Kneeling

Sometimes it is stunning when we, as Catholics, are called upon to defend a Scriptural practice before people who claim to believe the Bible is the "final authority" in everything. Take for example, kneeling in worship. There are a number of places in Scripture which either state that people kneeled before Jesus when they sought His help, or a few outright commands for people to kneel before the Lord. There is no doubt that kneeling before God is a righteous behavior. So then why would non-catholics complain about it?

It is not uncommon for people who are not Catholic to visit a Mass and stay seated the entire time that the rest of the people are kneeling. It is as though there is a bit of rebellion going on there. It is not necessarily an issue of whether they believe the Eucharist is the genuine Body and Blood of Christ, since we do not only kneel toward the Eucharist but in prayer in general.

I recall reading about a Bishop who once said, years ago, "there is something morally corrupt about a priest who absolutely refuses to genuflect before the Sacrament in the tabernacle". I would not say that everyone who is confused about what it means to kneel, or who does not know the clear commands about kneeling in the Scriptures (though there better not be any priests in this situation!), is necessarily "morally corrupt". I would say, however, that if someone has had it explained to him that we are kneeling to God Himself, and he still refuses to do so . . . something decidedly anti-christian is going on in his heart.