Can a priest force you to stand during the eucharistic prayers?
I recently received an email from someone who said that her bishop and pastor have insisted that her family stand after the Anamnesis and prior to the end of the final doxology and elevation of the Eucharist (when it's traditionally customary to kneel).
I'm sharing my reply below in case this is helpful for anyone else put in a similar position.
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I’m so sorry to hear about the lack of accompaniment and pastoral care offered by your parish and bishop.
Knowing when to obey and when to resist seemingly illegitimate expressions of authority is difficult and should be prayerfully discerned. In this case, your desire is to honor and conform to the teachings and instructions of the Church and your priest and bishop are instructing you otherwise. The CCCB’s (Canadian Catholic Bishops) version of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) says that we should kneel for the entire eucharistic prayer (see bottom of page 21 - https://www.cccb.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/GIRM.pdf). However; it also says we should follow the instructions of the minister at mass according to the missal. Some might claim that this means we should follow his instructions if he tells us to do something contrary to the missal. My instinct is to say no, we should not - because he is trying to exercise an authority he does not have, which makes it illegitimate. He has authority to instruct us according to the missal, not according to his own liturgical preferences, apart from the missal. This is why Sacrosanctum Concilium (Vatican II’s constitution on the sacred liturgy), in para. 22 says, “…no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.”
Furthermore, Canon law says you have the right to worship God according to the legitimate instruction of your rite (the Latin one in this case) defined by legitimate pastors. Legitimate pastors, in this case, means the Holy See (Rome) or the bishop’s conference. If it’s a right, neither your priest nor bishop can deny it to you. I quote the canon below:
“Can. 214 The Christian faithful have the right to worship God according to the prescripts of their own rite approved by the legitimate pastors of the Church and to follow their own form of spiritual life so long as it is consonant with the doctrine of the Church.”
I hope this is helpful and I will pray that your bishop and pastor are able to respond in love and humility for your desire to adhere to the Church’s teachings!
