One of the recent comments from a parishioner after Mass about the "proper time" to kneel at the end of the the distribution of Holy Communion, leads me to devote this pastor's column to that issue. First, let me say that respect for the Holy Eucharist starts and ends in our minds and in our hearts before, during, and after Mass. I see daily, the respect that people have for Jesus present in the Eucharist in the chapel as people come in 24/7 to pray. There is a reverence and silence in the holy space that is the chapel where Jesus is present in the Monstrance. Some sit and some kneel and some do both during the time (usually an hour) that they spend in the chapel.
During Mass we are kneeling as Jesus becomes present to us during the Eucharistic Prayer. From that moment to the end of Mass, we are normally standing or kneeling. As a common posture is recommended at various times during Mass, the time of the reception of Communion indicates a standing postition until the last person has received Communion. It is at that point that kneeling (or if one struggles to kneel, sitting) is what we are called to do, as we pray silently and quietly in thanksgiving for Jesus coming to us in Holy Communion. There are some (including the bishop) who choose to wait until the Eucharist is put back in the tabernacle before kneeling. If that's what you choose to do (just as there are some who choose to kneel immediately after they retun to the pews after receiving Holy Communion) that is your choice. Nobody whould criticize you for that. If people are still receiving Communion after I finish giving out Communion (at one of our stations), I wait until the last person has received before kneeling down at my chair in the direction of Jesus who is usually on the main altar. It is certainly okay for people in the pews who stand throughout the distribution of Holy Communion, to kneel when I do or wait until the Eucharist has been put back in the tabernacle. Either way, we all need and should be allowed time to pray quietly and privately to the Lord, and I will always strive to give that time before I ask everyone to stand for the praryer after Communion.
During Mass we are kneeling as Jesus becomes present to us during the Eucharistic Prayer. From that moment to the end of Mass, we are normally standing or kneeling. As a common posture is recommended at various times during Mass, the time of the reception of Communion indicates a standing postition until the last person has received Communion. It is at that point that kneeling (or if one struggles to kneel, sitting) is what we are called to do, as we pray silently and quietly in thanksgiving for Jesus coming to us in Holy Communion. There are some (including the bishop) who choose to wait until the Eucharist is put back in the tabernacle before kneeling. If that's what you choose to do (just as there are some who choose to kneel immediately after they retun to the pews after receiving Holy Communion) that is your choice. Nobody whould criticize you for that. If people are still receiving Communion after I finish giving out Communion (at one of our stations), I wait until the last person has received before kneeling down at my chair in the direction of Jesus who is usually on the main altar. It is certainly okay for people in the pews who stand throughout the distribution of Holy Communion, to kneel when I do or wait until the Eucharist has been put back in the tabernacle. Either way, we all need and should be allowed time to pray quietly and privately to the Lord, and I will always strive to give that time before I ask everyone to stand for the praryer after Communion.