I don't always kneel during the consecration. I would like to say that I don't kneel when I assist at Mass in the Ukrainian Catholic I attend with my ex-wife Sunday evenings, but I can't. That particular congregation kneels during the consecration. Byzantines should not kneel during the consecration, but since I'm a Roman visitor, I don't feel qualified to be an example and stand. I may not feel qualified to be an example to Byzantine Catholics; however, I do feel qualified to be an example to Roman Catholics.
As a protestant convert, kneeling was foreign to me. For the first few Masses I attended, I sat while everyone else knelt. It felt very awkward, but to blend in I soon started to kneel. Almost four years later when I finally became Catholic, kneel was second nature to me.
In less than a year after becoming Catholic, I began serving at the altar. I was working two blocks from my cathedral, so I was assisting at Mass six days a week counting Sunday, half of which I was serving. Everyone assisting at Mass on weekdays in my cathedral and on Sundays in my parish knelt, as did I when I wasn't serving. After seeing a few servers kneel, I to began kneeling when serving. A few people even told me that they liked it when I served because I always knelt during the consecration.
A number of years later, a priest was assigned to my parish who persuaded everyone to stand during the consecration. However, over this same number of years, I had done a great deal of reading, so I knew that standing was the wrong posture during the consecration. Specifically, I had read the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, which this priest did not have the authority to contradict. I continued to kneel.
After serving a couple of times with this priest celebrating, he demanded that I stand during the consecration or I could not serve anymore. This was a tough decision. I loved serving at Mass, but I felt bound to follow the directives of the Church.
The deciding factor in this tough decision was the example of Cardinal James Stafford. At this time, the World Youth Day cross was passing through my diocese, and I assisted at a special Mass in my cathedral, to which Cardinal Stafford also assisted. Cardinal Stafford did not concelebrate, and when the time came for the consecration, he knelt; even on the stone floor since he didn't have a kneeler in his pew. Following Cardinal Stafford's example I decide to continue to kneel, which meant that I had to stop serving at Mass in my parish; although, I occasionally served at Masses in other parishes.
I wrote Cardinal Stafford a letter to tell him how his example helped me make this difficult decision. His reply confirmed that I had made the right choice.
The priest that wouldn't allow me to server was reassigned, and another priest was transferred to my parish who allowed me to kneel when I serve. This does not mean that I kneel for every Mass. As no. 21 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal says, "They should kneel at the consecration unless prevented by the lack of space, the number of people present, or some other good reason."
There have been some good reasons not to kneel. I don't kneel in nursing homes where almost all assisting at Mass cannot kneel. I don't kneel at schools because it would cause a great deal of distraction; especially in elementary schools. When I'm serving at a funeral where most are not Catholic, I stay standing so as not to create confusion. Finally, I don't kneel when "prevented by the lack of space," which just happened on Tuesday.
Most of the time, I kneel during the consecration in a Roman Mass, but not always. If there is a "good reason," I stay standing.
NOTE: In this context, to assist means to be present at and participate in the particular function.
