Dear Rev. Know-It-All,

Thanks for answering my first question!  Here's my new question for you:

When is the appropriate time to sit or kneel after communion?

Ben D. Knees

I, like most profound thinkers on the issue, don’t have a clue.

The General Instruction to the Roman Missal seems to imply that one stands during communion.

Cardinal George wrote for a clarification and received the answer that the GIRM did not forbid kneeling after communion, though some bishops do. 

Kneeling originated as a movement of the laity, I suspect.  It preceded kneelers.  My recommendation is kneel until your knees hurt.  It is the reverence that matters.  Standing is a little odd, but if you want to stand, enjoy.

I think it is foolish to legislate spontaneous gestures.  Worship the Lord and do what seems right. Standing gets in the way of the people behind you so if your expression of reverence is to stand, it might be better to do it in the back of the church.  Kneeling, however is the normal human expression of reverence for a sovereign, and the time honored is to kneel as long as the Blessed Sacrament is out of tabernacle.

The Scriptures say that the Father seeks worshippers in spirit and in truth.  The Greek word (tell me you are surprised that I am saying it in Greek) is proskynein, which means to fall flat on your face.  If you want to do that, fine, just make sure that you’re somewhere no one is going to trip on you I've found that people who do flamboyant things at Mass generally aren't worshipping, they’re play acting, which in Greek, of course, is hypocrite. 

Do what comes from your heart and not from rebellion or theatrics.

Rev. Know-It-All