Vatican Cardinal Head suggests all Priests listen to Benedict XVI and face East and Catholics Kneel for Communion
At the Sacra Liturgia UK His Eminence Robert Cardinal Sarah, gave an address to open the conference. He strongly suggests that all priests face Ad Orientem during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as suggested by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in his book "Spirit of the Liturgy". Also he recommends kneeling for Holy Communion for all the faithful. Here are his comments below as posted by the Sacra Liturgia:
These are some suggestions: I am sure that many others could be made. I put them before you as possible ways of moving towards “the right way of celebrating the liturgy inwardly and outwardly,” which was of course the desire expressed by Cardinal Ratzinger at the beginning of his great work, The Spirit of the Liturgy. (Joseph Ratzinger, Theology of the Liturgy, Collected Works vol. 11, Ignatius Press, San Francisco 2014, p. 4). I encourage you to do all that you can to realise this goal, which is utterly consistent with that of the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.
(Addendum)
In speaking of the reception of Holy Communion kneeling I would like to recall the 2002 letter of the Congregation of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments which clarifies that “any refusal of Holy Communion to a member of the faithful on the basis of his or her kneeling posture [is] a grave violation of one of the most basic rights of the Christian faithful” (Letter, 1 July 2002, Notitiae, n. 436, Nov-Dec 2002, p. 583). Correctly vesting all the liturgical ministers in the sanctuary, including lectors, is also very important if such ministries are to be considered authentic and if they are to be exercised with the decorum due to the Sacred Liturgy—also if the ministers themselves are to show the correct reverence for the mysteries they minister.
Comments