The expected posture during the Communion Rite in the Diocese of Cleveland - and our entire Church - invites mass participants to stand after the Great Amen, and remain standing during the Lamb of God, through the celebrant’s reception of Holy Communion, and during the distribution and reception of Holy Communion for the singing of the Communion Hymn.
Once the distribution of Holy Communion and the Communion Hymn have concluded, the faithful may sit or kneel for a period of sacred silence.
Surprisingly, this expectation of our Church has stood since 1969.
In 2004, our diocese doubled-down on this practice when then-Bishop Pilla issued a policy reinforcing the Church’s expected Communion Rite posture. Archbishop Perez, during his tenure as the Shepherd of Cleveland from 2017 - 2020, reaffirmed this stance.
Why? To “both follow the instructions of the Church and unify the postures of the faithful during Mass” (https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/offices/worship/faqs).
Whereas I have only been back in the Diocese of Cleveland for a little over two years, I have gone to enough masses at enough different churches to know that we are far from unified in this practice.
Despite the rationale that this posture allows the faithful to pray corporately, or in unison, with others, I often find myself feeling most disconnected with other worshippers at precisely the time that I should experience the deepest connectedness with both Christ and all gathered in His Holy Name.
“Do people think that I’m standing because I think I’m better than them?” I’m not - better than them or standing because that’s what I think.
“Am I being more divisive by standing when so many people are kneeling?" Perhaps. I totally understand local customs, or cultural practices, and how those might supersede the Church’s universal expectations. Only one of the many churches in which I’ve celebrated has publicly declared that kneeling is the local custom.
“Why are we so divided in this practice?” This is typically where my mind lingers.
Should we reiterate and clarify the expectation? We’ve lived five years and survived a global pandemic since the last update about this. Given the lack of clarity about what to do, a refresh might prove effective. For one such refresher, check out this podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/question-of-faith/id1605830248?i=1000558061927.
Do we need to anchor the messaging in the purpose for the practice - for mass participants to stand in solidarity with all gathered and to recognize the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist? In everything, start with why (Sinek, 2009).
Do we remove the kneelers altogether? The Heath brothers call this shaping the path (Heath and Heath, 2010).
Should I just kneel, since that stands as my heart’s desire for those intimate moments with Jesus anyways?
I don’t pose this reflection to enact any sort of shift in practice within my home diocese. I understand my role. Instead, I offer these musings to align with the important work of shaping Catholic school (organizational) culture.
Strong organizational cultures will demonstrate strong alignment between and among (Schein, 2010; and Hatch, 2018):
- the group’s deeply held beliefs (celebrating the Eucharist acts as the source and summit of our faith; Holy Communion unites us to Christ and others),
- its stated purpose, expectations and values (the Rite of Communion from 1969)
- the organization’s lived actions, spoken words, and visible structures, signs and symbols (in this case, the normative behavior of standing during the Communion Rite)
Misalignment between or among these three levels - 1. the hidden, inner layer (assumptions); 2. the company line, official statement layer (beliefs, values); 3. the lived reality layer (artifacts) - will, eventually, result in a weak organizational culture and, eventually, a weak organization.
But, when our organization’s actions, spoken words, and physical spaces match what we officially say and publish about our organization and stem from the beliefs that we hold sacred in the core of our hearts, our organizations will thrive.
And, when our organizations - Catholic schools - thrive, so will the members of our organizations: students, teachers, families, alumni, benefactors, and the surrounding community.
In the end, if the culture of our community reveals what we stand for, then let us stand united for our students and for forming them in the Catholic intellectual and faith traditions. And, let’s consider those behaviors, like expectations during Mass, and how we can align between and among the three levels to build cultures that will stand tall.
