An American student asked me how he should greet the Bishop when he visits.
Most Bishops nowadays are happy to be greeted as "Bishop "John" (or whatever his name is.) A more formal greeting which is still quite acceptable is "My Lord." For an Archbishop, this would be "Your Grace".
Many Bishops are a little embarrassed at you kissing their ring. However, they shouldn't be. This gesture is not meant to be some kind of fawning sycophancy. It is a recognition of his office as successor to the Apostles. Having said that, it is probably better not to kiss his ring if it makes him feel uncomfortable - unless you particularly want to make a point.
Occasionally, people from Catholic countries kiss my hand when they greet me after Mass. I don't try to stop them. It is not me they are respecting but the sacred priesthood. I'm not worthy of it and their reverence is a reminder to me of the need to try to live up to the grace of the priesthood.
My favourite example of the meaning of such reverence is in the film "Going My Way" - or it may have been "The Bells of St Mary's." Fr Chuck O'Malley (Bing Crosby) goes into the Bishop's study, kneels down and very formally kisses his ring. He then gets up and shakes his hand familiarly, saying something like "How are you John". He shows his reverence for the office first, then his personal friendship for the man.
By the Way, Bing Crosby got the Oscar for best actor for his performance in "Going My Way". The film got 7 Oscars all together. "The Bells of St Mary's" is also great - Ingrid Bergman stars in it too. Double DVD with both films £7.97 from Amazon.
14 comments:
This is always a very interesting topic for discussion. In the Orthodox tradition the faithful usually kiss the hand of the priest when they approach him as they ask for ablessing from him and then hold their hands out to kiss his hand. Same with the bishop. When the servers at Liturgy pass or take anything from the priest or bishop the custom is to kiss the hand. Sometimes I move to fast and he misses and he gets mad at me. I had difficulty with this custom after ordination but after time you get used to it and realize that it is with a sense of reverence that the faithful do this.
I think there is a partial indulgence for kissing a Bishop's ring? If so it could be argued that if the Bishop denies you this privelege he isn't tending to his flock by allowing them the opportunity to gain that extra grace...
Thanks, Father Tim.
When I see my bishop here I usually kiss his ring; when I was visiting my old bishop I kissed his, to which he replied "You didn't use to do that..." He might indeed have been embarassed.
In Filipino culture it's traditional to ask a blessing of certain people by taking the back of their hand and pressing it to your forehead. Mainly this happens when you meet and say goodbye to more senior members of your family, but everyone does it when they meet a cleric. It was a very stirring sight to see my uncle, a man in his late fifties, take a blessing from a priest in his thirties who had just officiated at my grandmother's funeral.
I should so like to see that kind of respect and reverence shown more in our culture.
Since there is an Indulgence (under the usual conditions) attached to kissing the Bishop's ring, any Bishop who makes it difficult to do so is depriving his flock of the Indulgence - not a very spiritual thing for a pastor to do!
The Catholic Encyclopaedia article Rings says:
"Custom prescribes that a layman or a cleric of inferior grade on being presented to a bishop should kiss his hand, that is to say his episcopal ring, but it is a popular misapprehension to suppose that any indulgence is attached to the act."
That refers to indulgences before Paul VI. There is no such indulgence in the new Enchiridion Indulgentiarum either.
However, looking this up, I discovered that there is a partial indulgence for using a pious object blessed by a Bishop. On the feast of Sts Peter and Paul, a plenary indulgence can be gained under the usual conditions if the pious use of the thing is accompanied by any legitimate formula of the profession of faith. (Nicene Creed or Apostles' Creed would both be fine.)
I once kissed a Bp's ring and he appeared taken aback, even though I quickly kissed his ring and then turned my attention to him, telling him I enjoyed his homily, etc.
Also, I don't know if there's an indulgence for kissing a newly-ordained priest's hands, but I did it because I was told there was, and I will still occasionally give his hands a quick kiss upon greeting.
I am simply kissing the hands that bring us the Body of Christ - it has nothing to do with the man himself.
I thought the following tied in quite nicely with the question of reverencing a Bishop's ring: “Should you bend the knee when kissing the Episcopal ring? Yes, if the Bishop is within the limits of his own diocese, as it is an acknowledgment of his jurisdiction as Ordinary. Outside of his own diocese, etiquette requires that he should only permit a low bow due to his character as a Bishop. According to principles frequently laid down in this manual, it is proper to bend the knee to a Cardinal everywhere, to an Archbishop in his province, and to an Abbot in his monastery; and the same honor should also be paid to the Apostolic Delegate throughout the territory of his Delegation.”
-Costume of Prelates of the Catholic Church According to Roman Etiquette
By John Abel Nainfa, S.S., D.C.L
I believe we're supposed to genuflect on the left knee, as opposed to the right for the Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Cross on Good Friday, to kiss the Bishop's ring.
The baciamano or the kissing of the hand, is still a fairly common practice is some Catholic countries. Too bad that in Malaysia, it's primarily confined to the older generation. Young people don't have a clue about how to properly greet a bishop.
Kissing the hands used to be common practice after a priest was ordained. My scripture professor recounted how he was completely mystified when the ordaining Archbishop knelt to kiss his consecrated hands. =)
I believe in the Old Rite, the servers kiss the hand of the priest whenever they hand over or receive something from him. The practice is still current in the Orthodox Church, as you would have noticed if you caught the Constantinople Patriarch's Divine Liturgy when the Pope visited Istanbul.
Don Jim has a good photopost on the baciamano here.
Our bishop issued a letter a month ago stating that his title was 'Archbishop Phillip' and that his auxilary was the be known as 'Bishop Greg'. This wasn't terribly publicised in the parishes so I still call them 'Your Grace' and 'My Lord'. They haven't requested that I do otherwise... yet...
I am sure that was in Going my Way since the Bells of St. Mary has no meeting with a bishop in it.
Many thanks, Jeff. My memory of them is a bit hazy. I have ordered them from Amazon to watch again :-)
I'm not sure if this is 100% correct, but I was taught:
Right knee, Tabernacle.
Left knee, Bishop.
BOTH knees: Blessed Sacrament, exposed, as when someone (orchestra member, religious brother) is receiving Holy Communion AFTER Mass
(I have seen many people who kneel obediently til the Tabernacle is closed after Communion, yet remain seated in their pew or continue walking down the aisle when Father opens the Tabernacle after Mass.)
What do you call any Bishop who you know dissents from the Magisterium, does his 'own thing' with the liturgy, prefers the golf-club dinners to meeting with concerned Catholic parents about Catholic schooling, changes the rules on Holydays of Obligation, cuts deals with homosexuals and government departments, placates the liberals, ordains women priests etc... etc... etc...
My Lord, Your Grace ??? Left knee or right knee, kissing his ring...
Post a Comment