Anthony Esolen spares few punches in his opinion on Cardinal Cupich’s recent directive for Catholics in his diocese to receive Communion standing, effectively forbidding kneeling. I agree with their sentiments – a Catholic has a right to kneel, even if everyone else is standing.
But that is the problem, is it not? Everyone else. The ‘norm’ instantiated by the bishops of North America – and across swathes of Europe – is to receive standing. Even if it is not, strictly speaking, the ‘law’, it has become the custom, and custom, as Saint Thomas teaches, is stronger than law. As he puts it, custom ‘has the force of law, abolishes law and interprets law’. (cf., I-II.q.97.a.3)
In other words, the problem is the norm itself. Cardinal Cupich is simply bringing to its logical conclusion. If the norm – which is to say the custom – is to queue up and receive standing, and if practically everyone does so, then the Cardinal has a point: Those who choose to kneel in such a situation can’t help but ‘draw attention to themselves’ and make a bit of a spectacle. It’s awkward, as I can attest. I always kneel, and am still spry enough to spring back up with some degree of aplomb. Or at least I don’t fall over – yet. The day may come when I may not be so spry, and it will be tough to get down on two knees and back up again. Even so, there is always the possibility of people tripping over those who kneel, not expecting such outbursts of devotion. (Then, there’s also the ‘tsk’ from the priest, or some other sign of annoyance, if not outright refusal, exacerbated since the Covid debacle). Hence, when I’m away from my own parish, or not at a TLM or another more traditional Mass, I always try to go last in the line, so as to cause the least ‘spectacle’ or disturbance.
Leah Sargeant makes the argument that we should all just go up however we want, but that too creates problems, depending on what ‘custom’ wins out. And do we really need more liturgical chaos? If everyone lines up and then kneels, Communion is going to take a long time. And those elderly and infirm who are not so agile will need help. Eucharistic ‘ministers’, indeed!
The interim solution would be to put out a couple of pre-dieus, so those who so desire can easily kneel. It’s what they do in some parishes. And once they’re there, a majority do choose to kneel.
The best solution, of course, is the most traditional, tried and true: Put back the altar rails, which allow for standing or kneeling. It’s natural, and truly ‘customary’. Everyone has time to prepare for a moment before reception, and reflect for a moment afterwards, before moving on. The ‘procession’ is as natural as can be, smooth, efficient, and fine for all around. We re-installed the altar rails in our local parish (which I guess were ripped out in the wreck-ovations in the wake of the Council), finely crafted by a local carpenter, and everything works just fine.
But as Father John Perricone points out, the kneeling/standing issue is part of a much bigger problem of insouciance, irreverence and even outright sacrilege towards the Holy Eucharist, almost all of which is greeted with an ecclesial shrug, if not outright complaisance and abetting. Until we dig deep, face and fix those issues, Eucharistic reverence will continue its descent. Faith in the Real Presence requires that we maintain fitting outward signs of our belief and devotion, just as for any intangible, supernatural reality.
We may hope that tradition will win out in the end, even if there be strife along the way. It always does. In the meantime, we are being sifted – if nothing else, this will help us appreciate all the more what we should have had, and should have been doing, all along.