In Umbris Sancti Petri

While walking home today, I decided to stop into the Vatican bookstore. I was just looking around and asked one of the store workers when Bishop Athanasius Schneider's new book, "Dominus Est," is coming out. Dominus est means, "It is the Lord," in Latin and is referring to the Gospel of John when Christ is recognized by John while Peter and John are fishing.

The book interests me, because the Liturgy interests me. It is about the posture and disposition of the one receiving Holy Communion and the practice of receiving Holy Communion on one's knees and on the tongue. This post is not an apologia for either of those practices, which remain the universal norm of the Church while Bishops and National Bishop's conferences are able to create other norms if they deem it pastorally expedient. Personally, I support and prefer the practice defended in this book, but I would like to limit myself to making a few brief comments on the orientation of the liturgy in general.

In the Catholic liturgy, there must always be a common orientation of all the assembly: versus Dominum, toward the Lord. Cardinal Ratzinger speaks of this at length in his book, "The Spirit of the Liturgy." The same Pope Benedict XVI spoke of this in his General Audience on St. Augustine a couple weeks ago, mentioning the practice of the priest in the early Church who proclaimed, "Conversus ad Dominum!" (Turn toward the Lord) after the homily, at which point the congregation would turn toward the East. This is the reason that Pope Benedict celebrated the Baptismal Mass in the Sistene Chapel "ad orientem," or toward the East, Christ our Lord, the rising Son that never sets. The orientation of our hearts toward the Lord is expressed in chant, gestures, movements and postures in Catholic Liturgy because human beings are not angels (pure spirit) or animals (flesh without a rational soul and will). We must express with our body, the movements and orientation of our heart. This is the context in which Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, the Secretary for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, puts his argument forward with respect to receiving communion kneeling and on the tongue in his forward to this book.

I plan on buying the book from the Vatican bookstore sometime this week when it comes out, and I will try to put some posts up on the general arguments and themes. Whether we receive Holy Communion standing or kneeling right now (both of which are certainly viable options according to the Church), let us always prostrate our hearts in loving adoration before the God who is love. "This is a real presence which includes every dimension of who Jesus is: body and blood, human soul and divine person. The consecrated Eucharistic species are the Lord and therefore command our adoration. We do not adore ourselves, nor the ordained priest, nor the Bible, even though these are vehicles for Christ's spiritual presence; we do adore the Eucharist, this blessed sacrifice made really present sacramentally." (Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago)