I haven’t posted much on Michael Voris of realcatholictv.com. I have linked a couple of his videos some time ago. What I have found though is that while I agree with much of the thrust of what Mr. Voris says I have found that details could be exaggerated or things left out of his commentary. Sometimes I would watch one his videos with a promising headline and found the content to not fully support his contentions. So for the most part I don’t watch his videos anymore.
I bring this up because of one of his recent videos concerning kneeling. Recent Cardinal Antonio Canizares of the Congregation for Divine Worship strong recommended receiving Communion kneeling as a “sign of adoration that needs to be recovered.” This is something I totally agree with and not only do I want a return to kneeling, I would like the Communion rail to be the primary means for receiving Communion. In fact I would like to see Communion in the hand go away also. Both thing I am sure Mr. Voris and me would agree on..
Jimmy Akin of Catholic Answers has recently started a new podcast where he gets to spend more time answering questions in greater detail than he can do on Catholic Answers. I really love his podcast which answers the oddball questions Jimmy Akin likes concerning aliens and space exploration and the sacraments and serious looks at questions of theology. I bring this up because Jimmy Akin today released a new episode of his podcast that asks “Is Michael Voris right about kneeling,” Jimmy Akin states that he too is a fan of kneeling to receive Communion and would certainly like to see it to be the established posture and norm for the United States. What he critiques of Michael Voris’ video is some very inaccurate statements such as receiving Communion in the hand is “self-Communicating” and that the only barrier to a shift to kneeling for Communion is the “priest’s own ego”. Jimmy Akin rightly points out that this is not correct since it would take a change for the GIRM since currently standing is the established posture for the United States. While kneeling is allowed and the new GIRM in that kneeling is not just something to be tolerated, but a totally valid form of receiving.
Michael Voris emphasizes the quote from the Cardinal as if kneeling is the only sign of adoration supported and left off the following line by the Cardinal concerning receiving while standing. “if one receives while standing, a genuflection or profound bow should be made, and this is not happening.” I would agree with that since a slight head bob seems to be the norm from what I have observed.
Jimmy Akin makes other critiques and I would greatly urge you to subscribe to his podcast. Simply look on iTunes or other podcast programs for “Jimmy Akin Podcast” (he kept the name simple to be easy to find”) and enjoy a great Catholic podcast.
Like I said I am in agreement with the thrusts of what Michael Voris imparts. I just wish he would be much more meticulous in his statements. One of the reasons I am such a Jimmy Akin fanboy is that he is very careful concerning his answers to only impart what the Church teaches or what liturgical documents lay down instead of his own biases as to what they mean. When he gives an opinion he clearly lets you know it is an opinion. We should all be so careful with a concern for accuracy.
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13 comments
In the US, the established sign of reverence is a bow of the head, not a profound bow or a genuflection. Be that as it may, a bow of the head is not a head-nod.
“Like I said I am in agreement with the thrusts of what Michael Voris imparts. I just wish he would be much more meticulous in his statements.”
That is the most accurate assessment of his work I have read. His style is not one of sugar-coating, but I think his message would be more accepted if he found a way to “speak the truth in love” without what seems to be a condescending tone.
I have to admit, I’ve also stop viewing videos by Michael Voris for exactly the same reasons you mentioned.
Don’t like his videos, I think he mistakes being bombastic for being funny. They are not the same thing. I would also like to see kneeling return as the norm. That said, J. Pinyan is right: Check the GIRM. The norm is to bow the head before receiving communion, not a “profound bow.” Personally, I don’t think that’s enough — but that is the norm, and people who are not making a profound bow are not “doing it wrong,” nor are parishes where bowing the head is the norm neglecting anything they’re supposed to be doing. I was surprised to find this out myself!
Shucks, Jester, I’m touched!
P.S. You mean I’m not supposed to type δελβα in the capcha?
Kneeling is most appropriate. We kneel for the consecration. The norm used to be kneeling. What is the problem with that? In my parish, we are given the option to kneel or stand. This should be up to the communicant.
I like kneeling, but in our current building (which is newer, and not UN-attractive, but that’s a different story), it would be a nightmare.
I do have to say though, without having seen this video (honestly, who’s got time for ALL that? I’ve gotta get to Mass to play piano SOON) that one of the biggest reasons I don’t watch a LOT of this stuff it that it tends to follow the lines of “I’ve got a personal axe to grind here, and I (really, no matter what it looks like) don’t care what the church actually says.”
My personal axe is that it doesn’t seem to matter what the GIRM says, people do what they do, and if there’s no one to say otherwise, they’ll keep doing it. I have heard exactly ONE sermon about how to receive communion in the past five years (that wasn’t part of a First Holy Communion Mass), and things got better after that…
Most of the time, even getting a nod is something…
I heard if you cut Voris’s hair he loses his powers.
If Mr. Akin thinks that kneeling would require a change in GIRM, then he is incorrect. Kneeling is the NORM for the Latin Rite of the Universal Church. The USCCB received a recognitio to allow reception in the hand while standing…a recognitio that was granted by the CDW with the qualification that those who choose to kneel must be allowed to do so and are not to be viewed as being disobedient to the desires of American bishops. This is explicity stated in paragraph #91 of the 2004 Vatican document, Redemptionis Sacramentum. Therefore, it does not require a change to the GIRM, and a refusal of Communion to someone simply because they choose to receive while kneeling is a serious infringement the faithful’s right as a Catholic in the Latin Rite.
While Mr. Voris’ style may be viewed as “uncharitable” by some, it pales in comparison to what happened to a friend of mine in the Diocese of Little Rock on July 31 of this year, when she was refused Communion because she wished to receive while kneeling and was told by the deacon to stand up.
ChronicSinner,
What Mr. Akin points out is that it would take a change in the GIRM to go to kneeling only. The GIRM as approved by the Vatican makes standing to receive a valid alternative as even the head of the Congregation for Divine Worship points out. So it is Mr. Voris that is incorrect about that. At least the new GIRM finally makes it clear that kneeling is not something just to be tolerated, finally.
Plus my uneasiness with Mr. Voris is not the tone of what he says, but the accuracy of what he says. There is certainly room for plenty of punditry as long as the facts are straight.
Mr. Miller,
I watched the Voris video which is the topic of this blog post, and I am pretty certain that he said that standing was an acceptable way to receive, but just like Cardinal Carnizares, he considers kneeling more reverent. I will go back and watch it again, but I know for a fact, in previous episodes of the Votex, he clearly states that it is acceptable to stand and receive on the tongue, or stand and receive on the hand, or kneel, as that is what the Church allows.
But since you and I both agree that kneeling is protected by Church law, there should be no obstacles at all…which clearly is NOT the case in the US. Certainly you would agree that there are obstacles to receiving kneeling in the United States that have nothing to do with the lack of altar rails..which was the thrust of the Voris video in question, and as I and my friend can attest to, have something to do (perhaps clergy ego or distaste among some clergy for tradition that no one would deny exists) with something other than the GIRM norms for the US, since the GIRM norms do not and, indeed, can not, preclude kneeling.
Mr. Miller…I went back and watched the Voris video dated 8-1-11, which is the nidus for your original blog post. Nowhere in it does he say that standing is ilicit. I also went back and watched his Vortex dated 4-19-11, in which he clearly states that Catholics are free to receive standing on the tongue or in the hand…but that kneeling and on the tongue is the universal norm and preferred posture.
While I would agree that there are other hurdles to kneeling than the “ego of the priest”, Voris’ assertion is a more accurate statement than what you allege Mr. Akin says about the necessity of a change in the GIRM, since the GIRM turns the pyramid upside so to speak, in that it is by definition an allowed deviation from the norm of kneeling and can not stop anyone from kneeling if they choose to. Ergo…if one wants to be “meticulous” on the matter, you don’t need to change anything in the GIRM to foster the posture of kneeling since that posture is already allowed despite the existence of GIRM. However, you do need to educate the faithful, and I would agree with Voris to a certain extent about priestly ego as I have experienced first hand.
I am a big fan of kneeling. However, it is important that the entire teaching be discussed so that we do not fall into sin by making our point at the expense of someone’s good name. I am tired of people inferring that someone else is not a good Catholic because they follow the directions of the magisterium to the best of their ability.