Standing Vs Kneeling At Mass

[Guest magnificat17]

I recently went to a mass where the priest asked that the people stand for the entire eucharistic prayer. Is he allowed to do this? Should I have been obedient to him or knelt down for the consecration?

[cappie]

The Church provides norms for posture and gesture to preserve the sacred nature of the liturgy and to benefit the faithful. The norms for posture and gesture are laid out in both the Sacramentary and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.

The postures and gestures of both the celebrant and the faithful contribute to the "beauty and noble simplicity" of the liturgy. They point to "the true and full meaning of the different parts of the celebration," and foster the participation of all (General Instruction of the Roman Missal [GIRM], no. 42; cf. Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, nos. 30, 34).

Uniformity of posture is provided as a sign of unity. "A common posture, to be observed by all participants, is a sign of the unity of the members of the Christian community gathered for the Sacred Liturgy: it both expresses and fosters the intention and spiritual attitude of the participants" (GIRM, no. 42).

The GIRM, no. 43, details the normative postures for the faithful during the Mass. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on the Liturgy also published a "posture chart" indicating these norms for posture ("Clarification on the Proper Posture During the Eucharistic Prayer," BCL Newsletter, Sept. 2002).

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal allows the faithful to stand or sit "when prevented on occasion by reasons of health, lack of space, the large number of people present, or some other good reason" (no. 43). The Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy stresses that these instances are exceptions and that [b]kneeling is the norm[/b]. "The phrase on occasion was specifically chosen by the Bishops in order to establish a uniform posture of kneeling during the Eucharistic Prayer. It is only on exceptional and extraordinary occasions, therefore, and never on a regular basis, that standing during the Eucharistic Prayer is permitted in the dioceses of the United States of America" ("Clarification on the Proper Posture During the Eucharistic Prayer," BCL Newsletter, Sept. 2002).

I don't know the context so I can't advise regarding disobedience.

[Pontifex]

[quote name='cappie' post='1237967' date='Apr 10 2007, 04:15 PM']The Church provides norms for posture and gesture to preserve the sacred nature of the liturgy and to benefit the faithful. The norms for posture and gesture are laid out in both the Sacramentary and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.

The postures and gestures of both the celebrant and the faithful contribute to the "beauty and noble simplicity" of the liturgy. They point to "the true and full meaning of the different parts of the celebration," and foster the participation of all (General Instruction of the Roman Missal [GIRM], no. 42; cf. Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, nos. 30, 34).

Uniformity of posture is provided as a sign of unity. "A common posture, to be observed by all participants, is a sign of the unity of the members of the Christian community gathered for the Sacred Liturgy: it both expresses and fosters the intention and spiritual attitude of the participants" (GIRM, no. 42).

The GIRM, no. 43, details the normative postures for the faithful during the Mass. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on the Liturgy also published a "posture chart" indicating these norms for posture ("Clarification on the Proper Posture During the Eucharistic Prayer," BCL Newsletter, Sept. 2002).

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal allows the faithful to stand or sit "when prevented on occasion by reasons of health, lack of space, the large number of people present, or some other good reason" (no. 43). The Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy stresses that these instances are exceptions and that [b]kneeling is the norm[/b]. "The phrase on occasion was specifically chosen by the Bishops in order to establish a uniform posture of kneeling during the Eucharistic Prayer. It is only on exceptional and extraordinary occasions, therefore, and never on a regular basis, that standing during the Eucharistic Prayer is permitted in the dioceses of the United States of America" ("Clarification on the Proper Posture During the Eucharistic Prayer," BCL Newsletter, Sept. 2002).

I don't know the context so I can't advise regarding disobedience.[/quote]


I fully agree.