Why do we genuflect?
“It’s like a circus; why do you do that?”
That was Amy’s question after her visit to a
Catholic church where she saw people
genuflect in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
She belonged to the Baptist tradition and had
not been into a Catholic church until that day
for the funeral of a family member. “Oh, it’s a
Catholic thing” was the response she got. There
are many in the Catholic tradition who do not
understand it fully. What is genuflection? Why
do we do it?
It is an act of devotion consisting of
falling onto one knee. Literally it is ‘knee
bending,’ bending the right knee to the floor
and rising again. This gesture involves a
profession of dependence or helplessness and is
naturally adopted for prayer and worship in
general. It is often an act of reverence and
adoration given to the Lord Jesus really present
in the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the
tabernacle in Catholic churches. Today, it is
mostly used in the Latin Rite of the Roman
Catholic Church and in some churches of the
Anglican Communion. Other Christian
denominations who do not have faith in real
presence or have the Blessed Sacrament do not
genuflect.
This custom of genuflection apparently
originated as a gesture of respect of a knight
before a king. It appears to have been
introduced in the Church in the middle ages
and the tradition became obligatory before the
end of the fifteenth century. Today, the
faithful who pass the presence of the Blessed
Sacrament are expected to genuflect as a sign
of devotion. When the Eucharist is exposed in a
monstrance or ciborium on an altar one may
genuflect on both knees, sometimes called
‘double genuflection.’ During the celebration
of the Eucharist the priest genuflects three
times: after elevating the host, after elevating
the chalice and before receiving communion. In
most of the Eastern Rite Churches a profound
bow is practiced in place of genuflection.
In our culture the overemphasis on self
respect and glorification of the human
individual have created a situation in which
people tend to scoff at practices of kneeling and
genuflection. Somehow they are thought to be
undermining our human dignity. But as
Catholics we need to recognize always that
God Almighty is our creator and protector and
that at the name of Jesus his Son, “every knee
should bend, of those in heaven and on earth
and under the earth” (Phil 2:11). So Catholics
would find it a privilege to kneel before him,
because he is worthy of our reverence and our
submission.
In the Bible we read of prayer being
offered in the standing position, but when the
petition was made with exceptional fervor, the
petitioner knelt. King Solomon’s prayer is
reported in the Second Book of Chronicles,
“Solomon knelt in the presence of the whole
Israel and stretched forth his hands toward
heaven” (2 Chronicles 6:13). Psalm 95 says,
“Let us kneel before the Lord who made us”
(Ps 95:6). Jesus himself prayed in the Garden
of Gethsemane “kneeling down” (Luke 22:41).
St. Stephen the first martyr prayed and “fell to
his knees” (Acts 7:60). Eusebius the historian
reports that St. James the brother of the Lord
had his knees become hard as those of a camel
because of his continual kneeling. Origen the
Father of the Church made kneeling mandatory
when forgiveness of sins was besought.
Genuflection is not simply a ‘Catholic
thing.’ It is a human gesture of reverence and
devotion to God, which is strongly based in the
Scriptures as well as the Christian tradition of
many centuries. We, His creatures are bound to
offer prayers not only in words but also in
postures and gestures. Let us not lose sight of
this profound gesture which gives layers of
richness and meaning to the Christian worship.
Fr Xavier Thelakkatt