The Posture of the Assembly while the Priest and People are Receiving Communion
Q: The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says in the United States “the faithful kneel after the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) unless the Diocesan Bishop determines otherwise” (43). It does not tell when they stop kneeling. Would it be most closely following the rubrics for them to stand after “but only say the word and my soul shall be healed”, and remain standing while communion is being distributed?
The reasons for this are:
- They stand for the communion procession, as is natural in a procession (44, 86) and they normally stand to receive communion (160).
- Rather than kneeling until it is their turn to process, or kneeling again after they return to their pew, the assembly should all stand together throughout the distribution of communion for the sake of the communitarian nature of the procession the General Instruction describes: “While the Priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion Chant is begun, its purpose being to express the spiritual union of the communicants by means of the unity of their voices, to show gladness of heart, and to bring out more clearly the “communitarian” character of the procession to receive the Eucharist. The singing is prolonged for as long as the Sacrament is being administered to the faithful” (86). Shared posture shows unity: “A common bodily posture, to be observed by all those taking part, is a sign of the unity of the members of the Christian community gathered together for the Sacred Liturgy, for it expresses the intentions and spiritual attitude of the participants and also fosters them” (42).
- In the Universal Church standing is expected “before the Prayer over the Offerings until the end of Mass, except at the places indicated here below” (43), so unless it is specifically indicated, standing is the default.
- The September 2002 Committee on Divine Worship NewsLetter included a posture table which says to kneel “From the completion of the Lamb of God (at the Behold the Lamb of God…) until the Distribution of Holy Communion”.
- The July 2003 Committee on Divine Worship NewsLetter provides a “Clarification on Posture of the Faithful Following Individual Reception of Holy Communion” where it recognizes many bishops found “the appropriate posture of the faithful during the distribution of Holy Communion is to stand”. The article offers no alternative reading and provides no challenge to this conclusion (though it counsels sufficient flexibility that individuals may, at variance from the norm of standing which the community around them is doing, kneel—or even sit).
What is your analysis, and how is posture during the distribution important?
Many thanks.
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A: You have analyzed the situation very well. Prior to the third edition of the Roman Missal, it was customary for Catholics in the United States to kneel after the Lamb of God, but that was never in the rubrics. The bishops of the US added kneeling there to the third edition. As with any new rubric, there are usually some flaws, and this one, as you note, never tells people when to stand back up.
Consequently, the custom has prevailed: Catholics typically stand when it’s their turn to join the procession. They then choose kneeling or sitting when they return to their place.
The rubric does indeed imply what you suggest: The whole congregation would fittingly stand as the distribution of communion begins. Returning to their place after communion, each person sits or kneels—or stands—until the distribution of communion is over. Then all may sit.
In my view, the US bishops missed a chance to adhere more closely to the universal rubrics. They could have invited the faithful to remain standing after the Lamb of God, a choice that the revised rubric does permit an individual bishop to make. This would have kept posture focused on the full communion rite, rather than introducing an individualized devotional element (kneeling) that more properly belongs at a different time, such as adoration outside of Mass.
Before the third edition came out, the people in the parish where I served remained standing after the Lamb or God until the distribution of communion was over. Most notably, the singing at communion improved immediately. All had a sense that communion was not just an individual act, but something shared by the people. That made an impact on many who spoke to me about their experience.
So, if you can manage it, and if the people are willing, sure, invite standing as communion gets underway. I just fear that this will be a long, lonely effort without more universal catechesis and support from our conference of bishops.