If There Are No Kneelers, Is It a Catholic Church?I feel sorry for pastors in Catholic churches that were built during a certain period post-Vatican II and were built without kneelers. A previous pastor (and bishop, I guess), who was in place during the construction of the church, showed his spirit of renewal by not including pews with kneelers. This is the 20th century! We don't kneel to show our awe of God! The early church didn't.
Well, now almost 50 years down the road, we're discovering that yes, kneeling is a perfectly correct way to show our honour, respect, love and awe of God, and in fact, we're enshrining it in our Mass revisions. And, in order to follow the Vatican's decisions, the current pastors have to figure out how to put kneelers into churches that weren't designed for them. Or the local Bishop will be making lots of exceptions. That is what will most likely happen.
But what were they thinking? Didn't they realize that people do like to kneel when they pray, whether it's during Mass or not? Was sitting or standing decreed the new kneeling in these parishes? It makes me wonder...
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