According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (n. 79), “There is to be a cross on or near the altar. The candles and cross may be carried in the entrance procession.” The Ceremonial of Bishops comments that the image on the cross is to face forward (n. 128). In the Latin version, which is the authoritative version, “cross” is “crux.” This has traditionally in our church meant a crucifix. The same word is used in documents before and after the Second Vatican Council. Had a new interpretation of this word been intended, surely some mention would have been made in the official documents. A risen Christ cross does not fulfill the requirement for a crucifix since a risen Christ is not a crucified Christ. It is not prohibited to have an image of a risen Christ or a plain cross without a corpus elsewhere in the church or even behind the altar as long as during Mass itself a crucifix is “on or near the altar.”
The Mass may be described in many different ways, but above all, it is a sacrifice. The Lord instituted this memorial of his sacrifice so that we would remember and never forget what he accomplished for us on the cross and why he did it. It took love to die for us as he did. In the Mass, we encounter that love, and hopefully we will be so moved that we too will go out into the world and strive to love as he did.
Dear Grace: Why do some people genuflect in front of the Eucharistic Minister before receiving Communion?
You understand of course that they are not genuflecting to the eucharistic minister, but to Christ truly present in the sacred host. The church has always required that the faithful show respect and reverence for the Eucharist at the moment of receiving it. When you see people genuflecting before receiving Communion, it is because they are trying to show the reverence which is required, but perhaps they are not doing it at the proper moment.
Here is what the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship had to say in this matter: “When the faithful communicate kneeling, no other sign of reverence towards the Blessed Sacrament is required, since kneeling is itself a sign of adoration. When they receive Communion standing, it is strongly recommended that, coming up in procession, they should make a sign of reverence before receiving the sacrament. This should be done at the right time and place, so that the order of people going to and from Communion is not disrupted.” (See Sacred Congregation of Rites, Instruction Eucharisticum Mysterium, 34; Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, 160).
In other words, if a person is going to receive Communion standing, then they should make their sign of reverence perhaps when they are one or two persons back in the line before reaching the Eucharistic minister. They may choose to bow, genuflect, or make a sign of the cross. It is wonderful that we have so many coming up to receive Our Lord. Because we have so many, however, we need to be mindful of how to do things, so that the beautiful flow in our liturgy is maintained, while at the same time we show God the reverence that we so desire to give.
© Copyright 2002 Grace D. MacKinnon
Grace MacKinnon is a syndicated columnist and public speaker on Catholic doctrine. Readers are welcome to submit questions about the Catholic faith to: Grace MacKinnon, 1234 Russell Drive #103, Brownsville, Texas 78520. Questions also may be sent by e-mail to: grace@deargrace.com. You may visit Grace online at www.DearGrace.com.
