Standing at Mass

Just a thought...

I think I figured out where this comes from - standing at Mass that is. Dah! I knew this before yet obviously never gave it much thought. The whole concept developed in the monasteries. It stems from the monastic communal Mass. The priests circle the altar for concelebration, since they are monks and the non-ordained brothers are also monks, the community stands together. Some monasteries invite the retreatants up around the altar with the community. The retreatants (priests, laymen, liturgists) obviously went back to their parishes and diocese with these innovations. I was in a Trappist monastery for a while, when I left I could always recognize who had been on retreat at an abbey by the way they bowed to reverence the Blessed Sacrament instead of genuflecting. (Benedictine custom is a profound bow instead of genuflecting.) Lay people think monastic practices are more holy I guess. They like the novelty - hence the assimilation into their parish practice. So maybe some liturgical abuses really started out with good intentions, but then took on a life of their own. I think St. Teresa of Avila said, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." I really prefer kneeling and genuflecting, if I was in a monastery, I would conform to the custom of the place.