Whoever decided to take the kneelers out of the mainline Protestant churches has done one of the greatest disservices to the Christ follower. I remember attending my Grandmother's Catholic church as a child, and because of misinformation, or no information at all on why they were there and the sheer unfamiliarity with those odd little knee benches, I was horrified by them. I was equally embarrassed 20 years later attending my husbands Grandfather's Catholic funeral as a Protestant, secretly hoping that we wouldn't have to pull out those dang kneelers at any point in the service. We protestants don't do that. Sure, we claim to kneel before the foot of our beds, in secret, alone. I even practiced that sparsely in my personal prayer life. But kneeling in church, in my nice pants, in front of everyone else? Well that was too much to ask.
Somehow, on the walk to the Catholic Church, those kneelers have become not a hindrance or obstacle to "deal" with. They have been one of the key factors (besides my desire for the Eucharist), that has me more and more eager every Sunday to get to Mass. When we realize that the very consecrated body of Jesus is before us, in the Tabernacle, and the image of the crucified Jesus is ever before us beside the alter, there is nothing to do, but kneel.
I need to add a side note of the issue many non Catholic's have with Jesus remaining on the cross in every Catholic Church. It is used as a major criticism, claiming that Catholics only focus on the death, widely forgetting about the power of the resurrection, much like the Sadducees of Jesus's day. But Jesus himself said, "Greater Love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (Jn 15:13). Paul later, said, "Jews demand signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block for Jews, and foolishness for Gentiles. (1 Cor. 1:22-23).
Jesus on the cross is the very display of the vast love of the Father. It was the difference that our Savior had over every other god of the early pagan cultures. Our God, the one True God, died, for us. That is why Paul used that fact so adamantly in all of his preaching. Without the cross, and without him bearing my sin and that of the whole world, I would still be lost in my sins, and would be without hope. Therefore Jesus is not on the cross in Catholic Churches around the world to forget his powerful resurrection, but rather to demonstrate to all kneeling before him, of how great is the Father's love.
Catholics are frequently criticized for their obsession with ritual over relationship. They are accused of having all of the right movements, but none of the correct heart tugs. So naturally, a non Catholic, uninformed of the why behind the what of Catholic practice, see the Mass as ritualistic versus the "Spirit Led" familiarity of Evangelical services. But worship can be defined as so much more than a heartfelt song, with hands lifted high. Catholics worship. They worship by standing, sitting, standing, then kneeling. They worship by song, by congregational responses, and by Eucharistic adoration. The Catholic Mass has all the "Why" behind it. Not to mention History. The "Whys" are placed there to lead the Catholic faithful into a reverence for the person of Jesus Christ, in whom they will partake at the Eucharistic table. The amount of prayer alone, that happens at Mass should be some indicator to the non Catholic that what happens at Mass is reverent, and sincere.
It is through these rituals that a Catholic builds a relationship with the Lord. They can, obviously, miss the relationship and only focus on the ritual. The same way, however, that an Evangelical can miss the reverence and only focus on the relationship. In either camp, sin and misinformation can abound. But I have found, in the Catholic Mass... the practice of kneeling, as a body of believers, in front of our Lord, is the most effective way to remember my place as a Christ follower. It is on my knees, at the foot of the cross, confessing continually that he is the Lamb of God, that takes away my sins, and the sins of the world.
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