William Levada, Pope Benedict XVI then ordered the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to examine whether the Neocatechumenal Way Massses were in keeping with the liturgical teachings and practice of the Catholic Church. In January, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI launched an investigation into the NCW.

In February, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI resigned and a new pope was chosen.  Then in 2014, Pope Francis dismissed all investigations into the Way.  The investigations, which started in 2012 was dismissed after 2 YEARS!!!!  And within those two years, what was found?  Nothing!  It was dismissed by Pope Francis and guess what????  In that SAME YEAR, Pope Francis confirmed Kiko Arguello for five more years as Consultor for the Pontifical Council for the Laity.  Yes!!!  In that very SAME YEAR, Pope Francis dismissed all investigations into the Way and Kiko Arguello was confirmed for another five more years as Consultor.  If those allegations were actually true in that Kiko has misled the LAITY, it would not make any sense at all for Pope Francis to award Kiko Arguello to take part in the Pontifical Council of the LAITY. So much for the liturgical abuse allegations against the NCW. 

The reason for Rome's silence to your letters is due to the fact that the allegations of liturgical abuse against the NCW have proven to be unfounded.  After two years of investigation, it was dismissed.  However, if you still feel that the NCW is practicing liturgical abuse, then write your letter of complaint to Rome.  You are only making the SAME allegations against the Way. You can even tell them to open up a new investigation if you want, considering that you think you know better than the Pope who dismissed two years of investigations.

And, I did look up kneeling in the Eastern Churches - there are many that do the prostrations. Perhaps, those that are doing the prostrations "want" to adore like those in Revelation?? Peace  

I highly doubt that you bothered looking into the Eastern Catholic Churches regarding kneeling.  A person whose only purpose is to impose "kneeling" into the NCW and even in the regular parish church is more concern with his/her agenda rather than the truth.  According to EWTN:
Thus a Latin Catholic who wishes to attend one of these rites should acquaint himself with the basic practices and demands of the rite and adapt himself accordingly. For example, most Eastern rites remain standing for most of the celebration and do not kneel for the consecration; a Latin should respect this tradition. 

10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Dear Anonymous at 11:46 pm,

      This does not explain anything at all. Instead of accusing me of having no respect, learn to speak more by telling me what exactly do you find disrespectful especially when I already said that the new norm of the Church is "standing", not "kneeling." And this is coming from the Catholic Church, not from me. I cited my source, which is "Catholic Answers."

      Delete
  2. Hello, my name is Paula García, 22 years old and I'm from Spain.11 community of Inmaculada Concepcion Sevilla. Probably this is not the correct place but if some of you know some person to contact with, please help me.
    I was thinking about working the next year in USA (I still don't know where) like an Au Pair (taking care of children for some money in order to improve the english level during 1 year). But I have a problem, I don't want to go to a random place, with a family that probably doesn't understand my values and my life way. I need to live in a community also in USA. For that reason I thought that the best option was looking for a neocatechumenal family to live with.
    Au Pair thing works like the girl take care of the children for some hours in the day, I'm able to cook, iron, do the laundry, etc. And the family pays one amount for week for personal expense.
    I'm pretty used to taking care of children since I have 2 nieces and 2 nephews (6 years-old the oldest one) and I love them!
    So if you, or someone you know, are interested in tooking me in, please write me: pgsanchez1993@gmail.com
    Thanks so much for reading
    Peace with you all and Happy Easter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are on Guam. It is not mainland U.S.A.

      Delete
  3. Not on kneeling, but on Communion, Cardinal Muller says this in a new book. I wonder whether this is foreign to the NCW mind or whether this makes sense to them?

    "WHO CAN RECEIVE COMMUNION


    Pope Francis says in “Evangelii Gaudium” (no. 47) that the Eucharist “is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.” It is worthwhile to analyze this phrase in depth, in order not to misunderstand its meaning.

    In the first place, it must be noted that this statement expresses the primacy of grace: conversion is not an autonomous act of man, but is, in itself, an action of grace. Nevertheless, it cannot be deduced from this that conversion is an external response of gratitude for what God has done in me on his own account, without me. Nor can I conclude that anyone may approach to receive the Eucharist even though he is not in the state of grace and with the appropriate dispositions, simply because it is nourishment for the weak.

    First of all we must ask ourselves: what is conversion? It is a free act of man, and at the same time it is an act motivated by the grace of God, which always precedes the acts of men. This is why it is an integral act, incomprehensible if the action of God is separated from the action of man. […]

    In the sacrament of penance, for example, one observes with absolute clarity the need for a free response on the part of the penitent, expressed in his contrition of heart, in his resolution to correct himself, in his confession of sins, in his act of penance. This is why Catholic theology denies that God does everything, and that man is a pure recipient of divine graces. Conversion is the new life that is given to us by grace, and at the same time it is also a task that is offered to us as a condition for perseverance in grace. […]

    There are only two sacraments that constitute the state of grace: baptism and the sacrament of reconciliation. When someone has lost sanctifying grace, he needs the sacrament of reconciliation to recover this state, not as his own merit but as a gift, as a gift that God offers him in the sacramental form. Access to Eucharistic communion certainly presupposes the life of grace, it presupposes communion in the ecclesial body, it also presupposes an ordered life in keeping with the ecclesial body in order to be able to say “Amen.” Saint Paul insists on the fact that he who eats the bread and drinks the wine of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord (1 Cor 11:27).

    St. Augustine affirms that “he who created you without you will not save you without you” (Sermo 169). God asks for my collaboration. A collaboration that is also his gift, but that implies my acceptance of this gift.

    If things were different, we could fall into the temptation of conceiving of the Christian life in the manner of automatic realities. Forgiveness, for example, would become something mechanical, almost a demand, not a question that also depends on me, since I must realize it. I would then go to communion without the required state of grace and without approaching the sacrament of reconciliation. I would take it for granted, without any proof of this on the basis of the Word of God, that the forgiveness of my sins has been granted to me privately through this communion itself. But this is a false concept of God, it is tempting God. And it also brings with it a false concept of man, with an undervaluation of that which God can bring about within him."

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  4. To the Anonymous poster who wrote comments on Parts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII.....your comments will not be published. Your next step is to write a letter of complaint to the Vatican in detail how YOU think the Mass should be conducted in the NCW.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Diana,
    Sorry, if my "PARTS," which were mainly the opinion and statements of Popes, caused you to unfairly censor my comments because you think they are my ideas.
    Saint (Pope) John Paul II said in his mandated encyclical by Cardinal Arinze entitled Redemptionis Sacramentum (on Liturgical Abuses):
    (7) Not infrequently, abuses are rooted in a false understanding of liberty. Yet God has not granted us in Christ an illusory liberty by which we may do what we wish, but a liberty by which we may do that which is fitting and right............
    (8) It is therefore to be noted with great sadness that "ecumenical initiatives which are well-intentioned, nevertheless indulge at times in Eucharistic practices contrary to the discipline by which the Church expresses her faith" Yet the Eucharist "is to great a gift to tolerate ambiguity or depreciation". It is therefore necessary that some things be corrected or more clearly delineated......
    (9) Finally, abuses are often based on ignorance, in that they involve a rejection of those elements whose deeper meaning is not understood and whose antiquity is not recognized. For "the liturgical prayers, orations and songs are pervaded by the inspiration and impulse" of the Sacred Scriptures themselves, "and it is from these that the actions and signs receive their meaning." As for the visible signs "which the Sacred Liturgy uses in order to signify the invisible divine realities, they have been chosen by Christ or by the Church.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Anonymous at 2:38 pm,

      Liturgy does not keep Catholics together as one because there are many different liturgies. In just the Latin-rite Church alone, there are 9 different liturgies. The Eastern Catholics have much more. What keeps Catholics together is our faith and baptism.

      You still have the option of writing a letter of complaint to Rome. It is not necessary to beat a dead horse.

      Delete
  6. Mmmm....wondering if that dead horse (referred to in 2:38) died of a "hardened heart?" Roman Catholic Masses are bound to the Roman Rite.

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    Replies
    1. Dear Anonymous at 12:59 am,

      The dead is at peace. The person beating the dead horse is the one with the hardened heart otherwise he would not be beating a horse he knows is already dead.

      Delete