Kneeling after Agnus Dei
8 April 2002 (with corrections made 16 April 2002)
The 2002 Roman Missal has new instructions for kneeling after the Agnus Dei. They were not in the 2000 General Instruction of the Roman Missal, n. 43 nor in the 1975 GIRM, n. 21, but have been added to the 2002 version.
The 2000 Study Translation (of the USCCB BCL) had:
Where it is the custom that the people remain kneeling from the end of the Sanctus until the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, this is laudably retained.
The following Latin words have been added to the 2002 edition after "Eucharistic Prayer":
et ante Communionem quando sacerdos dicit Ecce Agnus Dei
To translate:
"ante" means "before"
"quando" means "when"
"sacerdos" means "priest"
"dicit" means "says"
So my unofficial translation is: "and before Communion when the priest says "This is the Lamb of God".
So whole sentence now reads:
Ubi mos est, populum ab acclamatione Sanctus expleta usque ad finem Precis eucharisticae et ante Communionem quando sacerdos dicit Ecce Agnus Dei genuflexum manere, hic laudabiliter retinetur.
For which I expect the translation will be something like:
Where it is the custom that the people remain kneeling from the end of the Sanctus until the end of the Eucharistic Prayer and before Communion when the priest says This is the Lamb of God, this is laudably retained.
I have been standing for this part of the Mass, following the instructions that were in the Roman Missal. I have written about several times on www.romanrite.com. I have mixed feelings on having found this today: partly pleased something has been done to fix the discrepancy between practice and instructions. Partly concerned about how disunity is likely to continue with discussions about whether the custom in a particular parish was to follow what was in the Roman Missal or not.
I suppose Conferences of Bishops can still make a decision on posture and with the recognito of the Apostolic See that would provide unity for a particular country.
At least I now found clear instructions that I should kneel.
Copyright J.R. Lilburne, 8 April 2002. Last updated 16 April 2002. The Roman Missal is copyright "apud Administrationem Patrimonii Sedis Apostolicae in Civitate Vaticana".