Correct time to sit/stand/kneel at mass

sapper

Hi - I don't go to mass as often as I used to these days but when I do people seem to be a lot more confused nowadays about when to sit,when to stand and when to kneel.

I'm getting married in a few weeks and am currently putting together our ceremony - I want to include directions in the booklet to specify exactly when the congregation should sit/stand/kneel. I've been to weddings when half the people are standing, half of them are sitting and a good proportion are giggling with embarassment. I'd like to try and avoid this I and perhaps have a more respectful ceremony.....

Any one know where I can get the official "directions" (for an RC mass) on the net?

Mrs. MacGyver

No idea, but did you try the Veritas bookshop on middle abbey street?

sapper

Was going to be my next port of call!

monkeyfudge

Didn't the priest used to say will you now rise for such and such and will you now kneel for this and that... etc... it was a lot like Simon Says actually.

UU

It's like that in my church. Half of the congregation stand for singing before the rest and then half of them sit down in the meantime. It's very funny!

I always hated kneeling. It was so uncomfortable and you'd think with lots of elderly people who have stiff joints or arteritis, they would do away with kneeling.

Advice. Just ask the priest to tell everyone when to sit, kneel or stand. I'm sure he wouldn't mind.

I hope you have a nice wedding and future with your partner.

Mrs. MacGyver

I was at a Catholic wedding last month and the priest told the congregatio when to sit/stand etc and it went realy well (maby thats the way they do things in Westmeath).
Best of luck for the future

robindch

> I don't go to mass as often as I used to these days

Good for you! :cool:

> Any one know where I can get the official "directions" (for an
> RC mass) on the net?

Even in the distant past when I worried about such things, there didn't ever seem to be much guidance from on high. So when the priest in one church would be getting the audience to stand up, the next church down the road would have the audience sitting down, or lurching forward, or backward. It was a hoot during religious happy-days, when people would turn up who'd completely forgotten the run of things and some brave sould would stand up on their own, half-remembering some half-forgotten instruction from years before. While some others would peek around, looking nervous, trying to judge the right moment to change position, while others would stay with head up, chin up, but not standing up, until they drowned in an embarassed wave of rustling sunday-wear, all ten seconds too late for comfort.

You could try a set of traffic lights: red for standing, orange for sitting, green for kneeling. Or perhaps, an rotating arrow: pointing up for standing, right for sitting and down for kneeling. Or you could have arrows and lights at the top of both sides of the church, and write the instructions on the service sheet, but make sure that the different rows have different instructions.

Have a bit of fun -- it's your wedding day after all and you will be paying the church for the privelege of getting married there, so why not make it a day to remember?

bus77

robindch wrote:

You could try a set of traffic lights: red for standing, orange for sitting, green for kneeling. Or perhaps, an rotating arrow: pointing up for standing, right for sitting and down for kneeling. Or you could have arrows and lights at the top of both sides of the church, and write the instructions on the service sheet, but make sure that the different rows have different instructions.

lmao

jhegarty

Invite a nun and ask her to sit up front.... tell everyone to follow her lead.... (this is not a joke)

staple

Congratulations on the wedding.

Now we're in a whole post-Vatican II relaxed mode, it's not as important whether you stand or sit. People don't need to be embarrassed about standing at the wrong time; it's not synchronised swimming. I suspect people are embarrassed because they feel they should go to mass more often. I concur with the suggestion of the priest indicating what to do.

Here's my experience of what most commonly happens at Irish mass. This is based on experience rather than handbooks, but I haven't found much variation around the country. They do it differently in other countries at some points (this is adapted from http://catholicism.about.com/od/catholicmass/a/cathmasspo06.htm):

# Stand when the priest enters
# kneel from after the blessing (in the name of the Father...) to first reading; if there's a sung 'gloria', you can sit for that.
# Sit during the first and second readings.
# Stand for the Gospel acclamation - usually the Alleluia and the Gospel.
# Sit during the homily.
# Stand during the Creed and the General Intercessions.
# Sit from the preparations of the gifts until the end of the priest's prayer.
# Continue sitting for the people's prayer until the conclusion of the "Holy, holy, holy" (some stand or kneel for the people's prayer; about.com says to stand for it, which they do in England but never in Ireland)
# Kneel after the "Holy, holy holy," until the Amen at the end of the Eucharistic prayer.
# Stand from the Our Father until after the "Lamb of God."
# Kneel after "Lamb of God" until the distribution of Communion.
# Stand when receiving Communion.
# Sit or Kneel during the reflection time after Communion.
# Kneel for 'let us pray' until the priest says 'mass is ended', then stand until he has left the altar

Puck

I remember getting a little book for my First Holy Communion when I was a kid. That book was really great for understanding what was going on at mass, though I'm not sure if it said when to sit/stand/kneel.

Even when I was not a believer I respected the beliefs of those who were. As silly as they seemed to me they meant a lot to people I loved dearly and that was enough. I'm watching this conversation closely. If all you can contribute is jokes and laughing then you are not welcome here.

fade2black

I was at a confirmation recently, it was a kid from an Irish school and the priest was speaking in the native tongue. Anyway, it was clear from how proceedings were going that we were heading for the gospel...so...I stood up. But nobody else did. I was getting strange looks, but confident that everyone would see the error of their ways, I continued to stand. My girlfriend tugged my jacket and told me to sit down, I said quite loudly that I was supposed to be standing but she got quite embarrassed so I sat down.

And then the priest told everyone to stand.

robindch

> If all you can contribute is jokes and laughing then you are not welcome here.

My point it not to ridicule religion -- it does that well enough itself without any help from me.

My aim here was to show, gently, that a lot of what goes on is self-important to the point of a good giggle and I don't believe it's useful to shoot the messenger for pointing out this.

bus77

Puck wrote:

If all you can contribute is jokes and laughing then you are not welcome here.

Apologies Puck and OP

Cantab.

robindch wrote:

> If all you can contribute is jokes and laughing then you are not welcome here.

My point it not to ridicule religion -- it does that well enough itself without any help from me.

My aim here was to show, gently, that a lot of what goes on is self-important to the point of a good giggle and I don't believe it's useful to shoot the messenger for pointing out this.

You obviously know better than all religions... Fair play to ye'

robindch

> You obviously know better than all religions...

I'm happy you think so!

(btw, I'm still waiting for that list of moral behaviours that you say aren't taught at non-denominational schools).

Talliesin

robindch wrote:

(btw, I'm still waiting for that list of moral behaviours that you say aren't taught at non-denominational schools).

Why are you waiting for that in this thread?

Michael G

staple wrote:

Here's my experience of what most commonly happens at Irish mass....

Staple's hints are basically spot-on for the "New" Mass. Don't rely on the priest. Most of them are now too wet and cissy to tell anyone what to do.

Get a proper priest to say a Latin Mass for you. No confusion that way.