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Jesus said to them: “I have come into this world so that a sentence may fall upon it, that those who are blind should see, and those who see should become blind. If you were blind, you would not be guilty. It is because you protest, ‘We can see clearly,’ that you cannot be rid of your guilt.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Should Catholics Kneel At Mass?

Jeff Ostrowski · March 2, 2014

OT LONG AGO, I wrote an article exploring what Msgr. Schuler often called “piccoluomini logic,” but several email messages accused me of creating “straw man” arguments.

Consider the video on the upper right. This was excerpted from a 2013 promotional film for a Catholic church 1 and has been garnering tons of internet attention. In case you have difficulty playing the video, here’s an audio recording:

      * *  Deacon Sandy: “Kneeling At Mass” — Mp3 Audio File

I doubt I could find a better example of piccoluomini logic. It is faulty reasoning which seemingly “proves” the worth of some liturgical practice. But what does the President of the United States have to do with the Holy Eucharist? Our President is not our God. Besides, after the President walks into a classroom, the children sit down while he speaks. They do not remain standing.

When I was in fifth grade, there was a movement in our parish to remove the kneelers. We were told that standing was a sign of respect “in some Asian cultures.” At that point in my life, the theory sounded fresh and exciting, but now I think it’s misguided. More importantly, it’s unbiblical and ignores our tradition — whereas Catholics are called to respect liturgical tradition for weighty reasons. Moreover, kneeling is only natural when man enters into the presence of God.

On 24 February 2014, Deacon Sandy clarified his church’s lack of kneelers:

“The fact that we do not have kneelers dates back to when the church was built in 1957. Canon law allows for an exception for a Catholic Church to not have kneelers in certain circumstances, including ours when there is a period of 30 or more consecutive years when kneelers have not been present. We have permission from our prior archbishop citing the expense that we — a parish facing financial hardship — would incur, and loss of worship space seating that would be caused by adding kneelers.”

In my humble opinion, this video wouldn’t have received so much attention if Deacon Sandy had simply said, “We don’t have kneelers because we can’t afford them.”

PLEASE NOTE: I unequivocally condemn mean-spirited, venomous, and/or needless attacks on liturgies of our fellow Catholics. Usually such attacks indicate that the “attacker” has too much time on his hands. Besides, our world already has enough hatred and division. However, when it comes to public statements about the Catholic liturgy, we have an obligation to stand up for the truth.

I believe the issues at stake here are serious, and I sense a troubling “disconnect” between, on one hand, a purported canonical “loophole” owing to a financial situation, and, on the other, “bragging” about the practice of no kneelers.

I cannot shake the mental image of Archbishop Bugnini, who was able to contravene clear directives from Rome (saying Latin must be included alongside all vernacular Missals) by arguing that Asian printers were too dumb to print Latin characters adequately. One could ask, “Why did the Consilium go along with such a dubious proposal?” Reading a book by Cardinal Antonelli, I’m beginning to understand the answer, and hope to explain more in future posts. In a nutshell, this well-informed Cardinal was shocked by the Consilium’s haphazard procedures. Time and again, he lobbied for rules of order, but even basic ones — like properly recording votes — were lacking. He was also severely distressed by the speed at which Church laws were changing. I’ve mentioned that this was also worrisome to Fr. Georg May, a distinguished Canon lawyer. More on this at later date …



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Could this be the same Church I visited as a child, when our family was on vacation in Wisconsin? That church also lacked kneelers.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Inter Oecumenici, Reform of the Reform Last Updated: September 30, 2023

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    How Well Does ICEL Know Latin?
    This year, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June 2025) will fall on a Sunday. It’s not necessary to be an eminent Latin scholar to be horrified by examples like this, which have been in place since 1970. For the last 55 years, anyone who’s attempted to correct such errors has been threatened with legal action. It is simply unbelievable that the (mandatory) texts of the Holy Mass began being sold for a profit in the 1970s. How much longer will this gruesome situation last?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Is the USCCB trolling us?
    I realize I’m going to come across as a “Negative Nancy” … but I can’t help myself. This kind of stuff is beyond ridiculous. There are already way too many options in the MISSALE RECENS. Adding more will simply confuse the faithful even more. We seriously need to band together and start creating a “REFORM OF THE REFORM” Missale Romanum so it will be ready when the time comes.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Common” Responsorial Psalm?
    I try to avoid arguing about liturgical legislation (even with Catholic priests) because it seems like many folks hold certain views—and nothing will persuade them to believe differently. You can show them 100 church documents, but it matters not. They won’t budge. Sometimes I’m confronted by people who insist that “there’s no such thing” as a COMMON RESPONSORIAL PSALM. When that happens, I show them a copy of the official legislation in Latin. I have occasionally prevailed by means of this method.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

There is a lack of that kind of organization which favors mature judgment. Move on, move on, get it out. Schemata are multiplied without ever arriving at a considered form. The system of discussion is bad … Often the schemata arrive just before the discussions. Sometimes, and in important matters, such as the new anaphoras, the schema was distributed the evening before the discussion was to take place … Father Bugnini has only one interest: press ahead and finish.

— Cardinal Antonelli (Peritus during the Second Vatican Council)

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  • Is the USCCB trolling us?
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  • “Common” Responsorial Psalm?

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