Consistency

A liturgically sound priest-friend of mine once ended up helping out in a parish where the custom had developed of the priest genuflecting towards the congregation at the start of Mass for precisely that reason. Needless to say, he didn't delay in stamping out that particular abomination.

I was under the impression that after we receive communion, we become living monstrances carrying the real and true presence of Christ within us, and so we should not genuflect when passing the tabernacle on our way back to the pew after receiving communion.

One lovely liturgical innovation which stems from all this comes from a priest who instructs the altar servers who carry candles to escort people leaving mass early to their cars. After all people carrying the real presence within them deserve such a procession to go with them.

Commenter Burt is on to something, more or less. If you look at the rubrics and the liturgical theology from which they come, you'll notice that during the Liturgy itself, our reverential actions focus entirely on the altar and not on the tabernacle. Thus, proper incensing doesn't include the tabernacle (rather to the Cross and the altar), and all of the priest's reverentials revolve around the altar. As a lector approaches, the proper action isn't to genuflect toward the tabernacle, but to bow to the altar.

It's also an old school (pre-Vatican II) practice to genuflect a holy person, in recognition of that person's being a "temple of the Holy Spirit." I believe it's still common practice to greet a bishop in such a way in Africa (provoking me to greet my close African seminarian buddies with a joking genuflection every now and again).

Unfortunately, all good things spawn abuse. Genuflecting to the people before Mass is silly. Not having the Eucharist on reserve in the sanctuary is silly, too.

Most unorthodox perversions usually begin on solid ground, though.

Fr Joseph Wilson worked this out a little while back, in The Wanderer (though I found it in the New Oxford Review about six years ago):

"We understand that we need to emphasize the Presence of Christ in the gathered community at least as much as, if not more than, we emphasize Him in the Eucharist. To this end, we are removing the choir section of our church, that section behind the current altar, and replacing it with a platform on which we will build a 20-foot tall, six-seater monstrance — a monstrance capable of sitting six parishioners in the glass chamber. We will then begin perpetual adoration. Six parishioners at a time will take turns climbing up and sitting in the monstrance while the rest of us will take turns worshiping Them."

Don't laugh... A local parish is building a church in the shape of a monstrance...

http://www.stfoafrisco.org/construction_plans.asp

Catholics genuflect on only two occasions: before the Blessed Sacrament, wherever it may be found, tabernacle, side chapel, or priest carrying it in a pyx out of the parish, and this is a full genuflection on the right knee. Inside church, it's not necessary to keep genuflecting if you happen to be assisting at mass, your genuflection upon entering and exiting, and the kneeling during the Eucharistic prayer, suffice. If you walk past the tabernacle because you're a lector or something, you bow the head. The second time Catholics genuflect is when they are presented to the Vicar of Christ, his Holiness the Pope. To distinguish between the greater genuflection to God, the genuflection to the Holy Father is done on the LEFT knee.

Not sure what to make of the tennis ball courtyard in front of the monstrance shapped Church. Also, guess they want no chance of a pre vatican two mass being said in that Church....church in the round would prevent that.

Let's assume that you, a "conservative" Catholic, are assigned to a front-row-center seat in heaven; will you ask to be moved to another place when you suddenly become aware that a "liberal" one is seated next to you?

responding to: If, as the liberal Catholics say, Jesus is really and truly present in the congregation at Mass, and if, as the liberal Catholics also say, we need to put the really and truly present Jesus of the Blessed Sacrament off to the side and away from Mass...

...Then shouldn't we also put the whole congregation off to the side, too?

Okay, I know this is a farce but it is a really stupid one. For many reasons, this fails to rise to the proper level of comical farce. For one reason, it is based on a false premise--that "liberal Catholics" state the Jesus is present in the gathered assembly. In fact, it is the Church Herself who makes this claim.

Why would a church in the round prevent a 1962 Missal mass?

peadar99,

The problem is that there are varying presences of Christ and the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist has been diminished while the presence of Christ in the congregation has been equated as being the same. To equate the Eucharist with Christ in the congregation as being exactly the same is theologically in error and does not help us to understand either better. Much damage has been done by inverting these, though the trend is reversing.

Jeff,

The Church has been clear that while the mode of Christ's presence differs (namely, substantial presence in the Eucharistic elements), Christ is indeed present in 1) the gathered assembly 2) the proclamation of the gospel 3) the person of the priest and 4) the Eucharistic species. Your language of "diminishing" is what is faulty. How can Christ be *less* present than present? How does it diminish Christ's presence in the Eucharist by recognizing His presence in the assembly, the Word, and the priest?

"How does it diminish Christ's presence in the Eucharist by recognizing His presence in the assembly, the Word, and the priest?"

Recognizing is different from what has actually happened. Only in the Eucharist is Jesus present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. When you emphasize Jesus' presence in the congregation over his presence in the Eucharist you have effectively diminished how people view them.

What we have done by over emphasizing Christ's other presences is to effectively diminish how people view the Eucharist. Many people now walk into a Church and don't genuflect (even when the tabernacle is in a prominent location). You would hardly know that Jesus is there the way people casually dress and chatter at Mass. Is it any wonder that belief in the Eucharist has fallen?

These presences are all different and they should be taught within their proper ordering and the fact that only the Eucharist is a sacramental presence.

Jeff wrote: Recognizing is different from what has actually happened. Only in the Eucharist is Jesus present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. When you emphasize Jesus' presence in the congregation over his presence in the Eucharist you have effectively diminished how people view them.

Again, you are misunderstanding what the Church teaches. While it is true that only in the Eucharistic species is Christ substantially present, it is the same resurrected Christ who is present in those other ways in the liturgy. You can not over emphasize the presence of the resurrected Christ: it is always a grace. Your setting the presence of Christ in the Eucharist against the presence of Christ in the gathered assembly places those modes of presence in an opposition that essentially denies the mystery of Christ's presence in both. You can't get more Christ by eating more of the hosts. At Holy Mass we are immersed in the presence of the resurrected Christ greeting us in various ways. To turn this into a competition of "which is greater" disfigures that presence of Christ.

I don't place them in opposition, I place them in perspective and in their proper ordering. The Church herself calls the Eucharist the "Sacrament par excellence", does this put the other sacraments in opposition?

Understanding the different presences makes you appreciate each as gift and seeing them all as the same truly diminishes them. Otherwise can I take a bite out of you to receive Holy Communion?