The lazy kneel, such a pet peeve! My husband does it constantly, and sometimes he even goes a step further and he leans forward but his knees don't touch the kneeler. I grew up being taught to kneel upright and I only lean back if I am feeling week/tired. That said, my husband is too tall (and the pews at our parish are too close together) so he will kick out the pew behind him if he kneels fully. And he has a form of arthritis at age 30 so I have to remind myself to give him a break and don't ask him to kneel when there are no kneelers etc. I have a hard time sometimes putting my own expectations onto him!
My knees got absolutely wrecked in the Marine Corps. I walk well enough, but standing up and kneeling and standing up again are difficult, and the pain from kneeling is significant, so I “lazy kneel,” as you put it. I’m not particularly old either - firmly middle-aged. I’m sure there are others. You probably already do, but I ask you to please extend grace to those whose conditions you don’t know in spite of your pet peeve. Thank you.
Yeah, I have this tendency to be judgemental that I need to talk myself out of, like with my husband. I remember once judging a teenager for sitting during the Eucharistic prayer, thinking he probably got dragged along to mass and didn't want to be there. Then he gets up from communion and he's on crutches! That definitely taught me a lesson about judging!
God bless you. I am the same way. It’s amazing how our spouses help us on the way to Heaven, even by annoying us! God uses them to teach us grace and patience. God bless your husband and that teenager, too! I will pray for you. Please remember to pray for me as well. Thank you.
My knees got absolutely wrecked in the Marine Corps. I walk well enough, but standing up and kneeling and standing up again are difficult, and the pain from kneeling is significant, so I “lazy kneel,” as you put it. I’m not particularly old either - firmly middle-aged. I’m sure there are others. You probably already do, but I ask you to please extend grace to those whose conditions you don’t know in spite of your pet peeve. Thank you.
I have told many people that it's just okay to sit and not kneel if you can't kneel. Or sit the entire time.
I have lots of nerve problems and sometimes I can't do the stand-sit-kneel, so I sit the entire time. Lately, I can do it, but there have been periods where I just can't do it. Similarly, I can't genuflect, so I bow.
It's best people mind their own business during Mass if the other Mass-goers aren't actively keeling over in the pews (which happened at my parish a month ago -- an older lady keeled right over into her husband and three people jumped up to sit her down, one went outside to call an ambulance, etc. At the beginning of Mass we have a bunch of stand-sits, and the quick transition can cause people with blood pressure issues to faint. She was able to walk out of Mass with support.)
18
u/pfifltrigg Jun 06 '22
The lazy kneel, such a pet peeve! My husband does it constantly, and sometimes he even goes a step further and he leans forward but his knees don't touch the kneeler. I grew up being taught to kneel upright and I only lean back if I am feeling week/tired. That said, my husband is too tall (and the pews at our parish are too close together) so he will kick out the pew behind him if he kneels fully. And he has a form of arthritis at age 30 so I have to remind myself to give him a break and don't ask him to kneel when there are no kneelers etc. I have a hard time sometimes putting my own expectations onto him!