Communion Posture
From the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd edition, March 2002.
The following norm is the universal norm found in the Roman Missal. Note that each Bishop Conference determines the particular norm for its own country. By the general law, each adaptation is then submitted to the Holy See for recognition.
160 The priest then takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants, who, as a rule, approach in a procession.
The faithful are not permitted to take up the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice themselves, and still less hand them on to one another. The faithful may communicate either standing or kneeling, as established by the Conference of Bishops. However, when they communicate standing, it is recommended that they make an appropriate gesture of reverence, to be laid down in the same norms, before receiving the Sacrament.
The following is the adaptation approved by the Holy See for the United States.
160 The priest then takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants, who, as a rule, approach in a procession.
The faithful are not permitted to take the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice by themselves, or even less, to hand them from one to another. The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. Rather, such instances should be addressed pastorally, by providing the faithful with proper catechesis on the reasons for this norm.
When receiving Holy Communion standing, the communicant bows his or her head before the sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister. The consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand at the discretion of each communicant. When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverence is also made before receiving the Precious Blood.
The first line is from the translation of the GIRM submitted to the Holy See after the November 2002 meeting of the USCCB. It is not yet recognized by Rome. The balance of the norm is the American adaptation recognized by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 17 April 2002, and, promulgated as particular law of the United States by Decree of the President of the USCCB, Bishop Wilton Gregory, 25 April 2002.
History of Kneeling versus Standing
In the 1967 document Eucharisticum mysterium (Instruction on the Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery), the Sacred Congregation of Rites (now called the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments) established that,
34. ... In accordance with the custom of the Church, the faithful may receive communion either kneeling or standing. One or the other practice is to be chosen according to the norms laid down by the conference of bishops.
At the time this directive was issued the US Bishops did not establish a posture, although Communion processions and reception standing quickly became the custom throughout the United States, as they did in much of the world. This reality has been codified in the new General Instruction, which states,
160 ... The faithful may communicate either standing or kneeling, as established by the Conference of Bishops.
Acting upon this provision of the GIRM, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sought in November 2001, and obtained in March 2002, a particular norm for the United States.
160 ...The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. Rather, such instances should be addressed pastorally, by providing the faithful with proper catechesis on the reasons for this norm.
This norm clearly seeks a single posture among communicants. The purpose spoken of in the norm is given earlier in the General Instruction.
42 The external actions, movements, and posture of the priest, the deacon and the ministers, as well as of the people ought to draw things together in such a way that the entire celebration shines with beauty and noble simplicity, that the true and full meaning of the different parts of the celebration is perceived, and that the participation of all is encouraged. Therefore, attention must be paid to what is determined by this General Instruction and the traditional practice of the Roman Rite and to what pertains to the common spiritual good of the people of God, rather than to private inclination or arbitrary choice.
The uniformity in posture, which must be observed by all participants, is a sign of the members of the Christian community gathered for the Sacred Liturgy: it both expresses and fosters the mind and spiritual attitude of the participants.
Communion Reverence
The prerequisites for the reception of Holy Communion are 1) being in the state of grace, 2) having fasted for one hour (for the sick 15 minutes if possible, none if not), and 3) devotion and attention.
If we do not satisfy the first two prerequisites we may not go to Communion. If we do not satisfy the third, we ought not go to Communion, unless we correct it by stirring up our fervor. We would receive Our Lord vainly, if we lacked devotion and attention (to Him). We could even receive Him sacrilegiously, if we acted as if Holy Communion were NOT Him (1 Cor. 11:27-30). So, as a matter of morality Catholics must pay attention to their interior disposition when going to Communion.
Our interior disposition, however, cannot be separated from our exterior disposition. If we go to Communion chatting with our neighbor, or with our hands in our pockets, we are unlikely to have sufficient devotion to receive. A casual posture and behavior bespeaks a casual interior attitude toward something that is holy and deserves our full attention, body and soul. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us,
1387 To prepare for worthy reception of this sacrament, the faithful should observe the fast required in their Church. Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest.
While the Church does not command many specifics, the general manner of receiving is established. Such laws serve two purposes. First, they ensure that some minimal acceptable reverence is shown to the Holy Eucharist, and two, they advance the sign of unity in the One Body of Christ by establishing acts done in common.
Eucharisticum mysterium 34, cited above, made possible receiving Communion standing in a procession, in addition to kneeling at an altar rail. This facilitated the greater number of communicants which was anticipated from the Church's expressed will that communicants receive in Masses in which they participate, providing the moral and canonical conditions were met, of course.
1388 It is in keeping with the very meaning of the Eucharist that the faithful, if they have the required dispositions, receive communion each time they participate in the Mass. As the Second Vatican Council says: "That more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the faithful, after the priest's communion, receive the Lord's Body from the same sacrifice, is warmly recommended." [Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy 55]
As this should be done by congregation (as opposed to some standing and some kneeling), the Holy See gave the faculty to decide which method was to be followed (kneeling versus standing) to Bishops Conferences. At the same time, the Holy See "strongly recommended" that if the communicants received standing they should make a gesture of reverence to replace the kneeling they were no longer doing. No specific gesture was proposed, and this, too, was left to Bishops Conferences.
34 (cont.) ... When the faithful communicate kneeling, no other sign of reverence toward the most holy sacrament is required, because the kneeling itself expresses adoration. When they receive communion standing, it is strongly recommended that, approaching in line they make a sign of reverence before receiving the sacrament. This should be done at a designated moment and place, so as not to interfere with the coming and going of the other communicants [my emphasis]
In the United States the bishops left the people free to determine the sign of reverence prior to receiving Communion, or even whether to make one. Various personal customs have therefore developed, including bows of the head, of the upper body, the sign of the cross, and the genuflection. Among these signs the genuflection is the most appropriate, as it is in keeping with the Roman liturgical tradition, and the example of both the old and new General Instruction, which calls on the principal celebrant (274) and the concelebrants (248) to genuflect before receiving. Through the example of the nuns, friars and visitors to the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels in Irondale, this lawful and reverent act before receiving Holy Communion became widespread in the last decade of the 20th century.
However, in 2001 the Bishops of the United States used the faculty given them by the Holy See to request a particular reverence for the United States. This adaptation states,
160 ... When receiving Holy Communion standing, the communicant bows his or her head before the sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister. ... When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverence is also made before receiving the Precious Blood.
As with standing versus kneeling, the purpose of the norm is the unity of the congregation celebrating the Sacred Liturgy in a particular place, as a visible sign of the interior spiritual unity of the members of Christ in His Mystical Body, a Body brought into being and maintained in being by the reception of His Body and Blood.
For the attitude of the Church towards those who wish to receive kneeling, and by analogy to those who wish to genuflect, please see Communion Posture - Denying Communion.
