Knees
to Love Christ (part I in a series of II)
Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix, addressed the
significance of kneeling in the Phoenix diocesan publication, The Catholic Sun. Following is
Part I of his
article. Part II will appear in the November issue of The Prairie Catholic.
Knees symbolize both strength
and humility. Athletes use strong knees to run for touchdowns in football and
to block shots and to slam-dunk in basketball. Knees also bend in adoration of
the Eucharistic King and in recognition of the grandeur and majesty of the Most
High God.
Already in Biblical times,
knees were a symbol of humility and strength. To bend one’s knee before God was
a profound act of worship; it stated boldly yet simply that God is the source
of all power and that the one on bended knee is ready to place his life and all
his energy at the service of the Lord.
What we do with our knees
gives evidence of what we believe in our hearts. When we kneel down beside the
bed of a dying person, when we stand up for the dignity of the unborn child,
when we genuflect before Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, we say louder than
any rhetoric what matters most in our lives. Knees express what we believe and
make clear what we will live and die for.
Not surprisingly, then, knees
play an important role in the church’s Sacred Liturgy, especially during the
season of Lent. What we do with our knees during worship is anything but
trivial. It rivals in importance what we do with our voices and our ears, what
we do with our hands and our hearts.
When we gather at the
Eucharist, our attention is drawn with awe and devotion to the sacramental
presence of Christ. While the Body of Christ far exceeds the value of our own
bodies, it also gives meaning to them. It reminds us, too, of the human body’s
vital role in that “full, conscious and active participation in the Sacred
Liturgy” called for by the Church at the Second Vatican Council.
It is understandable then why
our posture at Holy Mass stirs such deep emotion within us who cherish our Catholic
faith, and who know that our greatest treasure is the Eucharist. In three
liturgical postures at Mass, our knees play a central role: kneeling, standing,
and genuflecting. Let us look, for a moment, at the practice of kneeling.
Kneeling for Eucharistic Prayer
The General Instruction for
the Roman Missal (Third Edition) speaks of the proper posture for the laity
during the Eucharistic Prayer. In paragraph 42, it states: “In the dioceses of
the
It is expected, then, that
the lay faithful kneel during the Eucharistic Prayer and after the Agnus Dei, unless they are prevented “on occasion” from
doing so. It is only in exceptional situations and on extraordinary occasions
that the laity stand during the Eucharistic Prayer. Or
course, it is understood that some of the elderly and disabled will not be able
to kneel. In chapels in nursing homes and similar environments, kneeling is
often not possible. Special problems are also posed by those few churches and
chapels that presently have no kneelers. In these cases, until the installation
of kneelers can occur (which I hope will be soon), kneeling may not be
possible.
The practice of kneeling
assists our whole person to be attentive to the Lord, to surrender to His will,
to lift our soul and our voices in worship. Indeed, it points to the heart of
what faith in Christ is all about. We see this reflected already in the
earliest days of the church. In the Acts of the Apostles we are told that St.
Peter “knelt down and prayed” (9:40), and that St. Paul “knelt down and prayed
with them all” (20:36); we see how the first Christian martyr St. Stephen fell
to his knees and prayed that his enemies be forgiven (cf. 7:60), and we see how
the whole community, men and women and children, prayed on their knees (cf.
21:5).
Even Jesus knelt to pray
Jesus Himself knelt to pray
to His beloved Father. We see this most dramatically in the Garden of
Gethsemane where, on His knees, He speaks those deeply moving words: “Father,
if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be
done” (Luke 22:42). The passage of Sacred Scripture that gives the strongest
theological foundation for kneeling is that famous hymn found in St. Paul’s
Letter to the Philippians, 2:6-11, where we are told that, “at the name of
Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.”
Kneeling is more than a
gesture of the overly pious. It is a fundamental act of faith, a strong
expression about Who stands at the center of one’s
life and Who stands at the center of all creation. Bending the knee at the name
of Jesus is a decisive act of those with athletic souls and humble hearts.
There is nothing passive about kneeling in humility and adoration. When the
knees act in response to a heart that loves Christ, there is unleashed a force
so strong it can change the face of the earth. Grace is the name we give to
this force.
The devil has no knees
According to Abba Apollo, a
desert father who lived about 1,700 years ago, the devil has no knees; he
cannot kneel; he cannot adore; he cannot pray; he can only look down his nose
in contempt. Being unwilling to bend the knee at the name of Jesus is the
essence of evil (Cf. Is 45:23, Rom
Copyright 2005 The Catholic Sun. Used with permission., http://www.catholicsun.org