Can TLM be celebrated without altar rail?

  • Thread starter Thread starter belgianwaffles9
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
B

belgianwaffles9

Guest
Can the TLM be celebrated without an altar rail? My church is beautiful, designed in the roman style, with beautiful stained glass an high-relief stations of the cross. But, it was built after vatican II, and has no altar rail.

Basically everything needed for a TLM to be celebrated is there (i think; im a bit confused about whether the altar can be a single peice or must have seperate legs supporting it) except an altar rail.

So my question is, could a TLM be celebrated without an altar rail, with communicants kneeling, say, at the altar steps instead?

(It would be hard to build an altar rail because it would not go strait across; the alar is raised on a shape which is basically half of an octagon.)

Thanks!
 
There is a parish in North Myrtle Beach, SC, where I have served the TLM twice now, and there is no altar rail in the Church. The front row of pews is marked as “Reserved,” and the communicants come up and kneel at the kneelers there to receive Communion.

In other words, yes, it can be done.

-ACEGC
 
thanks. Thats a good idea on their part.

I think it might be difficultfor everyone to shuffle into fews like that. maybe it might be effective to put some sort of rail across the space between the pews, where they can kneel, and then walk away through the pews. That would probably work better in my particular church.

but again, that was a very good solution.
 
The other way to do it would be to get a couple of prie-dieus (not sure how to form the plural in French); these are the kneeling benches you find in adoration chapels and some confessionals.

-ACEGC
 
At the Church where I attend the TLM, there are no altar rails; everyone just kneels on the Sanctuary step. It seems to work quite well.
 
edward_george said:
The other way to do it would be to get a couple of prie-dieus (not sure how to form the plural in French); these are the kneeling benches you find in adoration chapels and some confessionals.

-ACEGC
Click to expand...
I believe it’s prie-dieux.
 
edward_george said:
There is a parish in North Myrtle Beach, SC, where I have served the TLM twice now, and there is no altar rail in the Church. The front row of pews is marked as “Reserved,” and the communicants come up and kneel at the kneelers there to receive Communion.
Click to expand...
This is what is done every week at the Parish I go to and it works very, very well.
 
The various side altars in some churches, especially monastic churches, didn’t always have altar rails, yet Mass would frequently be celebrated on them.
 
It is not needed but it is definitely easier. I don’t know why the altar rails were removed in the first place. In many Churches, they could have kept the rail and also built a new altar table. This is what my Church has done. We have the high altar with the altar rail and there is a table altar in front of that for the celebration of the Pauline Mass.

Why don’t those who celebrate the Tridentine Mass start collecting money so that a new altar rail can be built? Don’t forget that it can also be used in the new Mass. In fact, I think the new Mass would be better if it was made easier for people to kneel and receive. Vatican II never called for the removal of altar rails or high altars.
 
Dempsey1919 said:
It is not needed but it is definitely easier. I don’t know why the altar rails were removed in the first place. In many Churches, they could have kept the rail and also built a new altar table. This is what my Church has done. We have the high altar with the altar rail and there is a table altar in front of that for the celebration of the Pauline Mass.
Click to expand...
Nobody know why they did any of it! But they went ahead merrilly… :mad:
 
markadm said:
Nobody know why they did any of it! But they went ahead merrilly… :mad:
Click to expand...
In the early 80’s the Priest in my parish wanted to remove the communion rail and move all the pews into some kid of semi circle. the the majority of the parish was out raged over this and the feuding in the parish became so load that articles in the news papers started appearing. Finally the Arch Bishop had to step in. Thankfully the wreakavation was not done. the railing stayed and the priest did not. We still do not have a TLM in your parish.😦

I don’t believe that it is necessary, but makes it easier.
 
Our Lady of Victory (Harrington Park, NJ), celebrates the TLM without an altar rail. We just knelt on the steps where we would have before the rail was removed.
 
When I attended Mass in Montreal a few weeks ago the beautiful church there no longer had a rail so we all knelt at the bottom step to recieve.
 
Caesar said:
When I attended Mass in Montreal a few weeks ago the beautiful church there no longer had a rail so we all knelt at the bottom step to recieve.
Click to expand...
That was what was done at a parish in Cleveland that used to offer the TLM.
 
We usually have our TLM in the chapel which has an altar rail. The few times that we were in the main church which doen’t have one, we put two prie-dieux up front and everyone one knelt two at a time to receive communion.
 
I’m lucky. We have three altars in the Church and every one of them has an altar rail.

As I said, why don’t you take it into your own hands. Inform your Priest that Vatican II never called for the removal of altar rails and that the Mass of Paul VI can be celebrated with the altar rail. Ask him to install a new altar rail. They’ll have the money. If they don’t, then start a fund raising appeal.
 
Dempsey1919 said:
I’m lucky. We have three altars in the Church and every one of them has an altar rail.

As I said, why don’t you take it into your own hands. Inform your Priest that Vatican II never called for the removal of altar rails and that the Mass of Paul VI can be celebrated with the altar rail. Ask him to install a new altar rail. They’ll have the money. If they don’t, then start a fund raising appeal.
Click to expand...
If the altar rail has already been removed why push to reinstall it?

While Vatican II never called for the removal it also never banned such alterations.
 
If the altar rail has already been removed why push to reinstall it?
Click to expand...
While Vatican II never called for the removal it also never banned such alterations.
Click to expand...
In the Tridentine Mass, everyone receives the Eucharist kneeling at an altar rail. That is why the OP started this thread. He wanted to know of another suitable way to kneel because of the fact that his church does not have an altar rail.

The altar rail is positioned at the edge of the sanctuary. This is a sacred space around the Altar and tabernacle. In the Tridentine Mass especially, this area is seen as holy. This area symbolises the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Jerusalem. During the Mass, lay members of the congregation are not allowed to enter the sanctuary - hence the need for an altar rail.

In the New Mass, lay members are allowed to enter the sanctuary because many are no Scripture readers and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.

Vatican II never banned the removal of altar rails because no council has ever called for them. Altar rails are more common in the Roman rite; the eastern Catholics sometimes have a curtain and others have an iconostasis, or a wall of icons with three doors. The Council does not discuss the various traditions (small “t”) of the different rites.

It is my personal opinion that all churches should have some form of altar rail in order to facilitate the celebration of the Tridentine Mass. The change in church design has been one of the bad things to come in the last 40 years. There are some very ugly churches these days. I, for one, would like to see a return to the older gothic designed churches with a central tabernacle and a proper sanctuary etc.
 
The sensible option would be to hold off reinstalling an altar rail and use acceptable alternatives.

The EF still needs to show that there is enough of a following before commiting funds for such a change.
 
The EF still needs to show that there is enough of a following before commiting funds for such a change.
Click to expand...
The Mass of Paul VI can be celebrated with an altar rail; it is not solely used within the Tridentine Mass. I would prefer to receive kneeling at the New Mass but I don’t because I don’t want to inconvenience the Priest. I have a feeling that many others would opt to kneel if there was a convenient option.

I can see no problem with the reinstallment of an altar rail if there is sufficient demand within the parish. Even though most Catholics attend the Novus Ordo, I still believe that more should be done to accomodate those who prefer the Tridentine Mass. I also said that those who wanted the rail should pay for it themselves. If they truly want a rail, then they should be prepared to at least help with the costs.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top