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About The Mass / 05_SpiritOfTheLiturgy
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05_SpiritOfTheLiturgy.jpg
At Mass, there have been all kind of ideas circulating on how the Mass should be celebrated. One of the topics that comes up quite often is whether the faithful should kneel at Mass at all ?
In his book The Spirit of the liturgy , Pope Benedict XVI dedicated a whole chapter on why we should kneel during the Consecration at Mass. Here is a brief excerpt :
There are groups, of no small influence, who are trying to talk us out of kneeling. "It doesn't suit our culture", they say (which culture?)
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Kneeling does not come from any culture-it comes from the Bible and its knowledge of God.
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Kneeling is not only a Christian gesture, but a christological one.
For me, the most important passage for the theology of kneeling will always be the great hymn of Christ in Philippians 2:6-11.
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If the words of the Pope are not good enough, let's check out the words of God in Philippians 2:6-11 :
Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. For which cause God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above all names: That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father. (Douay-Rheims Bible)
This is an authoritative book in the domain of the liturgy.
