My missal said to genuflect. Is there an older missal which says not to? And why?
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My Fr. Lasance missal is from 1945. It does not have genuflection after that Prayer for the Jєωs, but it does not explain the reason for the omission.
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Any real traditional priest can explain to you that for the first 1900 plus years the Church did not genuflect after that prayer because of
the mock genuflections and derision these Jєωs committed during Our Lord's ILLEGAL trial (night time trials were forbidden by Jєωιѕн law, which is why they hastily convened a quick mock trial at sunrise to officially confirm the judgment they had already made TWICE during the night -- first, at the residence of Annas, the surviving and older High Priest, and second, at the residence of Caiphas, the High Priest who had taken the place of Annas not unlike Francis taking the place of Benedict XVI for the first time in Church history).
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Even in his abysmal betrayal and blasphemy against God, Caiphas exercised a kind of papal infallibility when he prophesied that it is expedient for one man to die for the people.
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Therefore, the Church does not genuflect for the Jєωs because the Jєωs taunted Him, struck Him and spat in Our Lord's face before handing him over to the secular authority for execution. We do not imitate their gesture nor do we honor them for they have dishonored themselves and their children. They did so willingly, saying, "Let His blood be upon us and upon our children."
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When we go to Mass and to Good Friday community prayers, we should be aware of what we are doing, and not simply following the crowd without knowledge.
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