Member Log InTo genuflect or bow – that is the question.
The appropriate gesture toward the altar, the place of sacrifice of the One who is, Himself, both Victim and Priest, is to bow. To bow toward the altar is a sign of submission, respect, acknowledgement, even gratitude.
The act of genuflection is reserved for reverence of Jesus in the tabernacle, and particularly when He is exposed in the Real Presence of the Holy Eucharist. St. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians proclaimed, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) (emphasis added)
Sometimes in adoration we observe people genuflecting on one knee, sometimes people genuflect with both knees on the floor. Let’s examine this.
Genuflection is rooted in the historical custom of court etiquette, wherein royalty was honored with a bow or by an act of genuflection. Christians adopted the practice in reverence to Jesus, our great High Priest and King in the Blessed Sacrament, such that, by the 16th century, the custom of genuflecting had become fully integrated into the Catholic liturgy of the Roman rite.
Before Vatican II, it was customary to reverence Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament by genuflecting on two knees. In 1973, the Sacred Congregation of Divine Worship issued a document, Eucharistiae Sacramentum, that said, “Genuflection in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, whether reserved in the tabernacle or exposed for public adoration, is on one knee.”
This is, in fact, the only requirement for Eucharistic adoration: genuflection on one knee.
While genuflecting on two knees is not a required practice in the Catholic Church, people may appropriately choose to maintain the historical custom. Some may even choose to lay prostrate on the floor during adoration, though this is often not practical and can be distracting for others present.
Whether or not you are a Fr. Mike Schmitz fan, here is a very good short video clip wherein he describes 3 Reasons Catholics Genuflect - YouTube.
We genuflect towards our King and Creator, truly present in the Holy Eucharist. We don’t genuflect to people or material things, but to God alone. We don't genuflect toward the altar. To genuflect in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church is to recognize presence of Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, and to offer Him an act of love.
While genuflection is unique to the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, for those physically unable to genuflect, bowing before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is appropriate. Regardless, let our action be an outward sign of our reverence of Our Lord, and gratitude for His infinite mercy and love for us all!
Be amazed!
