What is the purpose of a altar rail?

What is the purpose of a altar rail?

The altar rail is a modest substitute for earlier barriers demarcating the chancel, the area containing the altar, which was reserved (with greatly varying degrees of strictness) for officiating clergy (including boys as choristers and altar servers).

What is the area around the altar called?

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.

Can I receive communion on the tongue?

That instruction, he said, was out of step with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ declaration that “… Every Catholic has a right to receive Holy Communion in the most reverent way they deem, in the hand or on the tongue.”

What does the altar sit on?

Even within an elevated sanctuary, the altar itself is often placed on a higher platform set off by one or more steps. The platform is known as the predella. The altar may also be marked with a surmounting ciborium, sometimes called a baldachin.

Should you kneel when receiving Communion?

Kneeling is well-established as an important expression of adoration of the Eucharist—and so the Church requires us to kneel during the Eucharistic Prayer and for the “Behold the Lamb of God…” As St. Augustine, taught: “No one eats that flesh without first adoring it; we should sin were we not to adore it.”

What are the seven levels of an altar?

The following guidelines are used to create a seven-level altar:

• Image of a saint.
• Dedicated to the souls in purgatory.
• Salt, which is placed on the altar to represent purification of the spirit.
• Bread, an offering of food to the spirits.
• Fruits and the favorite foods of the deceased.

What are the three sacred vessels?

Sacred Vessels are the receptacles and utensils used in liturgical celebrations to hold the consecrated Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, these are Chalices, Patens, Ciboria, Pyxes, and Monstrances.

What prayer do you say after receiving Communion?

I thank You, O holy Lord, almighty Father, eternal God, who have deigned, not through any merits of mine, but out of the condescension of Your goodness, to satisfy me a sinner, Your unworthy servant, with the precious Body and Blood of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Is it OK to take Communion at home?

Communion is for those who have made the decision to accept Jesus as the forgiver of their sins and the leader of their lives. We would like to invite you to take communion in your home—by yourself or with your family!

When should ofrenda be taken down?

The ofrendas speak of affection toward the deceased and are an expression of love towards life. Altars are traditionally built on October 30th and 31st and are taken down November 2nd.

What is the tablecloth on the altar called?

pall
The pall (palla) is a stiffened square card covered with white linen, usually embroidered with a cross, or some other appropriate symbol. The purpose of the pall is to keep dust and insects from falling into the Eucharistic elements.