text:
In Tiverton, R.I., when some parishioners suggested returning altar rails to the sanctuary of Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Father Jay Finelli gladly accepted, little knowing shortly thereafter the Pope's 2007 motu proprio letter Summorum Pontificum would follow and he would be interested in learning how to celebrate the extraordinary form of the Mass.
In Norwalk, Conn., when a groundswell of parishioner support encouraged pastor Father Greg Markey to restore St. Mary Church, the second-oldest parish in the diocese, to its original 19th-century neo-gothic magnificence, he made sure altar rails were again part of the sanctuary.
Altar rails are present in several new churches architect Duncan Stroik has designed. Among them, the Thomas Aquinas College Chapel in Santa Paula, Calif., the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wis., and three others on the drawing boards.
Altar (Communion) rails are returning for all the right reasons.
Said Father Markey: "First, the Holy Father is requiring holy Communion from him be received on the knees. Second, it's part of our tradition as Catholics for centuries to receive holy Communion on the knees. Third, it's a beautiful form of devotion to our blessed Lord."
James Hitchcock, professor and author of Recovery of the Sacred (Ignatius Press, 1995), thinks the rail resurgence is a good idea. The main reason is reverence, he said. "Kneeling's purpose is to facilitate adoration," he explained.
When Stroik proposed altar rails for the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, "Cardinal [Raymond] Burke liked the idea and thought that was something that would give added reverence to the Eucharist and sanctuary."
In Eastern Orthodox churches, there is an iconostasis — a wall of icons and religious paintings that separate the nave from the sanctuary — rather than altar rail separating the sanctuary. While the altar rail is usually about two feet high, the iconostasis veils most of the sanctuary.
"The altar rail is nothing compared to that," he says, "and these are our Eastern brethren. We can benefit and learn something."
Altar Rail History
They may be returning, but were altar rails supposed to be taken out of sanctuaries?
"There is nothing in Vatican II or post-conciliar documents which mandate their removal," said Denis McNamara, author of Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the Liturgy (Hillenbrand Books, 2009) and assistant director and professor at the Liturgical Institute of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Ill.
Cardinal Francis Arinze strongly affirmed this point during a 2008 video session while he was still prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments: "The Church from Rome never said to remove the altar rails."
So what happened?
"Unfortunately, democratic ideas came into the situation after Vatican II," Hitchcock said.
Stroik points some out of these ideas: a general iconoclasm that rejected the past, a desire to make churches into gathering spaces more like Protestant meeting houses, and the argument that kneeling is a sign of submission, which is seen as disrespectful to the modern person — we didn't kneel before kings and queens, so it was more "democratic" not to kneel.
Added McNamara: "Some people called them 'fences' which set up division between priest and people."
"Of course," he said, "theologically there is a significant meaning in the distinction between nave and sanctuary. Just as there was confusion over the roles of ordained and laity at the time, so there was confusion about the architectural manifestation of those roles."
Altar rails give "a clear designation as to what is the sanctuary," Father Markey said. "The word 'sanctuary' comes from the word 'holy,' which means 'set apart.' The sanctuary is set apart from the rest of the church because it reinforces our understanding of what holiness is. The sanctuary is symbolically the head of the church and represents Christ as the head."
McNamara traces church architecture roots to the Temple of Solomon: The large room corresponded to the church nave; the Holy of Holies, an image of heaven, corresponded to today's sanctuary. They were separated visually by the great veil, which was torn when Christ died.
"[The altar rail] is still a marker of the place where heaven and earth meet, indicating that they are not yet completely united," McNamara explained.
"But, at the same time, the rail is low, very permeable, and has a gate, so it does not prevent us from participating in heaven. So we could say there is a theology of the rail, one which sees it as more than a fence, but as a marker where heaven and earth meet, where the priest, acting in persona Christi, reaches across from heaven to earth to give the Eucharist as the gift of divine life."
Reverence at Mass
Altar rails have an important role for the extraordinary form of the Mass where, Father Finelli noted, reception of Communion has to be on the tongue. He celebrates the extraordinary form weekly in Advent and Lent and monthly the rest of the year.
Communicants kneel at the oak railing that was crafted by a parishioner who is a professional woodworker. The rail was gilded by parishioners. They crafted a similar altar rail for the adoration chapel.
The presence of the rails has made an impression on the 2,000-family parish. "So many people kept requesting to use the altar rail," he recalled, "I decided at the beginning of Lent that people receive at the altar rail." (The requirement is for all weekday and special feast Masses in the ordinary form too.)
Given the option to kneel or stand, many choose to kneel to receive Communion. While they can receive on the tongue or in the hand, more people are choosing to receive on the tongue.
As Father Finelli put it, "It's a very strong sign for the love and respect for the Real Presence because it's really Jesus we're receiving."
Father Finelli clarifies that for Latin Catholics to receive the Eucharist while standing and in the hand is an indult, a special permission granted by the Holy See, because the ordinary way by Church law is still to receive while kneeling and on the tongue. (The indult was granted at the request of the American bishops.)
While the extraordinary form is celebrated three times weekly at St. Mary's in Connecticut, Father Markey says the Communion rails are used for all ordinary form Masses as well. In his 1,000-family parish, parishioners also have the option at the ordinary form to kneel or stand.
This is approved by Rome. He notes the Vatican directive: "In 2003 the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments says in the ordinary form 'communicants who chose to kneel are not to be denied holy Communion … nor accused of disobedience …'"
Stroik designed St. Mary's renovated sanctuary incorporating hand-carved marble neo-gothic altar rails with brass gates that Father Markey purchased from a church that was closing in Pennsylvania. It beautifully matches the original white marble fixed altar and new marble free-standing altar, which brings another dimension to liturgical symbolism.
"When we gather at the altar rails, we symbolically gather at the altar," Stroik said.
Making both altar and rails from the same materials — in this case marble — makes the connection even clearer.
Liturgical architecture expert McNamara agrees. He has found that some old church architecture books consider the rail the "people's altar" and thus was made with the same marble as that of the altar.
To add to the symbolic connection, some churches cover the rails during Communion with linens similar to those on the altar.
Drawn to Prayer
There are yet more reasons for incorporating altar rails. Stroik finds where they have been removed in a cathedral, basilica or historic church receiving numerous visitors, many don't know how sacred the altar is and wander around the sanctuary. The church has to put up ropes and signs like in a museum to do what altar rails were supposed to do: "create a real threshold so people can tell it's a special place, a holy place set apart."
Stroik says the altar rail is "an invitation for people to come close to the sanctuary, kneel and pray before the tabernacle, a statue of Our Lady or images of saints."
Father Markey said returning the rails has been a great success.
Longtime parishioners who have attended St. Mary's for 50 years or more regretted the magnificent altar rail being torn out in the 1960s. They now tell him, "Thank God you brought it back, Father."
He also notices worship is enhanced for adults as well as children: "Little children like to kneel and pray there while their mom and dad receive holy Communion," said Father Markey. "There's almost universal embracing. It's one of the most popular decisions I've made as pastor."
Register staff writer Joseph Pronechen is based in Trumbull, Connecticut.
Visit StMaryNorwalk.net and HolyGhostCC.org for more info.
In our church, we had a beautiful communion rail and they took it out. Now after 40 years they want to install a new one. All of this cost money. Why can't they make up their minds. After spending thousands of dollars to put in another communion rail, are they going to remove it again. They want donations, but how can they expect people to donate when they can't decide what they want.
In my thinking the communion rail is like a division between the priest and the people. It is like the elite are separated from the common folks when we are all supposed to be brothers. At the last supper Christ said: "take this bread an eat it". He didn't say anything about putting the host on the tongue.
I am an Episcopalian. In our cathedral the majority of communicants go too the communion rail; however, for those who wish either by conviction, infirmity, etc..we have communion also distributed outside the sanctuary and in no manner is the distribution of Holy Eucharist disrupted. I respect those who wish to kneel and those who prefer to stand. In my parish (not the cathedral) the majority kneel; however, for those who cannot they stand at the rail. I don't see how this is an issue at all unless one group tries to force compliance. A person who objects to communion rails knows it is difficult for a communicant to kneel (particularly if it is a woman in a skirt or a parent holding a child) without the support of the rail. I visited a local Catholic convent in my late teens and the Congregation of Religious Women had a bronze plaque asking visitors not to kneel so I am aware how divisive this issue has become. I believe the Church has room for both as long as Rome has given the indult for permission standing or kneeling. Make it comfortable for both by allowing a rail. In a small parish kneelers like used in St. Peter's in Rome would suffice.
The altar rails should be restored in all churches . As for communion in the hand , its an abomination,brought in by the freemasons and the second Vatican council which had 5 protestant ministers sitting with some treacherous cardinals to change the mass,which is novus Ordo and is not a valid mass.
All sorts of heresies have sprung in the modern Catholic church, even Pope Paul vi said ,, the smoke of Satan has entered the walls of the Vatican.. Anyone who takes holy communion in the hand shows no reverence for our Lord, only consecrated fingers of the priest should give holy communion.
Just goes to show that it is a protestant liturgy afterall.
While I am venting my spleen I say do not allow women on altars either and so called eucharistic ministers ,another abomination.
you guys know nobody forces you to kneel at an altar rail, right? If you can't kneel, just stand there. I've seen older people do this all the time. Some people are acting like some mean usher is going to push them down onto their knees if they can't kneel!
Not only does the altar rails help us to be more reverent and prayerful, but it also prevents abuses such as spillage of the Presious Blood and dropping the Holy Eucharist on the floor, by Eucharistic Ministers. Please pray that our Holy Father mandates the rebuilding of "All" altar rails in "every" Catholic Church ASAP ! ! !
The article completely ignores the many abbey churches going back over one thousand years which never had altar rails and where communion was never recieved kneeling.
I'm not advocating one way or another, but simply pointing out that communion rails and kneeling for communion is not a unversal norm throughout the history of the church as the article seems to suggest.
Thank you, Scott. So my hunch was correct that this man is not only ignorant about the Catholic Church but he is a phony to boot. A staunch member of the anti-God, anti-Catholic brigade who have invaded and infested our Catholic Websites to spew their disdain against our Holy Church and even God Himself. They arrogantly trash and deny the Truth of Christ's Holy Church where He is the Head and where the Holy Spirit is the "Captain" of "Peter's Ship". Have a blessed Christmas my good people of God. Well, we shall not give him the a platform to feed his perverted mind.
Scott and anyone who wants to know who this abbot dude is, just google his title, full name and that csef buffoonery he has after his name. You will see that he is most definitely NOT Catholic. he belongs to one of those weird "free phony catholic" cults. Better to just pay him no mind, ignore him, do not even answer him or try to engage him because all you are doing is giving the poor sick man a platform.
There you have it.
abbot Neil V. Christensen - please tell the readers who you really are and what you support. Perhaps you and "Hal" generated the same set of "facts" to suit you both. I am happy to see the Holy See taking action against the "Spirit of Vatican II" crowd and correcting your errors that you are so free in spreading.
The altar rail is where He begins and you end. Sorry to inform you both but you and I are not as God. In the NO church you see people such as yourselves intentionally cloud the eccense of God "I am" with the human existance we live in to try and make it seem to the faithful that all is relative. Well boys all is not relative and God is God and the altar rail is a physical separation for the creature from the Creator. BTW: I really question looking at your community the statement: "more holy, special,God like lives" and claiming to be sexually inactive.
Sorry to disappoint you,abbot Neil V. Christensen. Your response displays not only your unwarranted disdain for the Catholic Sacred Worship but you are regrettably uninformed about the history of our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Your erroneous accusation about a Roman take-over, whatever that means, is utterly bizzare, to say the least. Just read what Marie says above. She is speaking for us all Faithful Catholics of our Universal Church.
Altar Rails have one purpose only to define Sacred Space, space that is "For Clergy and males only! to Distinguish between the Clergy ( more holy, special,God like lives,) and the "unwashed masses", of sexualy active(sic) people who are so sinful. It part of the Roman take over to void Vat. II.
When I was growing up, when my Mother was growing up, and when my Grandmother was growing up, there was only one way to receive Holy Communion. That was to KNEEL at the ALTAR RAIL and wait patiently for the Priest to gently place the Eucharist on their tongue. There was NO SUCH THING as an extraordinary Mass, ALL Masses were the same….no matter which country you were in on this planet. ALL Masses were said in Latin and Catholics all around the world knew it, they didn't have a problem with it because that's the way it was. And just as in the past, if some people were elderly or could not kneel, they just didn't. The Priest would come to them and give them the Eucharist on their tongue where they sat. My constant prayer is for ALL Catholic churches be put back the way they used to look in my Grandmothers day, when everyone respected everything about the church.
This article seems to be confusingly written. Isn't the use of the altar rail described in the article connected with the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass? Everything in the article seems to be about that, rather than the use of the rail for the Ordinary Form. Am I reading it incorrectly?
Unless I am mistaken about this as well, the Eastern churches receive standing. I've been to the Divine Liturgy at two (both in the USA, though), and everyone received standing.
Finally, and with the most probability of error, I have read that the norm of reception of communion while kneeling at an altar rail dates from the 15th century. Is this not correct? If this is correct, people should stop saying that kneeling at an altar rail dates from the earliest days of the church. For that matter, even receiving on the tongue while kneeling is not from the "earliest days" - .Everyone can have an opinion, but there is only one set of facts.
If you want to stand for communion by all means stand. If others want to kneel let them kneel. The Vatican only granted the U.S. bishops permission to have the faithful stand with the stipulation that the faithful not be forbidden to receive kneeling. This happened years before Benedict VXI or Jophn Paul II. It happened under Paul VI. But a lot of lay people got wise and started calling priests and bishops on their forbidding people to act so the Vatican has reminded bishops that it is a grave offence to deny somone communion for kneeling and should not consider them disobidient.This is all veirifiable in letters from the Vatican. Just google "kneeling communion" and do some searching.
Our Lady of Good Success, pray for us
For so many that are so blind. Assit them with your guiding hand and rip the veil that covers their eyes.
Ryan P. is correct about the Papal altar. It should be noted that EVERY side altar in St. Peter's Basilica has an altar rail, approximately fifteen I believe, with altar rails on the altars in the catacombs. Pax Tecum!
To Carl Diederichs:
You said: "i found these different liturgical styles where ever I have been, including the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome where there is no altar rail at the altar of St. Peter. And Im told there never was an altar railing in that marvelous House of God."
There is no altar rail in saint peter's basilica because the only one who celebrates Mass on that altar is the holy father. Communion was never given to the faithful during papal Masses prior to Vatican II. Hence, there was no need for a communion railing. You will find railings at the other side altars though, where Masses were offered and the faithful could communicate.
For those interested in the Mass, a good book to read would be 'The Lamb's Supper [The Mass as Heaven on Earth] by Scott Hahn.
Kevin—your post reveals your fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of liturgy. The Mass is *NOT* a recreation of the Last Supper. It is the sacramental presentation of the Wedding Feast of the Lamb (which fulfills the Last Supper), expressed architecturally with notions drawn from both the synagogue and temple traditions to provide an anticipated experience of eschatological glory. The High Priest in the Temple passed through the veil from heaven to earth, a marker which indicated where heaven and earth have met. The rail does the same—whether or not anyone ever kneels there to receive communion. Ritual Studies 101 teaches that sacred precincts are marked by boundaries. If you study the temple ritual and combine it with with the Last Supper and the Wedding Feast of the Lamb from the Book of Revelation, you will understand Catholic liturgy in a more full and nuanced way…and the need for sarcasm will disappear as well.
Based on your comment, we could also ask if Peter, John and Matthew sang "Gather Us In," sang the Sanctus, spoke the words of the Eucharistic Prayer, built churches at all, heard bells ringing, had readings from St. Paul and the Gospels, etc., etc. Liturgy develops based on sound sacramental principles, not sarcastic comments.
Growing up in a lovely small town; going to church was always a highlight in our daily lives. Our Gothic-style church was magnificent with an air of "welcoming" to the congregation. Yes, the railing served its' purpose of reminding us the reverence required from us on our way to receive Holy Communion and to receive blessings appropriate for any occasion. Standing or kneeling will be left to the people's discretion. Some old churches still have these beautiful railings. I am praying that altar railings will be installed by our modern churches as well.
With the suggestion that Communion railings be utilized again, why take it further and turn the Altar around and revert back to the Latin Mass? One no longer sees the reverance at today's Mass as I did growing up.
More like a circling of the wagons, where the PEOPLE of God are seen as the threat to the boy's club Constantinian institution (RCC Inc.). The PEOPLE are being again made to rely totally on an ontological holy men's club (and nothing could be further from the truth in regards to the ontologically holy) for their salvation in some next life and for their meaning in this life. Such things as kneeling and altar rails confrms in the small mind, this mentality.
And oh yes, there's that other even more dangerous threat - the secular world - must keep every speck of that outside the holy of holies even though God Himself decided to so the opposite.
This mentality is killing the people's church and making us a total irrelevance, laughing stock harbinger of warped personal and social psychology (not to mention true spirituality) and we are just sitting back and letting this social and psychological manipulation (nothing spiritual about it at all) happen.
…...And behold, from between the seven-breasted city there streamed a Constantinian possessed, apostolic succession of the processed, one seeking to conquer all humanity with the sign of the cross, but chanting a menacing, humanly foreign liturgy:
"....Gotta do it…,
.....gotta do it….,
it's for your own good…..,
.....gotta do it….,
it's for your eternal salvation,
.....gotta do it…..
.....gotta do it".
.......And then there arose from within this ever historically repeated procession of damaged power-hungry successionists, a creepily-sick, subconsciously-mumbled drone of, thought-to-be, divinely-ordered insistences whose inbuilt power some sought to also sexually annunciate, repeating a now cyclically damaged chorus of the apostolic succession…..
"....Gotta do it…,
.....gotta do it….,
it's for your own good…..,
.....gotta do it….,
it's for your eternal salvation,
.....gotta do it…..
.....gotta do it".
……And within these within, there was yet a further group, a remnant seduced beyond all wisdom and compassion, who, all too twisted by the overthrowing of right-mindedness, began, with an accompanying blackly-sad, hand-wringing, ego-flagellating conversation with the self, to merely echo the echoes of the echoes of the temple's official succession, crying, lamenting, chanting, and now, lacking all comprehension, crescendo-ing in ever-rising, incense-laden, bell-tolling, newly ordered…..cheap, flat Latin instead:
".....Debet facere…,
..... Debet facere….,
is est pro vestri bonus…..,
..... Debet facere….,
pro vestri eternus salus,
..... Debet facere…..
..... Debet facere ".
And for a while
it is over:
The work of God had climaxed.
The damaged goods cowered in the corner
trying, but unable to comprehend
this new expression of
the subliminal body of Christ:
Tell me, was the altar rail that Peter and John and Matthew knelt at during the Last Supper made in the Baroque style?
I have been reading the comments for a while now and I know that "debates" are adversarial by nature. But good debates never become "ad hominem" attacks, if the person truly wants to win the argument. The purpose of the debate is to convince the other side of the rightness of your position by the quality of the content of the argument.
I preside in a beautiful church that has been renovated according to all liturgical norms. The altar is central and beautiful. There is no doubt when coming into this beautiful space the the ambo, the altar and the baptistry are central to our faith and practice. As the presider, there is no doubt who is the priest and who are not. I am leading the People of God in prayer and worship. It is awesome! And to have the altar situated in the midst of the Assembly, with people on three sides and the choir behind is to be in heaven. Our liturgical ministers are trained and take their respective ministries very seriously. We have young and old acolytes, ministers of hospitality, lectors, Eucharistic ministers, choir and cantors. And the Assembly itself is actively engaged in every aspect of the Holy Mass. The Eucharistic Prayer is given great respect when even the many children in church seem to be overcome by the holy silence as the celebrant prays loudly and slowly, with meaning. I don't want to say anything negative about my brothers and sisters around the world who worship in different ways but receive the same Lord. Some kneel, most stand, some come up dancing, some with hands folded, others with hands outstretched, and still others with tongue out and ready to be fed. i found these different liturgical styles where ever I have been, including the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome where there is no altar rail at the altar of St. Peter. And Im told there never was an altar railing in that marvelous House of God.
Fr. Jack: "Many of these posts indicate an incredible divisiveness along with hostility towards the few of us in this forum who dare to question the use of altar rails. They reveal a point of view which takes as its starting point that everything associated with "the Mass of Pius V" was wonderful and beyond reform and that everything associated with the Mass of Paul VI is either bad or highly questionable." —Wrong assumption; The Holy See is issuing an English translation of the GIRM because you cannot be trusted in anything liturgical Father. The faithful have the right to worship in an orthodox manner in union with the Holy Father and the bishops and you cannot be trusted to uphold your vows and provide that. This letter from the Cardinal Perfect on obedience pertains to you: http://www.zenit.org/article-27648?l=english
"Are you readers unaware that the church's understanding of worship has changed and developed over the course of centuries. Jesus wasn't folding his hands with fingers pointed toward heaven when he said, "take and eat….take and drink" "(were you there? how do you know?). "Nor were the apostles aware that Jesus had just instituted the Eucharist by giving to them his Real Presence." (Again, none of us were there, or are you claiming a vision? All was reveled later, but I would not speculate on what the Apostles knew at any point.) Perhaps that explains why they weren't kneeling in adoration while they were eating (even chewing) and drinking. (Do you have ANY clue about how Jews celebrate Passover, did not think so) On Easter night, the disciples at Emmaus did become aware that it was the risen Lord who was truly present in the breaking of the bread. But they didn't kneel in adoration (because Christ was not present after He reveled Himself to them St. Luke 24:31 "And their eyes were opened: and they knew him. And he vanished out of their sight."), "but hastened back to Jerusalem to share this good news with their brethren" (we do not know what transpired in between recognizing Our Lord and returning to Jerusalem Father, what seminary did you go to? ).
Nor did the first Christians kneel in adoration as they gathered in each other's homes for the breaking of the bread. (How do you know? St. Matt 2:11 "And entering into the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they adored him: and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh." So the wise men kneeled before God, but everyone else always stood?) All that came along centuries later.— already disproven.
The Orthodox never kneel in adoration and their Tradition is as old as ours.
They stand throughout the Divine Liturgy and receive communion standing as well. They do, indeed, receive in the mouth but always with both species. —Eastern Orthodox: Kneeling is permitted at any time in the Eastern Orthodox Church, but most commonly during the preparation of the Holy Gifts (the prayers before Holy Communion). Reality check: you claim to be a Catholic Priest of the Latin Rite, what does your Bishop teach on using Eastern Orthodox norms in Mass? The readers would love a chat with your bishop.
Fr. Jack, You don't give your age. Some people have seen the difference in the understanding and appreciation of the true presence "before" and "after". One person posted that the standing was an experiment permitted. To those who have seen the faith passed on before and after there IS a difference when people kneel at the rail. Perhaps BECAUSE we are further in time from Jesus life on earth it is necessary to emphasize the greatness we are before. We are removed from "kingdoms" etc. Also, even the disciples were careful about when and where they spoke to Jesus. If they showed deference why is it so upsetting that we should? And as I was taught growing up there is a great difference when the "bridegroom" is present. How the Apostle's acted or anyone acted in Jesus actual presence was a grace given for His time on earth in the flesh. Also, Jesus didn't just come so that we might do corporal works of mercy. He cared deeply that we understood He and the Father are one. If we truly understand that and who He is, kneeling is the least we could do. At the transfiguration, Peter, James and John fell to the ground and put their faces down. I have to wonder if all this fear of the altar rail isn't tied in with fear of the Church reclaiming the reality of sin and the fight of those who want to loose those sins.
Father Jack, having read all the comments, I believe,...apparently you are the only one, it appears, who brought up "the Mass of Pius V" and the Mass of Paul VI to try to show divisiveness. Why not show the Truth from both periods? Hopefully all are aware that the fullness of Truth in the Catholic Church was promised to the Apostles when Jesus Christ sent the Apostles out into the world. He promised to send them the Paraclete to bring to remembrance all that He had told them and to bring them to the fullness of Truth as they could bear it. So, yes, we are aware that certain things can change as long as Truth does not changed or become twisted. Such as eating meat on Friday as a way of sacrificing…now we must still sacrifice but we can choose the day and choose what we sacrifice. What is a better sacrifice…not eating meat on Friday but having lobster instead or not stopping at the DQ just when you wanted to and offering that for your sacrifice? So fullness of Truth is still Truth…sacrificing is still necessary but we choose…that makes it more personal for me. Perhaps some did not hear the Holy Spirit working with the Magisterium or did not heed what was said and this caused us to go off the Path a little. As you said, because of our priesthood through our Baptism, we must not blindly follow without learning our faith…and we must stand up, no pun intended, and be disciples in all matters concerning the Church…and that includes whether to kneel or not. When we put the railing back in our Church and I was once again on my knees, receiving communion on my tongue, and the large crucifix was fully visible in front of me……there are no words to explain the love that transpired there.
Fr. Jack,
You write Many of these posts indicate an incredible divisiveness along with hostility towards the few of us in this forum who dare to question the use of altar rails.
You are taken aback by the reaction of commenters, yet you seem to think that those who support altar rails are at once (1) hidebound ("everything associated with "the Mass of Pius V" was wonderful and beyond reform and that everything associated with the Mass of Paul VI is either bad or highly questionable") (2) benighted ("unaware that the church's understanding of worship has changed and developed over the course of centuries") (3) Pharisiacal ("reverence should never be identified so exclusively with particular gestures and postures lest we forget that God is looking for humble and contrite hearts"). This strikes me as far more divisive than what most of those on the other side have written.
Cliches and rhetoric aside, I'm afraid I'm still not sure what your point is. My guess is that you believe altar rails come from a time when the church was less like you would like it to be, whereas now (without altar rails) it's more to your liking? That putting back altar rails will somehow return the church to a dark age when "the laity had three things to do above all else: Pray, pay, and obey" (did my parents really think that?). The argument seems to be that since altar rails reenforced certain distortions (e.g. that laity were less important then clergy) then removing them will teach people the truth. This ignores the fact that altar rails could reenforce truths as well, and that removing them could also encourage new errors.
Finally, I never quite understood the mentality that imposes change in the name of the people, only to dismiss any objections that the people themselves make to those changes.
@Fr. Jack
> "Many of these posts indicate an incredible divisiveness along with hostility towards the few of us in this forum who dare to question the use of altar rails."
I didn't see that.
> "They reveal a point of view which takes as its starting point that everything associated with "the Mass of Pius V" was wonderful and beyond reform"
I never said that, and I think that point of view is very rare. I just said that kneeling is intuitively a beautiful act of adoration, and also that I trust the Holy Father - and he likes kneeling.
> "Nor did the first Christians kneel in adoration as they gathered in each other's homes for the breaking of the bread."
With all due respect, I have seen enough revisionist history about the "primitive Church" used to justify watering down of the faith and specially the liturgy, that I now only trust early Church history from really trusted sources. It seems that everyone that wants Hip Hop in the Mass will say "the early Christians did it".
> "The Orthodox never kneel in adoration and their Tradition is as old as ours."
I don't know about their kneeling, but in other aspects they are famous for liturgical rigor. It is wrong to use the Eastern Orthodox as examples when they do something "modern", but forget about them when they do something pious.
> "Reverence should never be identified so exclusively with particular gestures"
No one said that reverence is identified exclusively with kneeling. I (and I imagine others think similarly) only think that kneeling *helps* and *shows* reverence.
It is a beautiful thing, and I can't imagine any downside at all. Unless you are worried about the economic cost of the rails.
Fr Jack, the modified orans position you describe is not usually assumed by the priest until after the Words of Institution—but why let a small thing like accuracy get in the way of a misguided appeal to Early Church praxis?
If you and those who are supporting your assertions are so eager to return to the (putatively) purer practices of the Early Church, then why not go whole hog and reinstate confession to the entire assembly? If you really believe the Eucharist is primarily an adjunct to social-welfare do-goodery, then why not become Episcopalian?
And yes, the Orthodox don't kneel. But you are, presumably, a Latin Christian and traditionally Latins kneel. That's your patrimony; not "yours" in the sense of "yours to do with whatever you please," but yours to assume, to revere, and to respect. It must be admitted that altar rails, and the other trappings of Catholic Eucharistic piety, are adiaphora—but the Church has the authority to require its members to show respect for the Presence by kneeling and other devotional acts. "Adiaphora" doesn't mean you can do or not do those things according to the dictates of your own conscience; you are still a man under authority, and you have sworn to obey the powers constituted above you in all things right and lawful. Be a man, Father. Be a priest.
Many of these posts indicate an incredible divisiveness along with hostility towards the few of us in this forum who dare to question the use of altar rails. They reveal a point of view which takes as its starting point that everything associated with "the Mass of Pius V" was wonderful and beyond reform and that everything associated with the Mass of Paul VI is either bad or highly questionable.
Are you readers unaware that the church's understanding of worship has changed and developed over the course of centuries. Jesus wasn't folding his hands with fingers pointed toward heaven when he said, "take and eat….take and drink". Nor were the apostles aware that Jesus had just instituted the Eucharist by giving to them his Real Presence. Perhaps that explains why they weren't kneeling in adoration while they were eating (even chewing) and drinking. On Easter night, the disciples at Emmaus did become aware that it was the risen Lord who was truly present in the breaking of the bread. But they didn't kneel in adoration, but hastened back to Jerusalem to share this good news with their brethren.
Nor did the first Christians kneel in adoration as they gathered in each other's homes for the breaking of the bread. All that came along centuries later.
The Orthodox never kneel in adoration and their Tradition is as old as ours. They stand throughout the Divine Liturgy and receive communion standing as well. They do, indeed, receive in the mouth but always with both species.
Reverence should never be identified so exclusively with particular gestures and postures lest we forget that God is looking for humble and contrite hearts who are seeking communion so they can become one body, one spirit in Christ….so they can receive the grace to fulfill the Great Commandment.
For the past several weeks, access to our parish church has been greatly impeded by a construction project. There has been virtually no drop in attendance since most people come here eagerly to worship God in spirit and truth. Even the babies fall into complete silence during the Eucharistic Prayer. We know that Christ is marvelously, really, and substantively present in the most holy sacrament of the altar, but we also know that he is present to us for a purpose other than to just simply adore Him. Our actions, outside of Mass especially, are the true measure of our devotion. "I was hungry and you gave me to eat…."
http://youtu.be/R6AOvStZS64 with narration by then-Mgr. Fulton J. Sheen. You will see the altar rail with cloth and people receiving Communion.
Fr. Jack: "Sadly, there are some who would have us return to an older understanding of Mass which stresses the role of the priest at the expense of God's royal priesthood as possessed by all the baptized."—More sad are malformed priests who deny Catholic doctrine on the Sacraments to put forth their own agenda which includes accepting relativism, modernism (your statements are a great example of modernism), and trying to bring Protestantism into Holy Church. We Pray for our Holy Father and his enforcement of orthodoxy in the Priesthood.
"When they were standard in all churches, there were very few laity who had any understanding whatsoever that they were empowered in baptism to participate in the mission of the church in ways that are every bit as important as those of the clergy."—Any saint's life shows allowing the Holy Ghost to bring a soul to glorify God in the state of life to which they are called. Each soul is important to God, each has its own purpose. A soul with the mark of Holy Orders is in fact different from other souls. If you hate the priesthood, then why do you stay?
"In the days of the altar rails the laity had three things to do above all else: Pray, pay, and obey." —You are not anyone's judge Father. Truth is timeless, God does not change. The faithful are still here to glorify God first. I would try a good dose of self evaluation before you condemn others and stereotype the faithful of any time period as mindless robots.
Kneeling for Holy Communion was a relatively late development in the church's history and was a direct by-product of the notion that the clergy were the only ones holy enough to stand for the reception of communion. —Let's look around at a few rites: Ambrosian kneeling since the 4th century; Byzantine developed by St. James the Apostle and kneeling for communion since the first century; Latin Rite, yes kneeling until the "spirit of Vatican II" misleads the faithful. Which brings back the questioning the agenda of people who wish all to be relative. BTW there is no reference in doctrine or the canons for the statement " the notion that the clergy were the only ones holy enough to stand for the reception of communion" is there?
Communion under only one form is linked to altar rails because it is simpler, neater, and faster. I can remember as a child, the priest whipping along the altar rail rapidly mumbling a Latin prayer as he thrust the Host on to our tongues. It was about the size of a dime and made us wonder how this could be the Bread of Life since we were told not to eat it but just to let it melt on the roof of our mouths. I could go on, but suffice it to say that all that glitters is not gold.—beginning in the late 1200s, distribution of Holy Communion under one form only was required in order to combat the heretical teaching of some that reception under both kinds was necessary in order to receive the whole Christ, nothing to do with the altar rail, the faithful were combating heretics just like we are here.
Fr. Jack, I do not see how altar rails would cause the laity to misunderstand the role of the priesthood of the laity or the priesthood of the priest. I have never in my 68 years of life ever heard of the notion that the clergy were the only ones holy enough to stand for the reception of communion! Communion under one form was not for speed of reception of the Host…we all knew that it IS the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord in the Host…we all knew that it IS the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord in the Host so we receive him fully. I think that people who chew the host with smacking lips are unnecessarily drawing attention to themselves when they receive the Host; it can be done without acting like you are chewing gum! I wonder what seminary you attended, and did all the priests that attend at the same time as you, become endowed with such lack luster for the beauty and sacredness of the Mass, or is it just 'you'?
So Father Jack… what's your point? What would the Mass be without the double consecration other than a prayer service? The whole essence, the whole pinnacle of the Mass is the double consecration which is the sacrifice. This is not Trent that first taught it, nor some crazy traditionalists. This is the theology as handed down to us from the copious writings of the church fathers. It's biblical 'This is my body, broken for you' 'this is my blood, shed for you'. There is the essence right there.
So before you rattle the trite pap that we keep hearing from our parishes and what is taught in the seminaries, go back to the doctrine of the church, relearn your faith, do whatever you have to do. The average parishes are fading away, the people have almost all fallen into some heresy whether moral or doctrinal, the majority of 30 somethings or less do not go to church nor do they intend to. It's a total disaster and it is the direct result of poor catechesis of PRIESTS and terrible sermons given to the people, or in the case of your post, error.
@Fr. Jack
> "Kneeling for Holy Communion was a relatively late development in the church's history and was a direct by-product of the notion that the clergy were the only ones holy enough to stand for the reception of communion. Communion under only one form is linked to altar rails because it is simpler, neater, and faster."
With all due respect, this sounds *a lot* like crazy revisionist history. I have seen all kinds of weird claims about the "primitive Church" trying to justify the watering-down of doctrine and discipline.
In the case of kneeling for the Holy Communion: the most faithful priest I know does it; and in Masses celebrated by the *Holy Father*, they do it. Now, the Holy Father is not only the Holy Father (with the special help of the Holy Ghost to guide us) but he was already one of the greatest theological and philosophical geniuses in the world even before becoming Pope.
It trust him.
What's more, it is quite intuitive that kneeling before the Creator of the Universe and all that exists is a beautiful act of adoration. For me it is an obligation.
I try to receive communion on the tongue. But I don't kneel in my parish, for fear that my priest will humiliate me in public (as happens with some faithful that try to kneel).
Questions: Our parish, with a beautiful altar rail, is one of the oldest in our city. Does the parish pastor have the authority to begin using the altar rail? Many people have requested the use of the altar rail. Or, does the pastor need to get permission from the Bishop? Do all the churches in the same diocese have to "be on the same page", or can one church be the only one in the diocese to use an altar rail? Perhaps NCRegister could answer this, as I would like the facts in order to approach my pastor.
Adoration, properly understood, is an essential ingredient of Catholic worship. But the expression of adoration during the celebration of the Eucharist is best not likened to that which occurs at Benediction, or in visits to the Blessed Sacrament. That misguided notion led to a form of the Mass in which its sole purpose was thought to be the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Christ gave himself to us as real food and real drink so that we can be transformed into witnesses of his real presence in our parishes, families, communities, and world. Sadly, there are some who would have us return to an older understanding of Mass which stresses the role of the priest at the expense of God's royal priesthood as possessed by all the baptized. Altar rails stress this separation between priests and people. When they were standard in all churches, there were very few laity who had any understanding whatsoever that they were empowered in baptism to participate in the mission of the church in ways that are every bit as important as those of the clergy. Where would priests come from were it not for moms and dads who passed on the faith to them. Who will transform the family, the school, and the workplace if not well formed laity. In the days of the altar rails the laity had three things to do above all else: Pray, pay, and obey.
Kneeling for Holy Communion was a relatively late development in the church's history and was a direct by-product of the notion that the clergy were the only ones holy enough to stand for the reception of communion. Communion under only one form is linked to altar rails because it is simpler, neater, and faster. I can remember as a child, the priest whipping along the altar rail rapidly mumbling a Latin prayer as he thrust the Host on to our tongues. It was about the size of a dime and made us wonder how this could be the Bread of Life since we were told not to eat it but just to let it melt on the roof of our mouths. I could go on, but suffice it to say that all that glitters is not gold.
It is a sad fact, we have become one, holy, confused, Catholic church.
At our church - in a community where there may be 2 generations who have not known the Latin Mass ( sung or spoken) our new Parish Pastor has introduced….a little Latin, a little English, some responses sung and some responses spoken, 2 kneelers, and introduced - standing or kneeling, communion in both forms ( the Chalice is wiped with the cloth unfolded - the same piece of cloth wipes the same rim area of the Chalice ). We sing the Agnus Dei while hugging each other and waving the sign of peace to our neighbors….. all at the one Mass.
and so, with the grace of God I accept - but I do question why past Pope's made changes to the Mass if they were not appropriate and need to be changed back.
As a Traditional Catholic I am glade to see the communion rail reinstated in the Novus Ordo Mass. If they can get ride of some of the other things that are done to make the Novus ordo in some places cause deformations to the liturgy, I might even attend one again.
We need to have the Altar rail back, We need to kneel to recieve the Holy Eucharist. How wonderful this would be. If people cant kneel for health reasons ,there could be a Eucharistic Minister along the side so people who cannot kneel recieve.
Two words: AWE SOME
our catholic church has taken the wide road of vatican 11 , with people having know respect for silence and kneeling before the alter especialy when recieving the body of christ , since my conversion i found myself kneelng before the priest and blessing myself with sign of the cross , before and aftr i have done a gospel reading ? the sooner the alter rails are in every church the sooner christ will hear the people crying out as i did in my hell of alcoholism ....god grant me the serenity ...to except the things i can not change…courage to change the things i can…and with your help the wisdom to know your truth ...amen
> Democracy in the Church is neither new
The 12 were chosen by God, not by the people.
From my reading of the New Testament, there is a clear distinction between
the ordained apostles (such as St. Paul) and the laity. Nor the Holy Catholic Church, nor our Eastern Orthodox brothers, nor the Ancient Oriental Orthodox practice religious democracy (AFAIK). And that has a very obvious explanation - if we practiced religious democracy, the church would be human and not divine. The Church would water down her doctrine - sexual morality for example would go away faster than you can say "divorce".
> "Christian holiness is holiness in the midst of the world, not safely fenced off from it."
No one is saying that the Church will hide herself. We are only saying that the sanctuary will be specially delimited.
>Any ideas that the Eucharist is a reward for being good
Who said that?
>No railings will ever prevent abuses of the Eucharist
Obviously they won't prevent. But (equally obviously) they will help.
> "To separate Christians by railings in this way implies that the Church is two Bodies"
Oh please! By that logic, we would have to do away with the convents too, because convents mean that the "body of the nuns" is different than the "body of the laity".
Posted by john on Friday, Jul 8, 2011 7:07 AM (EDT):
"This is good news…as for those opposed to it for reasons of physical nature..I'm sure the church would not expect nor require you to kneel at the altar if unable to do so.However for those who say the church is sliding back into the 16th century…whats wrong with that? At least the church was powerful and people held things to be more sacred."
## If Jesus wanted His Church to be powerful, why did He choose the way of the Cross, and require His followers to follow it themselves ? He chose the powerlessness and disgrace and obscenity of death by crucifixion, the death imposed on the dregs of humanity, such as slaves. The Church has no right to chose glory and majesty and power and might, for He refused them as a temptation of Satan. The only power the Church needs, is that of proclaiming Christ & his Salvation to the world; to choose a trivial little thing like political power, which is here today, gone tomorrow, over that, is to subject the interests of God to those of man. A Church that chooses power becomes useless; it's aligned itself with the world, so it loses the ability to rebuke the world, and becomes just another unrighteous worldly power for God to break in pieces. "Blessed are the powerful" is not one of the Beatitudes - but "He has put down the mighty from their seat" is definitely part of the Magnificat.
As for holding things sacred: it depends where one looks. Those who extol the past in glowing terms never mention one of its vilest perversions, which is the offering of Mass to the Devil. That sort of abuse beats "clown masses" hollow. It would be absurd to exaggerate the prevalence of Satanolatry, but that is not a reason, if one knows it happened, to say nothing about it. A lot of Catholics were anything but reverent: going to Mass in order to conduct an assignation is hardly the best use of it, but it was very common. Then there is the treatment of the Mass as a musical occasion - one advantage of the poor quality odf so much Church music today, is that people are not going to attend Mass in order to be present at an event in which musical virtuosity blots out the character of the Mass as the Prayer of the Church. Nor are there virtuoso preachers who are lionised by their adoring "fans" because of their rhetorical brilliance. As for lack of faith, that's nothing knew. At least the election of modern Popes is no longer at the mercy of the power of veto exercised by the great powers - but it was, for four hundred years, until Pius X abolished the power of veto. Nor do we have cardinals who scheme for the interests of their rulers, however damaging these may be to the good of Christians: a Richelieu would be impossible today. No longer do we have five-year old royalty being given ecclesiastical titles, or the episcopate being infested with men whose only recommendation is their royal or noble blood. Nor are bishops permitted to be non-resident in their sees, while holding several benefices at once so as to get the revenues from them. The Church does not swarm with a clerical proletariat, as it once did.
There is a lot wrong with the Church and its worship, but at least some of the evils that were once customary have vanished. None of the scandals today are new; they are only the modern versions of old evils. Most evils that disfigured and perverted the Church are now unknown - the Church is remarkably good shape, in many ways.
Democracy in the Church is neither new, nor unusual, nor wrong; conversely, deploring it is not self-evidently right. What is more democratic than for God to become man, not in principle, but in very fact ? Far from abiding by the ancient idea of the holy as something to be fenced off from, delimited from, the profane, the Holy God refused to be special: He committed an enormous profanation, by becoming God-with-us. As if that were not bad enough, He is God carrying the full weight of our sin & becoming sin, God becoming accursed because "He..hangs on a tree". The whole Life of Christ is an assault upon the notion of holiness as something to be separated from a supposed unholy, profane, area. He has democratised holiness, for all the members of His Body are His Holy People, not because they are Saintly (important as that is), but for the fundamental reason that He has chosen all of them to belong to Him.
Christian holiness is holiness in the midst of the world, not safely fenced off from it. If the Church is fenced off from the world, it is safe from contamination, but incapable of being the leaven in it. Any ideas that the Eucharist is a reward for being good, or that our hands are not holy enough to touch the sacred species whereas our tongues are, belong to the old notion of the holy, not to the Christian one. The barrier between us unclean laity & the world doesn't consist in building fences to keep God's Holiness safe from being contaminated by us - it's a bit late for God to worry about that ! - but in conversion of heart.
No railings will ever prevent abuses of the Eucharist, but conversion of heart will. We laity are as holy and and as unholy as the clergy, because all of us together as a single Body are the holy People of God. To separate Christians by railings in this way implies that the Church is two Bodies, not one; it implies a theology of the Church that is at odds with the teaching of the documents of the Council on the universal vocation to Christian holiness in the world; it makes a division, where God has given unity.
witness to the holy family in my many visions of medugorje 1994 , there is only one way to pray at the lords holy alter ,and that to is to show your humble existence , and kneel or prostate especialy while mass is being said ? and never take the holy bread in your hands , vatican 11 is the way of satan , i just returned from http://www.fatima.org world conference in rome , were i was shocked to hear what i can only discribe as mickey mouse music blaring from the popes popeobile as he passed me ? our catholic church and the vatican is now under severe attack from satan from other world religions , the sooner we go back to catholic basic latin mass , many will come back to the lord? iam awaitng the ipvs statue coming to scotland in 2012 , praying ourlady will convert scotland and the uk….then finely russia to her immaculate heart praise the lord
For all those poor souls who have bad knees, legs and/or back or for whatever reason can not kneel or genuflect, I am disabled and can not do either. When I go up to the alter rail I STAND!! The Church allows standing at the alter rail as it did in the early church. Be at peace and know that you can receive Our Lord standing.
Please, please as Catholics we are required to be charitable and understanding. I personally take the Eucharist on the tongue, I do not consider myself worthy to touch the Body of Christ. That said in my Parish people who are unable to walk or are not too at good standing are always served Communion first as the Eucharistic Minister or the Priest walk to the pew where they are. I would love to see Altar Rails as I am not great at kneeling without holding on. Doesn't the State department have protocols for visitors to the White House? How about protocols for THE KING OF KINGS with accommodation for those unable to Receive in the traditional way because of infirmaties or age?
Oh wonder of wonders. This must be the first time in 2,000 years that human-kind had folks that could not kneel. Thank heaven they weren't born before Vatican II. By all means, please bring GOD to your level, do not aspire to His…
...after all, mean old Church won't make accommodations for you. Either kneel or go to the torture chamber!
If you can't kneel, then don't. But let us who want the NORM to be reverence, humble ourselves to reverence. Because right now, we are the freaks and holier-than-thous who are told by Priests to stand up and never genuflect again lest we be denied communion.
It is right to bring back the rails to show reverance to Jesus in the eucharist. Also they should bring back recieving the eucharist on the tounge and not in the hand. If you truly believe that Jesus is in the Eucharist then why do you feel that you are worthy enough to touch his sacred body without consecrated hands? Only the priest should give out communion. The only reason that they have eucaristic ministers in church is because many people do not want to have to stay in church for the extra 5 minutes it would take for the priest to administer the eucharist. Besides as far as your tongue being touched by the priests fingers, the hosts are large enough about the size of a 50 cent piece to be picked up and placed safely onto the tounge without having to stick your toungue out down to your chin. As far as people not being able to kneel down i'm sure the priest can make an exception as he does for those who are in wheelchairs or bed ridden. So lets give Jesus the reverance that he deserves for what he has suffured for us and continues to suffer and bring back the kneeling rails. Its kind of sad that in my wifes church which is not Catholic they still kneel to recieve Jesus. Where did the church go astray???
Carolanne Quinn is, unfortunately, looking for an excuse to avoid the traditional aspects of the Church. If she was a true Catholic who made a point of knowing the basics of the Catechism and Church law she would realize that anyone who is physically unable is automatically not required to kneel for communion. Sadly, there are many like her whose knees are not the real problem but the psychological desire to kneel with reverence before the Real Presence in Whom they do not believe.
Let's pray for more and more churches to follow this example.
Praise be to God. Please, Jesus, make all Catholic Churches worldwide restore the Altar Rails. And let us get it right, my beloved Catholics, Vatican II DID NOT RECOMMEND THE REMOVAL OF THE ALTAR RAILS. Americans DID!!!!!!
Let me ask those who are anti-kneelers a question:
When Christ returns as he has promised he will, when you see him coming in the clouds, will you be standing? Or kneeling?
Will you be kneeling saying, "My Lord, My God!" or will you be hissing at people to "stand in unity!"
Just remember: every time the mass is celebrated, this is a preview of the second coming. Christ returns to our altars every day.
If you would kneel when you see him in the clouds, why not kneel when the priest holds him up to you saying, "Body of Christ!"
Following up on my previous comment;
This is a fact, more Catholics were attending Mass on a weekly basis prior to Vatican II than they are today. And, this is not referring to the percentage of Catholics attending Mass. The percentage of Catholics in the U.S. today is near the same as it was 50 years ago. And, despite population growth, where today there is a much greater number of Catholics in the U.S. compared to 1960, there were more Catholics receiving the Eucharist on a weekly basis 50 years ago then there are today!!!
One poster replied that Mass attendance does not equal faith. That argument is based on what?.. Opinion?.. Does a lack of Mass attendance equal a lack of faith? How about the studies that reveal that those who attend Mass on a regular/weekly basis, by a great percentage, believe in the Diving Presence in the Holy Eucharist compared to those who rarely or never attend Mass (less than 10 percent).
The massive failure in the practice of religion in our culture is based on the false presumption that our faith comes from us. Our faith comes from God. It is a grace. Thus, the less who choose to receive the graces provide by the Eucharist (Mass attendance) then the result will be less faith.
At the core of sin is fear (the fear of being without). And, in the case of the sin of Pride is the fear of being without control. This is the great sin of man as it expresses a lack of trust in God.
What has occurred over the course of the last 50 years, greatly influenced by Vatican II, is that the practice of religion has become more about self interest rather than for the purpose of glorifying God.
Do we need to hear or understand what the Priest is saying during Mass? Why?
Do we need the Priest to face us during the Mass? Why?
Do we really need to handle the Holy Eucharist? Why?
All the alterations to the Mass that have occurred, the nuances, have served the self interest of the congregants and gave them more control over the practice of their faith. And, the result is that the Church is weaker for it. As I stated previously, over 60 percent of Catholics born after 1960 rarely or never attend Mass and of this grouping 90 percent do not believe in the Divine Presence of the Holy Eucharist. And, it's only going to get worse as our most senior members of the body of the Church, the ones who make up the greatest percentage of attendees to weekly Mass, pass away and diminish the number of faithful practioners.
Many of the older generation of Catholics prefer the Novus Ordo Mass than the one they grew up practicing, the Latin Mass. They often argue that the Latin Mass was boring or they didn't get it at the time, however, what they tend to forget is that the Mass they experienced as a Child was the foundation of their Catholic faith. So, even though they may prefer the Novus Ordo they still have the ability to reflect on the former traditions of the Mass. The younger generation does not have that ability and have showcased that they are weaker for it.
Here is an exmaple of one tradition that causes debate among Cathoics - Women who wear mantillas. Many think that they are old fashioned or that those who wear them are overtly pious. Some also believe that Vatican II did away with such traditions. Not so.
There is a logic to the tradtion of wearing the Mantilla. It is for the purpose of glorifying God. Women's hair, in particular long hair or styled hair, provide them glory. It is this aspect of women that draws them attention from men. So, for the purpose of not distracting male congregants during the Holy Mass women covered their hair.
The feminist movement, it's second wave, occurred during the 1960s and coincided with changes that were occurring within the Church. The idea of women wearing a mantilla became an image of oppression and control. The feminist movement promoted women taking pride in themselves and resulted in the shedding of the tradition of wearing a mantilla during Holy Mass.
Please consider what is more likely; that women who wear mantillas today are overtly pious or are they choosing to practice humility before God?
My apologies for the long post. God Bless.
Altar rails signify the separation of the Holy of Holies from the rest of the worship space - by reintroducing this necessary separation, we, as Catholics, are bringing back the original worship space that God requested when the particulars of the Original temple of the OT was built. This is a VERY exciting step to regain the solemnity and dignity that is missing in so many structures of "modern" worship. Way to Go!!!
I am am glad that the alter rails are making a comeback. I only hope the Holy Father would mandate this to our church. The bishops do not seem to listen to Rome, the pope in this country seems to be no more than a figure head. After Vatican II, we seemed to have lost our identity as catholics. I pray that this will all turn around and we give our worship the respect that it deserves, this also means not comming to mass in shorts, tanktops and flipflops.
This is good news…as for those opposed to it for reasons of physical nature..I'm sure the church would not expect nor require you to kneel at the altar if unable to do so.However for those who say the church is sliding back into the 16th century…whats wrong with that?At least the church was powerful and people held things to be more sacred.The church should never change to conform to man or modernity just to please peoples whims.The mass is about worshipping and revering God..it is not for your pleasure and entertainment.The altar is not a stage and the priests are not performers.You should never clap at mass and humor has no place in it.It's about time the church starts getting back to basics and bring back the things that will make people start to remember what they're there for in the first place..to give glory and thanks to God.Ever since the gross misinterpretation of Vatican 2 the church has lost it's voice..alot of it's flock..disregarded it's treasures such as devotion to saints..St Michael prayer..sermans about sin..we've been taught fluff and thrown away sacred Tradition for 40yrs now..as Pope Benedict predicted..the church will probably become smaller but holier in the following years…if thats the case so be it..Church is about God..if you want to be entertained and see a religious show go join the protestants.
There is a great church in Connecticut which was recently—and justly—raised to the status of basilica. This church had retained—and used—its marble altar rail through all the years of liturgical revolution. The faithful received at the altar rail, most kneeling, but some standing, per need and preference. But when raised to basilica, the use of altar rail was prohibited, that, I was told, per order of the USCCB in its review of the church's liturgical practice. The restoration of altar rails reported here is thus a hopeful sign, particularly for those who long for its return to use at the basilica.
My sister and I are senior citizens and cannot kneel..So are my brother and his wife,sooo any suggestions as to what we should do? We LOVE altar rails but are impossible for us to kneel.
Fr. Carl Diederichs : In Models of the Church, Cardinal Dulles gives an overview of the five main models of Church: Church as (1) institution, (2) mystical communion, (3) sacrament, (4) herald, and (5) servant. He demonstrates the strengths and weakness of each model. He concludes by integrating each model's positive contributions to form a more comprehensive model of church. There is nothing in Cardinal Dulles' writing promoting the heresy of relativism. Truth is singular, God never changes, and our approach to receiving our Creator in the Holy Eucharist is relevant.
No, there were no rails at the Last Supper. There were also no guitars.
I would suggest that you take care of your "personal relationship with the Divine" on your own time, not during corporate worship.
Many people comment about those who cant kneel or who would prefer to receive in the hand while standing. 1st I would like to say to those who cant kneel for w/e reason, than DON'T KNEEL, trust me it's not that big of a deal I go to a parish where it's the Latin Mass 24/7 7 days a week all year including Holy week, and those who are unable to kneel at the railing reverently stand and receive Our Lord.(No problem) Now to those who prefer standing and communion in the hand The indult still stands in Novus Ordo parishes and you have the choice (at present time)at A parish I attend in NYC (Saint Agnes) during the Novus Ordo Masses both altar rail and standing are used. and for those who have an issue with touching the tongue do know that in Eastern Catholic Churches a spoon is used to distribute the host by intinction (both body and blood at the same time)and yes the spoon will hit some ones tongue every now and than, but from priests I've talked 2 there has never been any problems resulting from this practice. so whats the use with bickering over this? May Christ be Praised
Mike age 21
I said "welcome table" not "table altar." Is the Table of the Lord not a "welcome Table?"
What is it about the arrangement of the furniture in the church that gets so many people so worked up? I think we all need to re-read Cardinal Avery Dulles' book called Models of the Church. There is no one way to do anything in the Catholic Church. We are world-wide, affirming of what is good in each culture, aware that we are all graced and loved by God and forgiven even before we sin. Standing for communion, kneeling for communion, standing on our head for communion? What matters is the way the Presence of Christ overtakes us and compels us to love even our worst enemy. As St. Augustine reminds us" We become what we eat." Whether kneeling or standing, we need to let go, let God.
Peace and All Goodness!
Whew! The floodgates are open! Want to add a few comments to those I've just read. I agree with "Heather." As a way-before-VaticanII-Catholic I grew up with Latin, altar rail, etc. As a child I so wanted to be able to be an altar server; in fact, my brother played priest at our fireplace mantel (complete with "vestments" he made) and I got to answer his Latin "Introibo ad altare dei" as his "server." But if I was good, it was out of fear of hell as much, or more than, love of Jesus. I welcomed Vatican II and its emphasis on knowing Scriptures, praying and singing in a language I could understand, feeling more openness to those around me—those other "parts of the Body," and receiving Our Lord in my hand reverently from priest, deacon, or lay minister. I really don't like sticking my tongue out towards the minister. I do, however, like giving a reverent bow towards the Lord as I approach Him, silently praying, "my Lord and my God." The important thing is the interior attitude. I agree that there should not be applause for a beautiful "Ave Maria" or "Panis Angelicus"—they should be met with grateful, prayerful silence. Beautiful music should enhance our worship, not be performances. So, we need dedicated, trained pastoral musicians in each parish!! But there is a definite place for music that the congregation can learn, and enjoy singing. A good, sung psalm response in one's own language can go with you down the highway or at the sink. As for deacons—God be praised! Maybe where you live there are multiple priests, but in our parish we have four permanent deacons to one priest! The latter has been on vacation these two weeks and, deo gratias, the deacons have kindly provided Communion services so we can receive our Lord in Word and Sacrament during the week! As for lay Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, there are some that are more reverent in offering the Host than some priests. They are usually very active in other areas of parish ministry, also. Our world, our society, needs dedicated Catholic Christians making their voices heard in the "marketplace." A final note: something badly needed, whether we have altar rails or not, is adult CATECHESIS! As the old Baltimore Catechism stated early on, we are made to know God, to love Him, and to serve Him in this life, and to be happy with Him in heaven forever. To know Him, we have to be taught…
Oh for crying out loud. I agree with Martha Dancy. Stop the cry baby act about not being able to kneel because I'm so disabled. I'm disabled and I've been to parishes where they kneel for Communion (Holy Rosary, Portland, OR) and all I've done is stand at the altar rail. Wow, that really took a long time to figure out. I sure hope this helps all the other lost disableds who might go up to the rail and be so confused and without any instructions, they could wander out into the streets and get hit by a car. Give me a break. Altar rails and kneeling will bring back the sense of the sacred. Offer it up.
Carl Diederichs:
"Table altars" are a Protestant innovation designed to allow the community to turn on itself and worship itself. Table altars are a sign of Protestantism which the Catholic Church has heretically fully embraced. Read any history of the Protestant Reformation and you will see that the first things that the Protestant's (i.e. always former Roman Catholic priests) wanted to do was:
Eliminate Latin from the Protestant worship service,
Turn the altar around so that it faced the people,
Allowing the Protestant minister to marry.
Everything that Fr. Martin Luther (Augustian priest) wanted in the 16th century, Vatican II or its misinterpretation has provided.
John D. Horton
Lawton, Oklahoma
The Mass is NOT an assembly of the faithful but a re-presentation of Our Savior's sacrifice on Calvary. We are joined with the Church Triumphant (Heaven) and the Church Suffering (Purgatory ) and we the Church Militant together on that altar. This is the once and forever Sacrifice for mankind. This is not a meal, but a sacrifice and the awesome reference of such a sacrifice must be restored now before more souls are eternally lost to the enemy. If we really understood the spiritually powerful event taking place at each and every Catholic Mass we would never be off our knees.
Come on folks, if you can't kneel, all you do is stand at the rail and receive the Host with no problem. They say that to you. I have arthritis and can use the rail to help myself up, but if I have a flare up of arthritis, I just stand and receive. There is no problem I liked the church as it was, not like it is today. Also, just because some people don't like the latin mass does not mean that no one should have access to it that do like it. After all, the eastern rites have different traditions and no one worries about that so why should anyone squawk about people kneeling and going to the old rite if it is available?I love the old rite and that is what I attend most of the time.
For most the present realities are an unseemly, undignified, distracted kerfuffle on the way up to communion and immediately after reception. Sometimes, one has to dodge other extraordinary (?) ministers and communicants. Reverence and prayerfulness are hard to maintain. Contrast this effort and difficulty with the job of the priest or other ministers who stand in one spot. Bring back altar rails please and everywhere. I want a peaceful communion in which there is no jostling and where one can actually take a moment to recollect both before and after reception of the eucharist. Altar rails are for the faithful and pro the congregation.
Kneeling at the altar rail, it is no longer important whether one receives in the hand (now rendered reverent) or the tongue. And reception on the tongue is much easier. Bring them back please.
Some of the ignorance in the combox is disturbing. But the Church is reaping what She (or Her Churchmen) have sewn over the last 50 years of terrible catechesis and modernist/protestantized influence over all things Catholic.
All of the post-conciliar garbage that was introduced will be eliminated, one by one, as Holy Mother Church returns ever so slowly but ever so certainly to Tradition.
For the sixties generation types who whine about it, you had fifty years to muck around with the Church. Time is up.
Altar rails are only a separation of the faithful from the clergy. We are here and they are there. Let's separate them again.
I find all these complaints andprotests regarding people who "cannot kneel." they were ALL able to kneel before our Lord prior to the destruction post Vatican II, so why is it that suddenly they can no longer kneel? If it is painful, has the concept of sacrificial penitence through suffering so gone out of style due to the prevalence of malignant religious instruction that no one thinks about such a thing and when they do it is an affront to their sense of reality? Is suffering a few seconds for our Lord so repulsive? Are we so bloated with our own sense of self importance that we cannot give our Lord what is His due even though He does not ask for it? GET OVER YOURSELVES!
At the last supper Our Lord instituted the Eucharist and ordained the first priests and bishops of the one true Church. The hands of the priests are consecrated to dare to touch the body and blood of Christ. Our hands are not. Studies have been done and particles of the consecrated Host do fall on the hand and subsequently on the floor, clothing , etc. This is another sacramental abuse. Since communion in the hand, the Host has been found in pews, on the floor, and even on eBay. For centuries Our Lord was reverenced by His creatures with utmost respect by receiving Him
in adoration, unworthy to touch the Sacred Species. It's long past due to restore this awesome reverence and the "right" order of creation .
The Mass For All Time is now called the 'extraordinary form.' Now that's funny…
"Carolann Quinn on Saturday, Jul 2, 2011" - go ahead and quit going to communion just because a church would use the communion rail! Backsliding to the 16th century? Good Lord woman what are you talking about!
By the way, there was a huge fight about the diaconate at the Council. If I remember correctly (from The Rhine Flows into the Tiber) the discussion of it came early in the council and the liberal victory was the first surprise, the first intimation that something might have slipped in the defense against liberalism.
@Thomas: you try to apply the concept of democracy to our relations with God. Surely you know you are not equal to God, and surely you will show this in your exterior physical posture? Also we are not equal in our relations with each other, and Christ did not honor such an idea. He chose men from among the apostles very often to go apart with Him, He established by this a hierarchy among even those few, and He chose one man alone to be the leader of all. He clearly meant to establish a hierarchy. He clearly meant to give some authority over others. Some loose sin, some do not. He meant it to be like that, and it mirrors life, and even salvation, for some are elected by God for salvation, and some, Thomas, are not. Regarding the use of ermine and gold, mankind recognizes authority only after every kind of struggle (because we all are born proud sinners like you, who insist on equality above all, on heaven and earth)—and ermine helps some people remember they are in an obeying position. Gold helps us remember some things are more precious than others—a fact which liberalism would deny, which explains their artists' frequent elevation of human feces and urine in their "art" and which also explains the almost-obligation of those in authority, our hierarchy, in the spiritual world to wear clothing appropriate to their position. Gold and ermine help us bow mentally before authority, as well as physically. A position which is necessary to enter heaven, and one which causes liberals to gag. But if they could get over it, a world opens and true enjoyment of life begins. Nor is this mental attitude harmful to society, not in any way. "You first" instead of "me first" sure would be nice, for a change, and our loss of it liturgically has silently precipitated our loss of it socially. Our societies are practically at a standstill economically from it, as women refuse the built-in inequality of their physical makeup, with those wombs and breasts and bleeding, and refuse motherhood, thus denying us all the next generation. Lose your liberalism, Thomas, you'll like it. But don't lose your enthusiasm—just bring it over. Fall on your knees before God. Let yourself be last just for a minute. Then you'll join us in restoring everything.
Awesome news!!! I'm glad to see the altar rails coming back. Whenever I see the scars left in the marble from altar rails in so many Catholic Churches; I think to myself that I'm glad scars have been left to show one of the many outrages that have been heaped upon too many churches in the past recent decades. In regards to people posting comments about health concerns for kneeling and choosing not to go to Communion….PLEASE… do you really think a priest is going to force you to kneel when your in a wheel chair or knows that it is almost to near impossible for you to kneel…...Your ridiculous!
I am lucky enough to have two Catholic churches in my county in California which I can attend that have altar rails. One is a shrine with post-vatican II Masses, and the other is a traditional Latin Mass church that the bishop approved. I head there every chance I get. My local church has altar girls; Communion under both species and Extraordinary Ministers, which they call Eucharistic Ministers, but I much prefer the simplicity, quietness and reverence of the the shrine and the traditional chapel.
Asperges the sprinkling of the people with holy water, God going thru the garden of eden looking over his creation. Then the Priest goes back onto the altar, the servers close the altar railing gates signifying the fall of adam and eve and heaven is closed to the human race.
Mass begins, God's plan of salvation for the human race begins, old testament readings, psalms, THEN The Most Loving of Father's promise, redemption is at hand Christ Jesus speaking to us in the Gospel. Then Christ Jesus passion and death and resurrection, and His 40 days before His Ascension. Mass ends with the Priest leaving the altar into the sacristy, signifying Christ Jesus's Ascension into Heaven. Then the altar railing gates are opened again signifying Christ Jesus's promise to us that He'll re-open the gates to Heaven again to us for our possible salvation.
Response to
Posted by John D. Horton on Tuesday, Jul 5, 2011 2:14 PM (EDT):PERMANENT DEACONS ARE NOT "MANDATED"
"The true reason to eliminate the permanent diaconate is that it is an attempt to eliminate the rule of celibacy for the priesthood." 99.9% of permanent deacons in the USA are married men. There is a de facto ban by the bishops on celibate permanent deacons which is yet another slap in the face to the Sacrament of Holy Orders and its celebacy requirements. The bishops use "married only" permanent deacons as a tool to pressure the Vatican and habituate the faithful to the idea of a married priesthood."
You are so off-the-reservation it's not even funny. Do you know, Mr. Horton, what happens to a married permanent Deacon if and when his wife dies? He is not allowed to re-marry. In fact, he's called to celibacy from that day forth, being single again, of course. In fact, it's possible he may be called to become a priest (celibate and single, no less) at that point. So if your argument against a permanent diaconate is the conspiracy of one day allowing all priests to marry, you're dead wrong. Boy you must hate it when an Episcopalian priest converts to RC and brings his wife and kids with him. Is it ideal? No, but he's a consecrated priest nonetheless.
I attended a Saturday morning mass at St. Mary's in East Dubuque, IL and noticed that they made use of the communion rail. Out of curiosity, I timed how long it took for one priest to distribute holy communion to approx. 105 people. IT TOOK 4 MINUTES !
At most parishes, it takes 2-3 minutes for all of the lay "helpers" to gather and receive communion and the Precious Blood themselves before beginning to distribute to the congregation (whether they are actually needed or not).
So if you think of it, not only is the communion rail the most reverant manner to receive Holy Communion, but it is also the most efficient.
As a woman in her sixties, I was there when the American bishops either demanded or allowed what amounted to the desecration of our churches. The New Mass had just been forced upon us when the hatchet jobs began. There was nothing "democratic" about Vatican II. No one asked the daily Mass crowd if they wanted the liturgy changed. No one asked anyone if they wanted to follow Cromwell in destroying statues, windows, stations of the cross, holy relics and almost every other thing that told the world that we were the Church of the apostles, the martyrs, the Blessed Sacrament and the saints. I thank God for Pope Benedict. He has brought back the Latin Mass and with it the truth of the Mass being a sacrifice. He has given us back the altar of sacrifice which had been turned into a meaningless table. The Church has suffered a revolution at least as terrible as the sixteenth century revolt. We oldsters were all who were left to give true witness to the faith. Now, with the Tridentine Mass, the altar rails, the altar, the centrality of the tabernacle, and all the beautiful icons that help us praise the Incarnation theb beauty of the Church is here for all to find.
Carolyn Kimberly
Oblate, OSB
I remember as a child and into my teens that whenever I went to the altar rail and knelt, I truly sensed what lay beyond was Holy Ground. The Lord housed in the Tabernacle in the center of the Altar as well as ready to be received upon our tongues made it exactly that. In the Old Testament only the High Priest was allowed into the Holy of Holies. From what I've read, an extremely heavy curtain shielded from view what was in the Holy of Holies from all others except the High Priest. Please read "How Christ Said the First Mass", Tan Books. It is absolutely excellent! Anyway, it is obvious that altar rails came to serve as the separation of the Holy from sinful mankind, yet mankind was now able to see God on the Altar when that was not available to them in Old Testament times. They were now, in essence, being allowed in, but still to respect their place as beyond the altar rail. Now it seems everyone is on the altar including guitar players and choirs! Our Lord has been stripped of His right to Sacred Space and true reverence from His people! Kneeling for Communion (as every knee shall bow)is beautifully reverent. The few who can't receive this way will still receive Communion. Isn't it time we start granting God what HE should receive in reverence?
The church that I attend, thank God (literally) never stopped using their communion rail. As far as I know, we are the only church in town that uses it. Most people kneel, but those who can't don't. It's no biggie either way.
For about a year now, our priest, has everyone kneeling at the altar rail, and he has done away with the Eucharitic Ministers too, I for one am glad, before he did this I have seen people come to communion with so much disrepect for our lord, and thoes who cannot kneel, they do stand in place at the communion rail…
and for most part, if people cannot get over their pride and egos, and once again come to our lord Jesus in humility, kneel when he gives himself to you.
The Mass is changing back to the old ways, fr tim is also saying mass facing the tabernacle and with his back to us, as he prays for us, and once a week he will start saying the whole mass in latin,
I can see people getting all upset and leaving. but you know hardly anyone goes to mass anymore, and I bet most who do go, just go out of habit, because its something you have to do. as you can see I do not write very well. and I jump from one thing to another, but it all comes rushing into my mind, so I just kind of type what I am thinking.
the church will change for the better and back to the holy ways with reverence and prayerful, and I mean at mass when you pray, do you picture Jesus in your mind, do you look him in the eyes and pray to him. do you see him standing at the altar with his hands out stretch, do you see him at consercation raising the bread up saying this is my body, do you see him after communion coming down to the pews and bending down give the old and the sick a kiss on the check, the younger ones he walks by and places his hands on their heads, the babies and the littles one he raise up in the air and hugs close to his heart.
and I get so tired of hearing people complain about the kids at mass, yes they are children and they are make noise, and here we are adults, complaining because they disrupt us while we are trying to pray.. ask yourself, who do you think, Jesus enjoys seeing more, the little ones who are still so pure and innocent, or us adutls who come with our predjuces, thoes who harbor anger, and bitterness in their hearts, become like a little child, so he will smile at you when he walks by.
I have told my grandchild to watch the baby jesus who is the arms of saint joseph, watch him smile, when we come in to see him, how he turns around and smiles at st joseph and tells him, look, they have come to see me.
I love the Mass, I love the chants, I love the prayerful reverence, I truly feel like I am at a Catholic Mass,
next time at mass when you say the our father, close your eyes, put your hands on the face of Jesus and look him right in the eyes and pray the our father to him, and see if your time at mass does not change
Our church when I was growing up had the communion rail. It was a reminder to me of the banquet table of our Lord. When the servers put the table cloth over the rail it was like Jesus saying " come and eat". I really didn't see the separation. I did however feel the altar as a more reverenced and sacred place since it was closer to where our Lord was in church, but I didn't feel the rail made me less important to Him. I would like the altar rail to come back and I'm sure provisions could be made for those who couldn't kneel.
This is what the Vatican says about the reception of the Holy Eucharist…The faithful should receive Communion kneeling or standing, as the Conference of Bishops will have determined", with its acts having received the recognitio of the Apostolic See. "However, if they receive Communion standing, it is recommended that they give due reverence before the reception of the Sacrament, as set forth in the same norms".
Fr. Bain, I doubt your orthodoxy in your stating: "the solution is not returning to the old ritual that could be just as boring as today's Mass" To state that the Holy Mass is boring is a reflection on the state of your spirituality.
§ 3 § Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture, and Worship is presented to assist the faithful involved in the building or renovation of churches, chapels, and oratories of the Latin Church in the United States. It does not take precedence over the GIRM, the Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar, etc., or the Canons. Please provide the section you are referring to in stating an altar rail is not allowed.
I skimmed through the MANY comments on this post and, wow, people have some strong feelings for and against….not to mention ideas about other returns to the old days. I received my first communion at the close of the 1970's. I am comfortable receiving standing, as I've done in all those years, and I've never been to a parish where people were clamoring to return to the rail. I suppose its not "the good old days" to me, so its not something I feel strongly about. I still dress up for mass (though I admit, in college I often dressed more casually), and I try to instill respect for mass and the Eucharist in my children. I would LOVE for there to be more modern music at our church - even music that can be found in our music book that has a date below it more recent than the 1700's would be nice! And as a personal aside, could we ditch Amazing Grace? I wouldn't want to return to a Latin mass, because my daughters would most certainly have even more difficulty paying attention. I do not like to bring them to the "crying room" because that is more of a daycare atmosphere, and I might as well not even be at mass - I cannot pay attention, and they have no interest what with being so far from the altar and surrounded by other kids! I keep them as close to the front as I can so that they can see what is happening. Their whispered questions to me are then based on why is the priest washing his hands? or why do they ring bells now? I know they are interested and paying attention….and now at least one of them is actively participating with her responses and joining in the prayers/creed.
I am thankful they are learning all of this, and embrace any change that is done for the good of the church - and maybe promote active practice with some who have slipped away from the church. I think though, we need to look at our communities as we also change some wording in our mass. When I was a child, I grew up in tight knit Catholic communities on Air Force bases where the whole parish bonded together and formed a cohesive community of faith. If I could go back to that - the feeling that we all prayed at home & with friends, participated in community service alongside each other, went on retreats, celebrated sacraments with joy and not just a "rite of passage" and came together for festivals, picnics and other fun community bonding events. When we saw each other at mass, we weren't strangers.
The bottom line for me is - rail or no rail, wording change - fine…settle it, implement it and lets get back to building up a return to community, a place of welcome. I have my preferences and complaints like anybody, but I want mass to be meaningful to my family. I want my daughters invested in their faith community so they will return! I want them to find a place of rest in their church - an opportunity to worship, and give thanks, a place to bring their troubles. I want them to learn and continue their faith journey their whole lives.
That was more rambling than I planned - so here's my vote - I am not passionate about the rail, but I do like understanding the words the priest speaks. I am not resistant to change and I like those 70's/80's church songs - and shocker- LOVE Christian Rock Music, and understand why we can't include the majority of it in our worship - but would LOVE to sing along to some of the uplifting tunes at church. See - my issue is music….can't wait to see what changes with that :-)
Fr. Richard Bain, Sounds like you are saying it was you and your wonderful ochestration of events. Your attitude is so negative. The rail is dividing, the ritual is boring? Sorry, but although I agree a priests love for God can help a congregation become on fire with the Spirit, it should make us want to kneel to receive because we know Who we receive. In younger days I took a junior year abroad and that "ritual" you disparage was wonderful because it didn't matter if I was in Switzerland, Germany, Italy or whereever. I knew what was happening at the Mass because it was the same actions and sequence I saw every week in the United States. We are alreadly all present and praying with the priest on so not sure what you mean about the difference with the mission Mass, except that at a mission Mass you will get the devout Catholics of a parish and at a Sunday Mass you get people with a range of attachment to the faith. So naturally a mission is more Spirit-filled!
My husband and I belong to the founding parish of the Anglican Use Rite, the rite under which many Episcopalians and Anglicans are coming into the Roman Catholic Church. Our parish church has an altar rail and we kneel to receive the Eucharist on the tongue. Priests and deacons distribute communion by intinction. There are no extrordinary ministers, as they are not supposed to be used except in truly extraordinary situations, such as masses with such huge congregations that priests and deacons could not distribute to everyone in a reasonable amount of time.
People who cannot kneel simply stand reverently at the altar rail; there is no need for concern about physical limitations. If someone is brought forward in a wheelchair, the priest will come down to them. And the result of the rail, the reverence, and the obedience to what the Vatican has called for is that we truly do glimpse Heaven in the liturgies. There have been Masses at which everyone was aware of a union between Heaven and earth, at which we truly knew our Creator was present. Do not dismiss the opportunity for reverence simply because the means are unfamiliar to you.
John C, something to keep in mind with the stats is that mass attendance =/= faith. If that were the case then it would have taken a lot more effort than just a few media reports to cause things to go so chaotic so quickly. We must be careful not idolize the past, that was the foundation for the chaos that came after. Just because it wasn't as visible doesn't mean it wasn't present. A healthy church isn't measured by numbers, but by conversion of heart.
One should not embrace the altar rail simply because it's "pre-Vatican II", one should embrace it because it offers the faithful the opportunity to kneel in adoration when receiving the Almighty God. It offers the faithful the reminder that the are mere beggars before God and not worthy to have him enter under our roof.
Also, it is not a symbol of separation, but of the divine coming down to touch humanity, connecting the faithful with what happens on the altar and joining them to it. When the congregation "gathers around the altar" the symbolism is of them walking into heaven - they go to God (which is theologically wrong). However when the Lord comes down to us on the altar and we kneel at a rail, it reinforces that it is God who comes to us, nourishing us on our journey. We get the wonderful news that we are not strong enough to make it to heaven and we rejoice in our weakness.
If the altar rail is added into any church, it MUST emphasize the right reasons. Not just "let's go back to pre-VII because there were more butts in the pews", but "God is humbling himself to come down upon this altar and now we can humble ourselves to receive at the altar steps."
Well said Pam. There has been such a change in churches from when I was a kid that sort of personalized Jesus for us and made him just like us. The problem is He is not just like us. Jesus is man but he is also God—creator of the universe and of all things living. I am appreciative of churches where I can go and be reminded of how small a creature I am, to keep me humble. That is not today's message in the world—Individualistic, Ambitious, those are more the words of today's world. As for those who can't kneel—I think the issue has been addressed, priests will gladly come to you or you can stand….please don't let that stop you from receiving our Lord…the Lord that was beaten, nailed to a cross and crucified for you. Surely we can suffer a few seconds for Him?
Altar rails and kneling to receive on the tongue naturally instills a sense of reference. Sadly Parish Priests in many of our churches can't wait to carry out Church renovations so that they can remove the Altar rails. Generally this may cause logistal problems in the orderly distribution of Holy Communion. With the renovations comes the removal of our devotional statues with our Lady in particular removed to obscure corners. It also coincides with the removal of existing devotional practices eg. ( The Stations of The Cross and the rosary.) If our priests and we lay faithful truly believed we were receiving the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, we would be eager to kneel before the Lord. Much needs to be done at local level to bring back the sense of reverence in God's presence. Pope Benedict is showing how it should be done. However it is very clear that in Ireland that the Church needs to follow Romes direction in this matter.
@Carl Diederichs = Are you Catholic? If you are, then you should know that laity are not allowed in the sanctuary, nor at the altar. This is not up to you, it is not yours to define. This is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - not a picnic. We are there to worship God, not each other. The focus DOES need to go back to the Holy and Divine, and away from ourselves. That's what got the Church into the mess it's in today, taking the emphasis off Jesus Christ and putting it on the people in the pews. Mass attendance has gone significantly DOWN since Vatican II, not UP!!
Thomas, if you read the Bible you will find that the priest is a very important part of our faith. Jesus Christ, Himself, being our high priest needs the priest in Persona Christi to continue His Priesthood here on earth. The ordained Priest is extremely important…without Him we have no Holy Eucharist. Priests consider themselves servants and the Pope is servant of the servants; they are not the elite, as you suggest. Communion railings and women's Church veils did not work to 'separate' or 'control' us…rather it brought holiness into our lives through reverence, humility, and love for Jesus Christ and the Mass. Since receiving in the hand, more hosts have been abused…falling to the floor, into clothing, and carried away for further abuses. Also people think they can carry out intinction by themselves by carrying the host to an extraordinary minister who is offering the Blood of Christ in a chalice during Mass, dipping the host in the Blood and then consuming it. This is just another of the abuses which receiving in the hand has caused. About the outfits you call scandalous here are a few Bible verses to help you understand that the robes, mitres, embroidered sashes, beautiful Churches, Cathedrals, all over the world are all for the glory of God. Exodus 28:39 And thou shalt gird the tunic with fine linen, and thou shalt make a fine linen mitre, and girdle of embroidered work. Exodus 39:30And they fastened it to the mitre with a violet fillet, as the Lord had commanded Moses. Leviticus 8:9 He put also the mitre upon his head: and upon the mitre over the forehead, he put the plate of gold, consecrated with sanctification, as the Lord had commanded him. Ecclesiasticus 45:1 And a crown of gold upon his mitre wherein was engraved Holiness, an ornament of honour: a work of power, and delightful to the eyes for its beauty. These are only a few of the verses on the subject….
I gave parish missions for years. The Masses at these missions were very prayerful, holy, and spiritual - much more so than the Sunday Masses at my home parish or anything I can remember from the pre Vatican II Mass. The very palpable feeling of the presence of Our Lord at these mission Masses was due to the entire community being present and praying with the priest. If Cardinal Burke and others at the Vatican want to help the Mass today be more sacred and holy, the solution is not returning to the old ritual that could be just as boring as today's Mass, and most certainly not by dividing the priest from the assembly by a Communion rail, but by the emphasis of the community dynamics of the Liturgy as called for by SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM Article 11.
By the way, the USCCB document, "Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture, and Worship", does not allow for dividing the nave from the sanctuary with a rail, rather it ask the the nave be seperated from the sanctuary by elevation and church furnishings.
According to CARA research prior to Vatican II approximately 75% of U.S. Catholics attended Mass on a weekly basis. Today the percentage is between 30-35 percent. The percentage of Catholics born after 1960 who rarely or never attend Mass is greater than 60 percent. And, among this grouping over 90 percent do not believe in the Divine Presence in the Holy Eucharist.
The FACTS provide evidence towards an obvious diminishment of faith among U.S. Catholics. So, what happened over the last 50 years to cause such a massive corrosion among Catholics in appreciating the source and summit of their faith, the embodiment of our Lord in the Eucharist?
Could it be a lack of reverent witness to the Eucharist?
Which case provides a more reverent witness to a 6 year old child; their Parent or Grandparent kneeling at an altar rail and receiving the Eucharist on their tongue from the Priest or seeing them walk up and receive the host in their hand from their neighbor Larry?
Which of these two scenarios is self-serving?!
Come on now, people! To some the differences might seem insignificant, however, which is the more humble practice, to receive on the tongue or in the hand?
One practice has us kneeling down below God while the other has us standing over God. One has us receiving on the tongue, literally being fed this gift from, and of, God. While in the other hand we take possession, be it briefly, of God and feed ourselves.
It is that little act of receiving the Eucharist in our hands and feeding ourselves that provides a great witness to God, to our fellow congregants, and to our children. For those brief moments WE are in control of God! We are in command of the Kingdom of Heaven! How great our egos must be to be masters over the gift of the Eucharist.
And, here LIES the problem. When we handle Holy Communion as if it were a cookie then that is the witness we convey towards it. We diminish the greatness of our Lord through our lack of reverence. We become poor apostles. And, even though we can have a personal reverence towards the Eucharist if we convey it poorly we effect how others percieve it.
This is one reason why the majority of Catholics in the U.S. show up a few times a year to Mass and believe that the Eucharist is purely symbolic.
We have made several altar rails for our local Churches. You can check us out at http://www.bellarmineornamental.com We would be happy to help in the beautification process of our Churches. We will travel any distance for Holy Mother Church. God bless you all!
Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
Just to be clear about reception of communion on the knees, the "Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani," editio typica tertia, dated November 14, 2001, the USCCB noted that "The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. [However] communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel." It is good that those who wish to recieve in the hand while standing can do so but this should also be extended to those who choose to kneel as well. We should remember that this is not just your church nor is it my church it is OUR church, the church of Jesus Christ of whom we are ALL members. Together WE are ALL the Body of Christ. So let's not separate the body byt our own selfish reasons but unite it for the spiritual nourishment of the body as a whole, standing or kneeling.
Thomas, It's all in how you look at things. Jesus knew authority was from God. He was obedient to it. We may all be brothers and sisters but we have been given different roles. Cesar was the ruler, Caiphas was the High Priest, Pilate was the Procurator, Mary and Joseph were the parents. Jesus wasn't afraid of them and He was aware of the right use of their authority and the abuse of their authority, but He still submitted to it. We are not all meant to be equal at everything, but we are all children of God. Abusers will answer to God. Your perspective is tinged with bitterness. When I see the rail, I don't see a barrier or a control measure. I see a means of getting up and down easier and a place for my elbows to support my weight while I kneel. And I see the welcome opportunity to show my love and adoration and respect for God by being on my knees to receive Him. There are priests who have allowed us to gather around the altar at small group Masses and who have given communion right there. It is an awesome thing too, but not practical for a whole congregation and maybe not respectful of the particular call some have to the priesthood and deaconate. People responding here seem to disagree about how Jesus would want us to act toward Him. His own Apostles were careful about speaking to Him and sometimes afraid to ask Him questions. Even though He calls us friends, He is not our equal. He is our God. We do talk to Him intimately and we do open our whole hearts to Him and we do feel His love and grace and He does want us close, but He is MORE. That's the word that comes to mind. He is more. We need to keep that awe of Him that holds us back from crossing a line of presumption. Any act of humility that reminds us of that isn't so bad.
The return of altar rails certainly is making a theological statement (not necessarily by theologians) that there is a great divide between the "holy" and the not-so-holy, the People of God gathered around the altar. The next step probably will be adding choir stalls between the altar and the People of God making an even greater divide.
I celebrate at a beautiful altar in the midst of the People of God. I am close to them. They are close to a beautiful altar constructed to be a "Welcome Table" set for all to eat. When I pray the Eucharistic Prayer I can hear a pin drop. When the People of God come to the altar to be fed they are not directed to a railing to be fed, but they come to the altar of God, the Table of the Lord.
I am glad to see reverence for the Holy Eucharist being restored. It is false to say that you cannot receive Holy Communion while standing in the Extraordinary form, or that receiving the Holy Eucharist in the hand is the norm (it is the exception). As St. Teresa of Calcutta stated "The Holy Mass and Communion are inseparable from the life of a Christian. Its fruitfulness depends on how we prepare ourselves and how we participate in Holy Mass". The communion rail for one thing reminds us that we are not Our Lord's equals, and should seek humility when approaching him in the Holy Eucharist.
May God bless Benedict.
May God grant him success.
May the revitalization of the Church continue and accelerate.
Stephano, relating to your comment about communion rails and gregorian chant being of recent occurrance. I was fortunate enough to attend a seminar by an academic studying the use of gregorian chant in the Church.
The first manuscripts of the chant was traced back to the year 800 A.D. the practise of singing the chant was first done in Africa exported and improved greatly on by the Germans. The academic found evidence that the copius chant material found in local churches indicated that full liturgy of the hours was sung by dedicated 'chanters' and so your assertion that it was only of recent occurance is false. It is part of the full heritage of the Church.
"Unfortunately democratic ideas came into the situation." Please read the gospels. It is all about democratic ideas. We are all brothers and sisters. Popes and archbishops aren't any better than the lowliest panhandler. The reason that communion rails went out so quickly was that people recognized the symbolism of keeping people seperate from the elite. When the elitist Latin Mass was dropped people who are not stupid realized that it was part of an entire complex of symbols such as communion rails and women's church veils that worked to seperate and control us. People were thrilled to see these symbols go so that they could worship in the more ancient and traditional christian manner as brother and sisters. No one said to throw these symbols out. It was done spontanously. It is disturbing that the present Pope does not understand the beauty and antiquity of receiving communion in your hands. It is also disturbing that the Pope does not understand how scandalous wearing ermine (fur), gold outfits and other symbols of monarchy really is. Imagine this from the successor of St. Peter who rejoiced in humility to be crucified upside down. Jesus after all wore only a crown of thorns. I am convinced that this difficult time too will pass. The Holy Spirit is still guiding the church.
I do think there is a much different "mindset" through the years since we started standing to receive communion. One thing I've noticed is that there tends to be a "hurry-up" or "rush-so-as-to-keep-the-line-moving" feeling, and this is on the part of not only some communicants, but also the eucharistic ministers, and even some priests. Which translates into the feeling of lack of respect for, and reverence of, what it is we're doing at Communion. Its like we're being dealt cards, quickly ...or going through a drive-thru dispenser… Yes, I think it is definitely time to slow things down and returning to altar rails makes beautiful sense to me!!!
Great news: our parish (where we go to Sunday Mass: not the church nearest us) has recently installed altar rails as part of a wonderful renovation of the interior of the church. Seeing people KNEELING to receive the Body of Christ is great !! I remember in another country, shortly after the end of Vatican II, my cousin showing my wife and I the great new bedrails she had installed in her bedroom!! They were part of the altar rails that had been thrown out of the Cathedral in the city !!!
I was young then, but felt a feeling of unease, to say the least.
Let's pray so that this tiny gesture is greatly expanded.
We should have altar rails in every church. We should also
have good, reverent music (and some of it should be Gregorian
chant), and faithful liturgy. And priests should wear their cassocks.
I think that the Church is in a right direction. Give her some
decades, and the good parts of the Vatican II reforms will show
their fruits while the bad parts will be forgotten.
In other words, the reform will strengthen, while the rupture will
Hello, Aristophilos…remember this: Jesus did say to Peter… feed my sheep, feed my lambs. 'And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. This is my body'. He did not say, take ye this bread in thy hand and then eat….. Also, …'For it is written: As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' This is what we do in our Church, kneel and say 'Amen' when receiving Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. It's very biblical.
Thank GOD FOR a return to special traditions only the catholic church had which were thrown out for no good reason! I hope we will see some of the old beautiful vestments return also!
John Horton:
While permanent deacons were never mandated, the dianconate as a permanent clerical state is ancient. It was never an issue in the Eastern Churches; and in the West, recall that St. Francis chose to remain a deacon.
I myself have no issue with the permanent diaconate. There are dioceses in which they present no impediment to priestly vocations.
I've always wondered why people wish to deny those who wish to kneel the option to do so.
I haven't read all the comments, but I've read enough to get the gist. So here goes my amateur attempt at explanation for the clearly underinformed, and my apologies to those who have explained it better.
First, to the ones who aren't able to kneel: it's never been a requirement, even in the old days, for those who are physically unable to kneel for Communion. The key here is UNABLE. If you couldn't get up again without help, you fit into that category. If it's a matter of preference, however, you should ask yourself if your heart is really in the right place. Do you really understand Who you are receiving? How can you NOT fall to your knees before the One Who Is Truly Present? I do it every Sunday, on a bare concrete floor without a kneeler, for precisely that reason. Do you really esteem yourself so worthy that you can in good conscience assume a posture that signifies equality rather than submission? It's something to think about carefully. Heaven belongs to the humble—and part of humility is being completely honest with God and yourself. What is your motivation in assuming that posture?
As to the ones who have been led to believe that the bishops abrogated kneeling for Communion: they don't have that right. They never have. The Vatican stated as much several years ago (if memory serves, it was Pope John Paul II himself who said it.) The reception of Communion standing and in the hand is an aberration, permitted AS AN EXPERIMENT in North America by Rome. Given the overall irreverent attitude I've observed since my conversion in 1991 (betrayed by what people say as well as the way they act,) I say it's a failed experiment that has had a negative impact on the Faith and should be relegated to the scrap heap. (If the opinion of a layman matters in such things.)
I applaud the actions of this parish! May God shower them with His favor! And may many more follow their example.
To the nay sayers regarding my post that permanent deacons are not "mandated," you are all in the dark. As with most of the documents of VII, permanent deacons were a recommendation, an option, a possibility. Permanent deacons were never a requirement, i.e. they were not "mandated." Thank God that most USA bishops are getting rid of permanent deacons, although for the wrong reasons (i.e. the bishop's want to placate there number one constituency: radical lesbian feminists who see the permanent diaconate as yet another all white, male patriarchy that must be destroyed for the females to be able to truly express themselves).
The true reason to eliminate the permanent diaconate is that it is an attempt to eliminate the rule of celibacy for the priesthood. 99.9% of permanent deacons in the USA are married men. There is a de facto ban by the bishops on celibate permanent deacons which is yet another slap in the face to the Sacrament of Holy Orders and its celebacy requirements. The bishops use "married only" permanent deacons as a tool to pressure the Vatican and habituate the faithful to the idea of a married priesthood. It is similar to the "altar girl" issue, i.e. have enough females parading around in clerical dress in the sactuary and the Vatican and the faithful will be habituated to the idea of female priests. The Vatican II generation of bishops and priests (those over 50 years old) are completely lost to the faith.
John D. Horton
Lawton, Oklahoma
I am for any mechanism that gentley pushes the faithful into a more humble reception of the sacred. That said I can see much good coming from a return to rails. However, the sad part is many still receive the Eucharist with mortal sin on their soul and many need to go to confession on Saturday night to remove the stain of sin otherwise they bring condemnation on themselves if they receive the Eucharist unworthily. You will find those words from the mouth of Christ himself. Priest have failed to emphasized the need for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You never hear it talked about from the pulpit and laziness has caused 90% of all parishes to have priest not show up for the full hour of confession. Given the trend its remarkable anyone goes at all.
Also, to those who think they are holy because they don't receive the Eucharist in their hand…. "Nothing that enters the body makes someone unclean but that which comes from the heart" So given that logic of Our Lord it follows that since most of what comes from the heart is spoken from the tongue I think those who think that they are pious by receiving the Eurcharist on the tongue instead of the hand need to realize they might be kidding themselves if their tongue has spoken ill of another and then they receive the Eucharist on their tongue. I liken that to the hypocrasy of the Pharasees. Many need to go to confession… make that most… need to go to confession for the sins of their tongue otherwise they bring condemnation upon their soul.
Many people talk about 'their personal relationship with Jesus' as though they do not need the Church that Jesus founded for our means of receiving graces from the Sacraments that He instituted for us. What could be a more intimate relationship than receiving your Lord on your tongue while on your knees, from the hands of One Sent [following in Apostolic Succession]? John 6:54 Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. We should heed Jesus' Words and do so with great reverence…so we can have the most personal relationship possible…and the life He wants for us.
I wish altar rails would become more prevalent. Perhaps it would encourage people to see the sanctuary as a holy place. That is something we have totally lost in our Church. Many people let their children run around by the altar. I've often seen people use the altar as a place to set things as if it was an ordinary table. Joseph Pronochen got it right. Iconoclasm is alive and well in our churches. Bring back the beauty to the Church and reverence will follow.
Thats Clarendon Street Church in Dublin. My favourite!
On the bigger issue, I do hope that Altar Rails will be returned. I detest The mordern
Queue" for our Lord. Some much needed reverence needs to be returned to our Churches. This is a good start.
I wonder how good it was that catholics are now reading scripture so much? All it did was open catholics up to misinterpreting something which was written only for the church to interpret. Example..we have a post above which says Christ said to "take and eat"
Therefore we are not to receive on the tongue.! Well, the church, the official interpreter has always said those words apply to the apostles who were ordained priests with the very next line " do this in memory of me"
So you can read scripture all you want but if you miinterpret it to fit your own tastes..what's the point?
This is an OUTSTANDING series of two shows that explain what's been done to the Mass over the past 40+ years:
So pleased to see altar rails coming back - our own parish uses them, and has even brought back the use of the rail cloth this year as well. God bless our holy priests who "get it".
To Linda, from July 3: Love you for those comments! Thanks for taking the time. God bless you.
interesting, we are living in interesting times!the article doesn't move me one way or the other. However, the comments: howling neo-cons who would pummel those who made the changes are, once again, more catholic than the pope (or cardinal burke) while the ark that is peter continues on, moving ever so slowly through choppy waters. thank God we are in it together!
Remember this: Jesus did not say "Come and BE FED"—He said
"TAKE, AND EAT…" Did the participants at the Last Supper kneel and "receive" on the tongue? Are we not supposed to do what Jesus himself said
(TAKE AND EAT) and did (HAND OVER THE BREAD)??? Whom are we celebrating?
The God who is with us always or a God who is "distant" from us? The Mystery and the reverence are in our relationships with one another (Cf. the Last Judgment story). Mystery and reverence are not in "kneeling" but in the kind of people we become by our LIVING according to the Gospel and example of Jesus himself!
Pax. Aristophilos
Can someone tell our bishops? Please.
My grandmother would walk 5 blocks to church every day. She had such bad knees and feet but she walked to church because she felt good seeing the church ahead of her and she knew she would be receiving Christ. She would kneel at that altar railings and someone would help her up.
I loved the old traditional way we had mass. The Latin, the priest facing the tabernacle, the women wearing hats or veils. The Altar rails. Does the altar railings give more reverence? I believe it does…I should kneel more for Our Lord. BUT if you can't kneel the priest will come out to you and give you the Eucharist.
So to all of you who love the church like it is, with the traditional music, the shaking of the hands, the girl altar servers, the priest facing the paper, fantastic! I for one would love it to be like to good old days…..but I haven't quit church….just because they took the railings away…etc.
So everybody won't be pleased, there will be whiners….there will be people quitting the church because they believe they won't be able to stand for the Eucharist.
Latin mass, Polish mass, Spanish mass…..who cares…as long as WE DO NOT LOOSE THE REASON WE GO TO MASS….to receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
God Bless
Has nobody noticed that after handling the Blessed Sacrament the Priest washes his hands before he touches anything that isn't consecrated? (if he follows the rubrics, that is). Yet with the "Eucharistic Ministers" and communion in the hand, we have people NOT washing their hands after touching the Blessed Sacrament.
So, I see in this, "Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi". Without the liturgical example of reverence for the Real Presence by only consecrated hands (that are afterwards washed) touching the Body of Christ, it's clear that there's no longer much belief in the real presence, either. Did you ever see anyone kiss a Priest's hands? It was a custom because those hands were consecrated!
As for those who said "there was no rail at the last supper": There were no laypeople at the last supper, either. All were Apostles! Should this then mean that nobody but Bishops should ever partake in the Holy Eucharist? Nonsense! Maybe RCIA and Catechism need to have some basic teaching on logic and fallacious thinking….
I can't tell you how thrilled I am to learn alter railings are returning to our churches! Although my husband and I are "Vatican II Babies," we are craving reverence during Mass. The noise, the casual dress, the inane music followed by applause at the close of Mass, and most disturbing, the complete casualness in which people parade up to accept our Most Precious Lord with barely a bow, if even, in hands that are uncleansed. How can we truly believe we're glorifying the King of Kings when our actions speak otherwise?
Not only do I welcome the return of the alter railing, I'm eagerly looking forward to the new missal coming this Advent. I should add that not only do my husband and I welcome these new(old)additions to the Mass, but our college and high school sons share our sentiments.
In one of the preceding comments Mr. John D. Horton listed "permanent deacons" among what he considers the unacceptable developments emerging from Vatican II. For his education and edification: "permanent" deacons PRECEDED presbyters (priests). I refer him and anyone else who is unaware to Acts 6:1-6 and 1 Titus 3:8-13. Oh yes! That was one of the other "objectionable" things from Vatican II, Catholics ACTUALLY READING the BIBLE.
The "I can't kneel" fear has been put to rest by all the comments here that prove it is a non-problem…if you can't kneel, you stand. Now I hope to see the use of extraordinary ministers and altar girls phased out. Why? Because their roles, even though those who do them mean well, are ultimately negatively impacting the role of the priest - by usurping actions which should only be performed by a priest in the former case, and vocations to the priesthood in the latter.
Since we removed the altar rails Communion has looked more like a canteen queue (and a disorderly one at that!). I miss the moment or two we had to pray while the priest was coming along the rail to you - you need that moment when you stop moving around to be calm and remember just WHO you are about to receive. Unfortunately I have to use a small mobility scooter these days, so I can neither genuflect nor kneel. I always go at the end as I need more room to move and I can still do that if there is a rail. Anglicans go up the steps, down the chancel and right to the East end and I once had great trouble persuading them NOT to come down and give me Communion: I had to be really forceful, they were so determined. That is the only time I have ever had trouble
Hating to state the obvious. For those who for reasons of age or infirmity cannot kneel you simply stand.
I have attended extra-ordinary form masses for twenty years and this is the norm. Why would this common-sense solution not be applied in the Ordinary form?
In fact, the effort that some of the elderly make to receive the Eucharist kneeling is deeply edifying. One elderly religious brother I know, who is in his seventies and has had several knee operations, always kneels, He is sometime obviously in pain.
As I enter middle age and my bones creak a little I think of him and his example and through him Our Lord falling three times for my sins.
I occasionally serve at the Extra-ordinary form masses at the Cathedral in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in an area in which many of the faithful are poor. One regular parishioner is severely disabled.
This man cannot stand (and because he has no-one to help him bring his wheel chair down a steep hill nearby) he has to crawl to mass.
I am always moved when this man who has crawled to receive his Eucharistic Lord comes to the Altar rail. He is able to pull himself up and with little fuss receive much as everyone else does.
In the ordinary form he stands out as he has to join a queue and the priest has to go down very low to allow him to receive.
It is easy to see which for is more dignified for him to receive in.
"Posted by Ge0ffrey on Monday, Jul 4, 2011 8:30 AM (EDT):Carolanne, No one would require you to kneel if you couldn't kneel. If you couldn't come to the front, someone would come to you. In fact, if you couldn't come to Mass, someone would carry the Eucharist to your home! Carolanne, don't be such a crank."
probly shes in similr church to mine… where the priest (acting, not regular) acts as if hes very much disturbed abot putting comunion in mouth (as if ole one-armed me could pick it up holding cane with my good/bad arm)... where momma cant get priest or lay people to bring comunom to hospital because only one person does it, if shes sick or her car breaks down or she forgets (probly her life interfrs - understanble)... because everyone talks good… but they dont live it… out of 7 weeks in hospital, momma got communon regulae 8 days befoe shes died…
I am in wholehearted agreement that the return of the altar rail and the added reverential atmosphere is way overdue.
However, I can't help laughing when I think about altar rails and our liturgy director's favorite communion song, "There is Plenty of Bread at the Feast of Life…" - this ditty has a melody that makes it far more appropriate for a barn dance than the reception of our Lord.
I find it interesting some people here do not want the rails to come back. Do you realize that your parishes are shrinking? .. That the faith has not been transmitted to your children? That people under the age of 30 have no care or desire to be catholic? (with obvious exceptions, of course). If you believe the Eucharist to be the body of Christ, why wouldn't you receive with a special posture? I mean…are we trying to emphasize the true presence of Christ or do everything we can not to? And as far as the Eucharistic minister who commented that crumbs do not fall…last time I checked the hosts which are made from bread crumb just like bread does. Oh, and while we are at it, let's reintitute the rule that there is to be absolutely no talking in church. Scripture makes it very clear that the church is the house of God and all should tremble within it. And if you really do believe the presence of almighty God was there, you wouldn't dare say a word, let alone act like you are at a baseball game. Bottom line…the practices in the average parishes today do not line up with the dogmas we are supposed to believe. Too many inconsistencies.
Thanks be to God! The altar rail is making a comeback.
Now if only the V2 generation will get out of the way we can restore the Church to its full glory.
I fully sympathize with those who legitimately have knee problems. That said, so many of these comments are from those who are using "knee problems" as an objection to swallowing their pride when receiving Jesus. Those same people have no problem kneeling at the other parts of the Mass. I never see a lot of people standing during the Consecration, yet are all fired up about kneeling during reception.
Unfortunately, many poorly catechized Catholics will not understand the spititual beauty of having the altar rails to receive the holy Eucharist. The irreverence in Catholic churches today by the attendees reflects a growing loss of belief in the Real Presence. Additionally, as the Real Presence is questioned there is also a growing percentage of Catholics who believe that divorce, abortion and 'Gay' sex is acceptable. Look at 'gay marriage' in New York. I grew up in the church when altar rails were the norm If a person couldn't kneel for any reason… that person was administered the Holy Eucharist sitting or standing; that is a 'straw-man' argunment against altar rails. My son is a priest primarily, I believe, because our family exhibited great reverence towards the Holy Eucharist during his formative years.
When will the ways to say "My way is better than your way end"? I was pastor of a parish where we had "kneelers" and "standers" during the Eucharistic Prayer. After about a month, working with the parish council and staff, we moved to having the whole congregation kneel during the EP as instructed by the Roman Missal and the USCCB. Some of the "kneelers" would say, "They never believed in the Real Presence. They have no reverence for the Lord," and other quite judgmental comments. I made it clear to the "kneelers" that it wasn't about being right or wrong, or who had greater reverence, or who really believed, it was about being united around the altar and doing what we were asked. I felt a lot of the comments in this article carried that same sense of superiority – "We're doing it right. We're more reverent. We really believe in the Real Presence. We're better than those who don't do what we do." Jesus must weep over these folks so filled with themselves.
Tholoco, You haven't taught CCD lately have you? It is astonishing how many children have never learned that Jesus is truly present in the tabernacle. And I mean even candidates for confirmation in eighth, ninth and tenth grade. Having people kneel will lead them to ask why and will teach them Who it is they receive.
In response to the comment that included permanent deacons among a long list of items not "mandated" by Vatican II (including bongo drums and guitars at Mass), suffice it to say that the commenter is misleading and confused. The Vatican II document The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) specifically addressed the role of the deacon in the Church, which dates back to the apostolic age, and allowed the restoration of the permanent diaconate (including married men as permanent deqacons), if so decided by the local conferences of bishops and approved by the Pope. In 1967 after the Council, Pope Paul VI issued the document Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, which gave his approval for the restoration of the permanent diaconate, and in 1968, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops received specific papal approval to begin formation and ordination of permanent deacons in the US. Thus, the restoration of the permanent diaconate was by no means some unintended consequence of Vatican II, but something that clearly had the interest and the support of the Council. And the fact that this restoration wasn't "mandated" simply demonstrated the Church's principal of subsidiarity, i.e., allowing decisions to be made at the lowest level of competent authority in the Church, in this case, the local conferences of bishops who are in the best position to address the pastoral needs in their countries. Today in the Sacrament of Holy Orders in the US, individuals are being ordained to one of the three orders of permanent clergy - bishop, priest, or deacon. Approximately 20,000 permanent deacons are faithfully serving the Church in the US, and while I would concur that there have been unintended negative consequences from Vatican II, the restoration of the permanent diaconate clearly was not one of them. And I'm confident that most Catholics in the US would agree.
Deacon Ray Dever
St. Paul Catholic Church
Tampa FL
A very informative article has been presented. Please people learn how to spell correctly ALTAR(noun)as contrasted to ALTER(verb) Regardless, folks Christ is present whether you stand, kneel or sit. Christ real presence is…with or without altar rails. And, please let's stop this fruitless attacking each other through our comments. I am personally more upset with that issue. It appears to me that Christ knows our internal reverence. Bowing, kneeling, reception in the hand, or receiving on your tongue, all of those posturings demonstrate reverence in different ways.
We re-installed the communion rail at our parish, St. Mary in Kalamazoo, and it is used exclusively during the Latin Mass, and at least by 50% or more of the communicants at the Novis Ordo Mass. I had always felt uncomfortable about taking the Blessed Sacrement in my hand, and am very glad that I can now kneel before the Eucharist also.
weak-kneed, arthritic people: no one is going to force you to kneel, don't be ridiculous; you may of course receive standing.
And for those who wish to kneel, no one may force them to stand! No, not even the bishops in the USA who may only stipulate a preference. ANYONE MAY KNEEL to receive communion. This is Church Law.
There still is some hope that Catholics will return to being Catholics. A good reason for the altar rail and receiving communion on the knees is not only reverence but it may bring Catholic's back to true confession which they have abandon since Vatican II. The holy mass and receiving the euchrist is not a social event. It is a time for worship and prayer.
After studying the ancient traditions of the church and the Vatican II changes I ventured East into Orthodoxy (right believing) and haven't looked back. The Catholic Church further slumbers and stumbles down the wrong path. Will these changes mean anything….probably not, and that's unfortunate.
What stops people (who want to) from kneeling without rails?
I have not read every comment, so if someone else has mentioned this, forgive the repetition. Only hands consecrated through Holy Orders (and washed before the Consecration) are fit to handle the Body and Blood of Jesus. Communion in the hand communicates a weakened understanding of the doctrine of the Real Presence. This is the real problem with this practice.
Some awesome comments here. Particularly anita's, about how Church architectures should be about Theology, and not "feelings." Mary2's comment about how the altar rail is a wonderful symbol of where Heaven meets Earth (again, I can't recommend Scott Hahn's The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth nearly enough) is wonderful. Nothing at that altar happens through the priest in his own person; they happen via Christ acting through the priest.
Further to the point about "ever knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord," when Francis Cardinal Arinze was Prefect for the Congregation of Divine Worship, he once pointed out that if we profess that what only looks like bread and wine is indeed the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, then why do we not kneel, and why do we not crawl? Furthermore, Cardinal Ranjith of Sri Lanka has recently brought the altar rails, ad orientem, and the Extraordinary Form as a whole.
Furthermore, why is it that some people are whinging about how they can't kneel and that this necessarily means that they will be denied Holy Communion? If you really cannot kneel, don't. But those of us who can kneel should. And I also agree with receiving Communion on the tongue. I bow while standing (and even genuflect before it's my turn; at the Latin Mass, I of course kneel at the altar rail), but I still receive on the tongue.
By the way, I am indeed one of those younger Catholics who experienced bad catechesis from the generation who essentially bastardized Vatican II (I try not to get annoyed at how much we Catholics have lost, but you know what? Sometimes, it's not easy!). When I look at ugly, stripped-down churches in the suburbs that look like space ships or auditoriums, and when I hear banal pop music at Mass (whereby some people actually applaud while other people are trying to reflect in prayer after Communion!), it feels as though something has been stolen from us. And I say this as someone who loves both the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo. I have also seen enough to know what a Novus Ordo looks and sounds like when done well, and what it looks and sounds like when done badly.
""Unfortunately, democratic ideas came into the situation after Vatican II," Hitchcock said. "
That's a nice way of puttting it - more like the democratic ideas were unceremoniously shoved down our throats and, if we didn't like it, there was always the door to walk through and never return. Before any of us knew what was happening, our once beautiful churches were gutted, altars and altar rails jack-hammered out, confessionals trounced (along with that outdated and medieval concept of "confession"...ugh!), statues destroyed…and then we were presented with a new and improved parish church based on those "democratic ideas".
Bring back the altar rails - the more the better! It makes kneeling for Holy Communion much easier, especially for seniors (like myself) who would otherwise have a difficult time getting up and down without it.
Ever heard the saying, "Practice Makes Perfect". Well, we will all kneel before God on our judgement day. Now is the time to practice. Quit your complaining, and get into shape.
Pray for the return of communion rails in your church, fall to your knees, and receive God on your tougue. Think about what you will feel like and what you will do when you are asked to approach God. Will you stand, or will you fall to your knees and wonder if your every action was good enough to secure a place in God's Kingdom?
May all the Bishops of America wake up, and do their jobs by giving God all honor and glory. Installation of Communion Rails should be a command not a suggestion. The floors of hell are lined with the skulls of Bishops who have lead their flocks astray. Don't be one of those, respect and honor God with all your might.
It's never too late to right a wrong.
Your in Christ,
Mild Bill
@Carolann Quinn: If your knees are that bad, I am sure Our Father will understand. Secondly, and I say this with respect, I don't know how bad your knees are but take a look at the crucifix and what he went through for you, can you put up with some pain in your knees after his whole body suffered so for you? Third, again with respect, it is not about you or anyone else in this world. It is about him. He is the King of King, the Lord of Lords and he deserves and is due reverence and respect. Do the best you can and leave the rest up to him. Follow these links for more info
What my grandma must have have done with her bad knees in the old days!!? Come on. When you die are you going to kneel before the Lord in heaven or stand? Bring back the rail so people can start kneeling now before him in the blessed sacrament. Also, I hope this gets rid of of the eucharistic ministers. Get more than one priest out their instead of back in the rectory watching tv.
I attend a Latin Mass parish and you have to receive communion kneeling at the rail and on the tongue.
If they need an Altar rail to bring back the reverance maybe we should build a wall and put up a sign to make sure they know that the Tabernacle contains something special? Next thing you know they will want the Mass in Polish again!
For those who are worried because they are physically unable to kneel, not a problem. There were plenty of disabled people pre-Vatican ll and they simply stood at the altar rail to receive and no one thought twice about it.
Church architecture SHOULD be based on Theology, not feelings. It would be good to learn more about the reasons behind it, instead of just saying "I don't like it." There is no reason to feel threatened because one can't kneel. I often cannot when I am carrying one of my children and my knees are acting up. However, the nice sturdy altar rail in our parish makes it more often possible as I can use it to help me up and down. When I can't, I simply stand at the altar rail. Why should we oppose something that helps emphasize the Real Presence of Christ, which none of us, even the Pope himself, has a right to? We Americans are obsessed with rights, but receiving the Body and Blood of Our Lord is a privilege, not a right. When we know Who it is that we receive, we should desire to show as much reverence and love as possible to Him. To those who believe Latin, altar rails, etc. are outmoded, you were lied to. Liberate yourself by relearning the truth about the Church and her liturgy. It took me a long time to begin to get beyond my personal preferences and see the beauty of the ancient practices, so I know how hard it is.
May the Heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored and loved; with grateful affection, in all the tabernacles of the world, even unto the end of time.
Great article. Just wanted to say the picture you used seems very familiar to me. It seems to be Clarendon Street Carmelite Church in the heart of Dublin. Where all knee to receive Our Lord.
This Church serves as a reminded to all the tourist that visit (as I have taken many a foreign person to this church) of the beauty of kneeling in reverence to Our Lord.
God be with you all and a Happy 4th of July!
See Clarendon street church here:
The article makes it clear that kneeling is an *option* that more and more people are choosing; no one is being compelled to kneel, and if you are old or infirm no one will fault you if you can't. I love the idea that the altar rail is not a barrier but is the place where heaven meets earth; what a beautiful image; we meet out Lord at the altar rail for a foretaste of heaven. When our Lord finally returns, which one of us will not fall to our knees in front of Him? Who could remain standing in His sight? Not anyone who loves Him. Why not show that love now to the Real Presence?
If yours knees don't work the way they used to you stand…no big deal. When I kneel to receive the Lord I am willingly acknowledging his Divinity similar to the wisemen at the Nativity or John in the book of Revelation, neither of whom stood in the Lord's presence. When the priest places the Host on my tongue I'm being spititually fed by persona Christi.
It looks like that there had not been enough catechesis either before removing the rails or before reinstating it.
If the Liturgical Renewal is done properly, I don't think people would object to it.
It is disconcerting to note the nostalgia of some for 'pre-VatII' which actually takes the Church to the Middle Ages—most decadent period of Liturgy. Instead, if the renewal takes us to post-Apostolic period, Eucharist is explosive—rail or no rail.
Whis is wonderful! So glad to hear of it.
Carolanne, No one would require you to kneel if you couldn't kneel. If you couldn't come to the front, someone would come to you. In fact, if you couldn't come to Mass, someone would carry the Eucharist to your home! Carolanne, don't be such a crank.
To all the "I can't kneel and thus the altar rail is a horrid idea" folks. I keep getting images of the altar servers yanking some little old grandma away from her walker or the paralytic out of his wheel chair. Images so silly and absurd that it's clearly wrong.
Do you really think no exceptions can be made? Why deny the rest of us the joy of kneeling before our Lord?
At a church I attend, they recently returned the altar rail. This reintroduction was done with pastoral care for the needs of the parish. You still have the option of not kneeling, and also receiving on the hand. There are many older parishioners, so about half of the congregation does not kneel. So, no need to worry about being physically unable to receive. The rail has added reverence and beauty to the church.
People who cannot kneel can sit in the first few rows, and priests will come to you to distribute communion. Also, in several instances written in these stories, parishioners were given the option of receiving standing or kneeling. As for "Did you ever think what Jesus would say about your precious altar rails?" That has to be the most unintentionally hysterical statement I have ever read.
Many thanks for this excellent article. I have seen, through many years of pastoral experience, that younger Catholics thirst for a return to reverence and sacredness in the Catholic liturgy. Many Catholics are ignorant of or have lost all understanding of the awesome gift of the Eucharist. Kneeling for communion does underscore reverence and the sacred. It works. For those who can't kneel, they can stand in front of the communion rail without any problem at all. Regarding the U.S. norm for standing for communion in all parishes, the Bishops, as a body, had no authority to take away from the people a long standing practice. Moreover, the Vatican should never have allowed the U.S. Bishops to implement this norm. Pastors of parishes should move forward and restore the tradition of communion rails and kneeling for those who can kneel. It would be helpful if the Holy Father were to publish a "motu proprio" type of document granting pastors the permission to move forward with the restoration despite what many ineffective and out of touch bishops might have to say. With the up-coming implementation of the new translation of the Roman Missal, the First Sunday of Advent would be a perfect time to really get back to basics and stop all of the craziness that has caused such chaos in so many parishes around the country.
The Catholic Church does not say that those who are infirm cannot receive Our Lord, just as it does not exclude based on ethnicity or anything else other than being a Catholic over the age of reason. Our Church is universal. Those who cannot kneel ccan receive standing at the altar rail, I see it every Sunday at our local TLM. Those who cry out, "but that's not fair," are being silly. They apparently don't want reverence shown to God, they don't want the focus to be on worship and adoration of Jesus. Why not stop a moment, kneel, and look at the crucifix before devoutly receiving the host? Is shuffling forward in a snake-like line, only looking at the person in front of you before sticking out your grubby paws so pious? Perhaps if you think for a moment about how God would want you to act as opposed to how you want to treat God you might change your attitude.
I am happy about the alter rails return! I hope it will spread across the US. I am a convert from the Episcopal Church US & we always had a rail. I am too young to know what they did in Catholic churches before the rails disappeared, but for those who can not kneel, in my former church, they would approach their place on the rail & remain standing. So it was not a big deal.
I am just so thankful to be Catholic! & hope to experience an EF Mass soon :)
Peace be with you all!
If your knees are bad, don't worry. You won't be forced to kneel if health issues prevent it. If you are one who would stop receiving the body of Christ even though He commanded us to "do this in remembrance of me" over something petty like rails, you need to do a bit of soul searching.
Was a convert 30 years ago ... did nothing BUT stand and receive in the hand ... then the "fall from grace", and I realized I needed the kneeling in submission and adoration to my God. The Tridentine Mass (and kneeling) has helped me to "beat down" my American pride. It is good to be on one's knees in repentence. Thank You, My God….
Obviously, you only read the headline and not the article. The entire article explains why the Communion rail is a good and holy thing. I'm 61 years old and grew up receiving Holy Communion on the tongue at the Communion rail, and I never remember one time that an older person was unable to kneel to receive. Even if someone had arthritis or bad knees, they made a little sacrifice and knelt—it's just what we did.
Carolann Quinn:
So the Church is backsliding to the 16th Century? Would that that would be true! How I long to return to reverence, awe, silence and contemplation at Mass and before the Blessed Sacrament!
Oh, by the way: for ALL of you who think it's too much trouble to kneel on bad knees for FIVE SECONDS to receive the Body of Christ: Father John Hardon, S.J. spent 3 HOURS a day—every day—before the Blessed Sacrament…ON HIS KNEES! UNTIL THE DAY HE DIED AT 86 YEARS OLD. Oh, one more little fact: HE DIED OF BONE CANCER!
Anyone want to post another negative comment about kneeling for Communion? I dare you.
In a way it seems funny to hear people say "gee, it makes everything seem more reverent." Kind of like saying, "gee, the sun makes everything so much brighter." This is something the Church knew for nearly 2,000 years, but I am very glad that finally some of the "experimentation" of the last 50 years is turning toward experimenting with tradition.
The return of altar rails can only come soon enough.
As the aging Vatican II hippie generation dies off, the younger Catholics (those of us left among the ruins) will hopefully look to the perennial tradition of the Church as a guide and not the world as much of the previous generation did.
Seriously, if one is physically unable to kneel, then one receives standing. In the case of my mother, who had both knees replaced and now finds it painful to kneel, she would be able to stand and receive Communion. But for those of us who find it more reverent to kneel, then it is a welcome return to a tradition. I also find it more reverent to receive the Holy Eucharist on the tongue, and I prefer to receive from a priest instead of a Eucharistic minister. I am not against Eucharistic ministers, it's just my preference which may stem from being taught as a child that the priest's hands are consecrated to handle the Body of Christ, which we are to receive humbly and reverently. Incidentally, why are so many responses angry ones? Just voice your opinion, we are each entitled to have an opinion, but please don't needlessly attack others or the author of the article. Would Jesus want us to attack each other this way?
Come on!! Do we ask people in wheel chairs to stand? Do you really think you have to kneel if you are physically unable? Of course not! Many churches still have their altar rails. The priest just stands where he stand now and distributes communion. Altar rails are present in all the Churches in Rome. I agree with the author, they invite you to come closer to the altar and pray! Go with it!
I attend a TLM that has an altar rail. It seems that the excuse I keep reading here is "I have bad knees, I can't kneel." Well, at our parish, those who are unable to kneel, stand- however, they still receive on the tongue. We also have parishioners in wheelchairs and scooters. Do you really think that these people would be denied Communion because they are unable to kneel? Our Lord has compassion and our priests do as well- they are also not lacking in common sense. I love the altar rails and pray that they come back to every Catholic Church!
There were no women at the Last Supper either, would you like to return to that?
How about public confession? Ten years in sackcloth and ashes for penance? You are buying into the fallacy of archaism.
I am so very happy to hear that they will start putting altar railings back up.
To Carolann Quinn Post…..I am sure you can still stand and get the Eucharist. I have very bad knees but I would still try to kneel and I just know people would help me to stand up.
To Mal's Post…I only take my Eucharist by sticking out my tongue. I have tried to take it in my hand and it did not feel right. I hope they will have the option for you.
To Kathy's Post…I have not heard that and I live in Sumter SC. In our church they said that if I want to knee on the floor to receive the Eucharist the priest will give the Eucharist to me.
Sorry but I cannot understand how the Bishops can tell me if I can ONLY stand to take the Eucharist, if I want to knee on the floor I will and I would be very upset if the priest would deny me Christ.
I want Altar railings to come back. Give the option to the people to knee or stand….but please don't have some one tell me that it is against the church….we did it before….and it was so beautiful…
I have worked as an organist for many Lutheran, Episcopal, and Methodist churches and each have altar rails and use them. Even at the Pentecostal church I played piano for, everyone came up to kneel for the altar call.
If I were to tell some of my protestant friends that kneeling for communion is a contentious issue, they would laugh and wonder what the fuss is all about.
Why are altar rails such a problem for us Catholics but protestants don't give it a second thought?
For those physically unable to kneel, then they may stand. As for the rest, no pope, saint, council, or doctor of the Church has ever promoted the way most Catholics receive Holy Communion today. If you read Pope Paul VI's indult, he worried it would lead to a diminished belief in the Real Presence. He was right. Communion in the hand while standing has a dubious history (google the subject) and given our current crisis a return to our traditional manner of reception is required.
Our former church in another state uses the communion rail, which was never removed, Deo Gratias. The church is full of children and young families and the novus ordo masses are noted for their reverence. For those that cannot kneel, they stand and for those that have mobility issues, and are in wheel chairs, the priests come to them. Unfortunately the few churches in my area that still have communion rails do not use them and at the church where I attend the EF mass on Sunday's we have to improvise, but I would love it and would definitely contribute to any fund to add a communion rail.
For Mal, brother, we do not all receive communion the same way now :) I have friends who are Byzantine Catholic and at their church communion is received from the priest in a special spoon- no communion in the hand. Also, as noted in the article, the pastor in S.C. is not correct. We in the U.S. are allowed to receive on the tongue and kneeling. It is not wrong or forbidden.
Woo-hoo! This rocks!!
Everytime I have to stand to recieve the Eucharist, I die a little inside.
Am I correct that the altar rails did not exist in the first three centuries of Christianity, and came into existence after Constantine told the Romans that "they were all Christians now." So the altar rail was established to separate people in church who did not understand what was going on from the official ministers of the Church.
I have no problem with the altar rail or kneeling to receive; but we have older neighbors using walkers and canes. Who is going to provide Holy Communion for them? Are they expected to stay home and wait?
The article clearly states that Rome and Catholic Bishops in United States allow you to receive kneeling.
"In 2003 the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments says in the ordinary form 'communicants who chose to kneel are not to be denied holy Communion … nor accused of disobedience …'
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/altar-rails-returning-to-use/#ixzz1R4jETuSm"
@Richard; if you read the article, Its clear, that this practice is as old as the Church herself, as discussed in the light of the Eastern Church,Solomon's temple and Old Christian practice.
Receiving the Lord is not about 'us' its about him. He being the Creator of the Universe, how much honor and love is due to him?
Is kneeling to receive him too much to ask of us? For those of us who are healthy enough to kneel?
Wonderful! It is so reverent to kneel before God and humbly receive Him!!I wonder at the strong negative reactions this always seems to bring out…As for those who cannot kneel, they may approach and remain standing. I've seen as much even at EF masses.
So you can't kneel. So don't. There were folks who couldn't kneel before the rails were removed. Some folks can't walk or stand. Haven't heard of anyone giving up on the Eucharist because of that. My son is gluten intolerant. Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity fully present under both species. His first communion will be from the sacred Cup. It's kind of poignant, as a participant in prison Communion services and Masses, I witness the incarcerated receive on the tongue, not because they're told to but because they find it to be the most appropriate. There are no kneelers, but they are on they're knees on the bare floor after reception of the Sacrament. Struck me that they know more freedom in prison than some folks do who get to go to Mass in a church.
How very disheartening to see the response of so many here. "I can't kneel"—so should we give up fasting on Ash Wednesday because some people can't fast? If you can't kneel, then you receive standing. This isn't a big deal. And if someone would quit receiving our Lord due to the return of kneeling, then they obviously have no clue Who they are receiving in the first place! How extremely petty!
BTW, this does not return us to lost history. It restores our rightful heritage. The reason Americans don't want to receive on the tongue is just plain ol' pride. To receive in such a way is humbling and indicates our desire to come as little children to the Heavenly Father to receive His Son.
Years ago someone asked Mother Teresa what was the greatest disaster she had ever seen. Her response? "Communion in the hand." Since becoming Catholic nine years ago I can only say I agree. Communion on the tongue is a beautiful, reverent and HUMBLE means of receiving our Lord. To be able to kneel at an altar rail to do so is a GIFT! May it return everywhere!
Richard, In every apparition I have heard of the seers were brought to their knees. "Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." This isn't about little minds. It isn't about separating. It is making the kneeling more comfortable and the getting down and up easier. It helps your relationship with the Lord because it makes you aware of who you are and who He is. It is the respect owed to Him. It is humility, not presumption, before Him. We are already limited on who can be on the altar during the Mass so there is no additional burden here. Just a reminder of who it is we receive and hopefully increased gratitude. It's true how greatly Jesus loves us but it is also true that even the Apostles were very deferential to Him, sometimes even afraid to ask a question.
So placing the tabernacle once again in the center of focus in His house and restoring the alter rails aids in reverence to God….well, DUH-UH! And the alter rail was always broken or gated in the center for those in wheel chairs or with bad knees to receive Him standing, for you who weren't there.
For one small hour a week God asks us to visit Him where He is truly present in the tabernacle and give our attention to Him, to thank Him and love Him, and adore Him.
Bishops and priests screwed things up with their innovations back then, and it needs to be bishops & priests to make His house again a house of prayer, and not a market-place of idle conversations.
For so long I've asked Him for this to return to us!
I liked the Cardinal's comment that Vatican II did not destroy altar rails. As with most things, Vatican II reaffirmed and endorsed most practices in the Church. It was rather the Anti-Spirit of Vatican II (in the form of modernist and anti-Catholic priests, bishops and nuns who were closet Protestants or atheists) which brought in the bulldozers to destroy the interiors of churches. A new church interior = a new theology or non-theology of emptiness (no images, Tabernacle, etc. in the churches).
Other changes that were not mandated by Vatican II:
Mass facing the people,
No Latin at Mass,
No Gregorian Chant at Mass,
No kneelers,
Handshaking right before Communion,
Altar girls,
Eucharistic ministers,
Permanent deacons,
Liturgical dance,
Guitars and bongo drums at Mass,
Church-in-the-round architecture (people worship each other and not God),
John D. Horton
Lawton, Oklahoma
My knees aren't so good now. But I can still kneel in anticipation of receiving Our Lord within a minute or two….and I am disheartened to hear that it was the American bishops behind the removal of the communion rail. And people who can't kneel physically, have this posture in their hearts and souls, and priests are very amenable to serving those with disabilities.
This article is very informative and draws well on the Eastern church environment.
Who knows, but if the Latin Church works to restore mystery and awe to the Mass through the use of the communion rail, it may be a step in the direction to full unity again with the Orthodox.
I am a fan of the Latin Mass and the rails and communion on the tongue add a such majesty and reverence. Not to mention the gregorian chants which are sublime. St Mary in Norwalk, with Fr. Markey as pastor, is an outstanding and exemplary parish. Whoever calls himself a catholic needs to learn to be obedient to the Holy Father. The rails do not diminish your relationship with God but the sacntuary is the place where the holy sacrifice takes place and it is holy ground. I find most of the negative complaints and phylosophical commentary superfluous and not in union with
the Holy Father. Let's all get serious and practice our faith in accordance with Holy Mother Church's guidelines and recommendations.
Deo gratias.
Below is a short answer to your question about the history of altar rails. Apparently "reverence" did not exist in the Church until the 19th Century. Same with music. Not until later medieval times did we have the most reverent Gregorian chants. Jesus' 1st mass was apparently invalid since there was no altar rails, was not prayed in Latin, and even used Jewish Psalms!
Communion Rails - a short history - By Rev. John Deitzen, 15 Aug, 2010 article: There was never a rule or even an official suggestion that churches have Communion rails. They became common only a few hundred years ago. In his scholarly book From Age to Age: How Christians Have Celebrated the Eucharist (Liturgical Press), Capuchin Father Edward Foley traces the widespread use of Communion rails to the trend toward uniformity of Catholic liturgy, doctrine and architecture after the Council of Trent (1545-1563). For example, until this time, tabernacles were liturgical vessels much like chalices, even sometimes hanging from the ceiling or wall. Cardinal Charles Borromeo, archbishop of Milan, a significant figure at that council, preferred the tabernacle to be placed on the altar where the Eucharist was celebrated. For centuries, his influence solidified both that custom and later law in parishes around the world. Something similar happened with the Communion rail, when the faithful began to kneel to receive Communion. As Foley describes it: "According to Jungmann (Josef Jungmann, whose Mass of the Roman Rite is a classic on the history of the celebration of the Eucharist), these (Communion rails) seem to have developed from the practice of spreading a cloth for communicants kneeling at the altar; eventually these cloths ... evolved into the Communion rail."
I go to a church with communion rails and there are some people who can't kneel. They just stand at the altar rail and the priest gives them communion. It's as simple as that.
I am amazed at the anger that comes from the people who love Jesus so much. When we as traditional Catholics wish to return to a form of prayer both physical and spiritual in nature. We are attacked as being some sort of Pharisee with no relationship with our Lord and Savior. Who is it that is attacking us for wishing to show a reverance on our knees as David stated in the Psalms. Now as for those who have physical infirmities the Church has always made exceptions for us. I for one have hade several knee surgeries and never been kept from my God during communion. But those who refuse that says more about you than about us. You say that we should be faithful to the modern day Bishops well than be obedient in this matter as well or is it we will follow the Bishops in every way that "I like?" As for the modern well let me say this not all things modern are good for the church nor us as humans i.e. abortion on demand, divorce on demand, same sex marriage (New York)etc. etc. and may I also suggest reading some of Bl John Paul II books to understand the Theology of the priesthood and most imprtantly for all those that attempt to site Vatican II the "Spirit of Vatican II" and that goes for our Traditionalist Radical friends as well please try reading the actual documents. My deepest love to all my Catholic brothers and sisters Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum "The peace of the Lord be with you always"
"Just another barrier between the Holy Men and the unholy laity."
No, it symbolizes the fall of mankind from original sin, and the separation from the "Holy of Holies" the Tabernacle. Jesus Christ is the "Gate" that allows us to communicate in communion. This is accomplished with the priest 'standing-in' for Christ as the mediator between G-d and Man.
This is way the "orientation" is important. The priest LEADS us, he is "of us" and stands at the doorway to lead us all through it.
It is a modern inovation to have access to the altar from other than through the "gates" as it were. I have seen many churches in Europe, built before the 1900s were the sacristy was off to the side of the church, no where near the main or high altar. (High because in many churches that altar is elevated, where the side altars are not).
Another person that is welcoming of the return to normalcy.
For those who complain they CAN'T kneel: what did untold numbers of believers do for centuries and centuries when there were altar (btw not "alter") rails? There's your solution!
My legs do act up, so having a Communion Rail would be wonderful, I like the extra support, so I can get up easier.
My parish has altar rails, but we don't use them sadly. I'm trying to change that. It brings reverence, it also helps those who want to kneel but have a difficult time getting up. (like myself) or for old people. It also makes Communion go by quicker and logistically easier than the current procession.
FYI, for those that aren't able to kneel, Communion standing has always been allowed even before Vatican II.
I am so happy to hear this. I agree, it helps us put reverence back in our lives. Stopping. Kneeling. Not touching. Thinking. The church has done it for the majority of its existence so why did they change it in the 60's? Sometimes changes may be more convenient, but the meaning gets lost. Thanks Pope Benedict for helping out here, I think it is a good idea. We have lost so much in our church in America since we started standing in the 60's, I hope this helps cure our ills!
Even at Masses in the Extraordinary Form, those who cannot kneel are not obliged to do so. This is how it has always been.
@Kathy: Your pastor is incorrect. There is no document from the USCCB that absolutely forbids reception of Communion kneeling. (This is a very common misconception.) In fact, even were the USCCB to release one, it would not be binding. The Congregation for Divine Worship, acting with authority delegated from and in accordance with the will of Popes Benedict XVI and Blessed John Paul II has repeatedly affirmed that communicants cannot be forbidden from receiving Communion kneeling at Mass. Period. No bishop (or priest) or group of bishops has the authority to deny Communion to someone on the grounds that he or she is kneeling. Unfortunately, this is not well known.
Interesting to read about this. At my Lutheran church we most definitely have an altar rail, and kneelers as well. I cherish this. Those who cannot kneel or have a hard time getting around in general simply remain sitting for the prayers, Gospel reading and for communion; the pastor and assisting minister bring the wafers and wine out to them.
This is excellent news, and may the trend continue!
and at the National Catholic Reporter, heads are exploding…
So many people would prefer to receive the Lord this way. The fruit are obvious from your article. You say it wasn't mandated to remove the altar rail but my original parish was made to remove them and they took the gates of the rail and posted them on the walls at the main exit of the Church so that you see them each time you leave. They obviously would have preferred to keep the rail.
so i had stroke - i cant kneel… what do i do???
Pope John Paul II told the bishops of America to put the tabernacle back where it belongs and to restore the altar rails, but, as usual, they refuse to listen and to obey. Is it no wonder that our "Catholic" politicians and laymen act the same way? I don't have any use of the Latin Mass, but, we do NEED ALTAR RAILS! When we see the "faithful" coming into the Church dressed (like bums) as if they were going to the mall instead of coming to meet Jesus one has to wonder, just what are they thinking? No altar rails, no respect, only useless yakety-yak! Lord, have mercy on us even though we don't deserve it. +JMJ+
There are some people whom can not kneel on their knees. And there are some priest that can not kneel. There is no need for an alter rail. There are no crumbs of the bread of the Body of Christ when receiving holy communion that comees of into the hands or on the floor. It is possible that the eucharist minster hand could touch the tongue when receiving on the tongue. When I was eurcharistic minster I was always afraid when I Put the Body of Christ on the tongue that my hand would touch the persons tongue but that never happened. I don't see how kneeling and altar rail is more revervant than standing or sitting.
According to my Pastor in Columbia, SC (St. John Neumann Church), kneeling for communion is not acceptable in America, according the the Conference of Catholic Bishops? He said in Europe, kneeling is acceptable, but here in America, the Bishops have decided at this time that kneeling is not acceptable to receive the Eucharist, that parishioners must stand. I am not against kneeling, however, I have no reason to question my Pastor's discussion of kneeling for communion. Are you aware of this statement by the Conf of Bishops? Also, though I love the altar rail, and received communion there for many years, in churches that have it, I do have a small sense of separation from the celebration of the mass, and I love to feel less separated, so I would want to move toward kneeling without the rail personally. I know however, as I age, kneeling without a rail has become more difficult!
God bless, Kathy M.
No, do not bring it back. It is so wonderful to bow then step forward and put the left hand forward (asking to receive the eucharis)then reverently placing the host in the mouth. It is more natural than sticking the tongue out and having the host depositied on it. Kneelers are foreign to today's Catholics in India and other places. Let us keep the practice of receiving holy communion the same all over the world.
My knees aren't what they used to be. This is not a good thing. If this would be at my church, I will quit going to Communion since I won't get up without help. And the Catholic Church backslides more into the 16th century.
I am so glad they are restoring the altar rails! I've seen so many churches rip them up and it really destroys the design of the sanctuary. Plus, oftentimes they are very beautiful. I love the ending comment about how it brings children and parents together. Reverence and awe for God is something beautiful and I am so happy that more people are embracing this.