Why Kneeling When Praying?

Karl Rahner, SJ

Yes, it’s a very stupid question.
Most people will just answer, “Does it matter?”

But do you know that the answer of this very question helped Karl Rahner (a respected theologian) explain his solution to one of the hardest problems in theology, the connection between sacraments and grace?

The Catholic Church recognizes seven sacraments (baptism, confirmation, eucharist, penance and reconciliation, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony). Sacraments are defined as (skip it if you like) "efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us; the visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament; they bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions."
This definition, however, lead to a problem.

- If sacraments are something that make present the grace of God, then they are nothing more than spells or mantras.
The thought considers God’s grace only as something that can be attained in a mechanical way. Go through the rituals and you’ll have the grace; while other people who don’t undergo them don’t.

- But, if sacraments are merely signs of God’s grace that has always been with us the whole time, why bother doing them? We already have it anyway.

The questions contradicted each other, and there seemed to be no answer.
However, Rahner proposed a solution. He said that if we had thought the sacraments as SYMBOLS, the questions would not have sounded too impossible.

Symbols according to Rahner are more than mere signs. We usually define symbol as just something that represents another thing, something that is entirely different than the thing it represents.
According to Rahner, not only do symbols represent something, but they go all the way around and redefine, recreate, and also enable that very something.
He explained it with a few examples.

- A kiss is a symbol for love, but is it only a sign of love that exists between a couple?
No. It is much more than that.
It goes all the way around and redefines, recreates, and also enables the love doesn’t it?
It adds a sense of reality and existence.
It makes present the love.

- Kneeling in a prayer is a symbol for the state of mind and heart, but is it only a sign?
No. It is much more than that.
It enables the state of mind doesn’t it?
It helps the state.
It makes present the state.

So according to Rahner, the questions do not contradict each other after all. If sacraments are symbols of God’s grace, then they are signs of the grace that’s always been there and, at the same time, make present the grace.

It may seem like a kind of theological acrobat or a sort of mind game, I know. I don’t usually believe that theology or philosophy will lead you to the ultimate truth. I think the only way they can do that is by overcrowding someone’s mind until he finds out the meaning of silence. However, I still believe that they have something to offer.
Such as the intriguing idea Rahner used.
No, I’m not saying that you should kneel or stand while you pray, it’s totally up to you.
It’s the idea that something can be a sign and at the same time enables, makes present, or empowers the thing it represents.
The idea made me reflect on things in various aspects.

Is Jesus a symbol of God’s love?
Is that why expressing your love is important?
Are good deeds symbols of an aware love?
Is that why when I'm not really angry but over-express it, the feeling becomes much worse?
Is that why I write? Are my writings signs of what I think and at the same time helps me to truly realize it so that I can understand it better?
Is that what life and living all about? The symbol of 'I'?

Because in a symbol, the thing it represents is presented and declared brutally right in front of our eyes.
Nothing really changes actually, for everything has always been there.
One thing that does change, is our awareness towards it. We truly understand it now.
Or as DeMello once wrote,

"Have you ever heard of a way that brings you to how you already are?"

The chances for soul searching are limitless I guess.
Just as long as we’re careful enough.