Is it just me or does hardly anyone genuflect anymore? Be it Nipawin or Ancaster, it has become an epidemic where people can't be bothered to reverence the tabernacle properly before sliding into their pew. I see it not only at Mass but also during adoration as well (which begs the question: "what the heck am I doing looking at other people enter a pew while I am 'adoring'?").
It started with the downgrade of genuflecting to a simple bow. "Afterall", liberals have stated, "we are an Easter people, and so we have to remain standing."
Oh? And do you sleep standing up too? When you watch T.V. do you stand, even if you're watching the Lord of the Rings extended version? Should women stand up when they go to the bathroom? Men wouldn't have to worry about leaving the toilet seat up I guess.
Christ did not come to resolve the toilet seat issue. He came to save us. And by golly we should reverence him! The bow, though I am sure heartfelt and meaningful for some, is a watered-down, easier action to make than a genuflection. Genuflecting has an element of risk to it...
“Will I be able to make it back up when I’m down there?”
“Is that new hip of mine going to hold up?”
“Where the heck is the tabernacle in this church?”
“Ahh crap! I just genuflected to my wife who walked in front of me. I’ll bet she’ll love that…”
By transitioning from genuflecting to bowing, a deep sense of reverence has been lost. Now some might say that it is better to make a reverent bow than an irreverent genuflection. True! Very true! An act of reverence should be both bodily and spiritual, for man is both a body and soul. On a side note, an old man in Nipawin (since deceased) used to genuflect facing the wrong way every time. He meant well though… Anyway, I say that a reverent genuflection is better than a reverent bow, for the very act of genuflecting is objectively higher.
Now Pope Benedict, as then Cardinal Ratzinger, wrote in "The Spirit of the Liturgy" on the importance of kneeling before almighty God: “When a man kneels, he lowers himself, but his eyes still look forward and upward” (p. 197). Kneeling, or genuflecting, then has an element of humility before God that also involves man’s earnest desire and striving for God. One neat thing Ratzinger says is that in ancient times devils are depicted in art as being without knees. The reason is that knees are long considered a source of power and strength. Just ask a football player such as three time knee-injured Rob Bagg. They are only as good as their knees. So devils were depicted without knees to show that they were powerless. Thus, when we genuflect, we are also lowering our knees as a sign of giving power to God. Genuflecting also signifies best the Incarnation, for our knees come down to touch the earth, just as Christ came down to dwell on earth (hence we genuflect during the Nicene Creed and the Angelus).
Oft-injured Rob Bagg of the Riders
genuflect to show respect
Above all, avoid this:
