On Your Knees!

I was taught, as a young boy, that we genuflected (and knelt for communion) as a sign of our belief in - and reverence for - the Real Presence. In front of the Blessed Sacrament exposed, we genuflected on both knees; and in passing an altar where the Blessed Sacrament was not reserved, we bowed.

This, of course, is distinctively Catholic (as is belief in the Real Presence) so of course it had to go. And so we are taught that these days a bow is sufficient as we pass the tabernacle, and standing is fine for communion.

In fact one school teacher had the idiocy to tell me that we no longer kneel before kings, and these things change over time, so we no longer kneel before the Blessed Sacrament. What a twit! The reason we no longer kneel before kings is that we no longer believe in the Divine Right theory - ie that they are practically God-on-earth!

But as I still believe that the Blessed Sacrament is literally God-on-earth, I continue to genuflect, kneel for communion etc.

It's harder with the kids: I don't insist they kneel for communion (though they happily do at EF Masses) but at least genuflect before receiving, and certainly genuflect rather than bow at the tabernacle etc.

We must reclaim a sense of the sacred, and a pride in our Catholic identity - the decades of convergence with Protestant practice have been disastrous for the Church.