To the editor:
While not yet Catholic, I attended many Latin Masses before Vatican II. The formal beauty and solemnity of the processions, the cross, the priest’s vestments — all inspired reverence.
I followed the spoken Latin, although not all of it was audible. Many parishioners not understanding Latin prayed the Rosary, following which they received Communion on the tongue, kneeling at a rail.
To the editor:
The article “Reception of Holy Communion in the U.S.” (Catholic Herald, May 28) quotes “the danger of a loss of reverence for the august sacrament of the altar” with the reception of Communion while standing.
Historically, kneeling has been a gesture of submission to emperors and civil authorities. The Communion postures being advocated are the very ones Diocletian, the great Roman persecutor of Christians, decreed to increase the authority of the imperial office.
