2490 N Cramer Street, Milwaukee, WI 53211
414.962.2443

Standing/Kneeling Posture During Mass

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Friends,

Our family of four parishes are so blessed to be able to celebrate the Eucharist in beautiful churches and with beautiful music and with a true spirit of welcome and hospitality. Not to mention the great homilies! (Just kidding. Well sort of!)

God the Father’s almighty power is proclaimed and the saving mercy his Son taught us is practiced and the unity the Holy Spirit calls us to is sought after in all we say and do.

It is with that unity in mind that we would like to address the standing/kneeling posture question during the Mass, especially during the Eucharistic prayer. Because of history and circumstance, different customs have developed, and as your pastors, we would like to unify so we can remedy the confusion that has been brought to our attention. In addition, we would like to unify practices with the rest of parishes in the country.

So beginning Ash Wednesday, the common practice for all four of our parishes is:

+We will immediately stand after the priest says “Pray brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the almighty Father”, right after the gifts have been offered.

+At the Eucharistic Prayer, we will kneel right after the Holy, Holy, and remain kneeling throughout the Eucharistic Prayer until the conclusion of the Great Amen ending the prayer. Then stand for the Our Father.

+We will kneel again at the conclusion of the Lamb of God, and after receiving communion, then sitting when the priest sits to listen to the announcements, then standing for the closing prayer.

We hope this will clarify any confusion and lead to greater unity, and truly help us all to pray better together. Of course, for those who can’t kneel because of physical infirmity, this is optional.

God bless you as we prepare for Lent.

Sincerely, with love,

Fr. Mike and Fr. Tim