Father, you have to send them to get ‘the altar book’.
Honestly, I shake my head at the way we don’t use our liturgical language properly and the confusion that can result.
A few years ago I was doing a review of the procedures for readers with a university student who was home for the summer. I told her to place the Book of Gospels on the altar at the end of the entrance procession. I didn’t pick up on the confused tone of her “On the altar?” and replied, “Yes, on the altar.” So on Sunday, as Father is going to get the Book of Gospels, I notice that the altar is bare, no Book in sight. Just as I’m about to go to the back to get it I see Fr. stoop and pick something up. Lo and behold, it’s the Book of Gospels.
It turns out that that girl had so often been told by her parents to make sure to behave when she was “on the altar” that to her the sanctuary was “the altar” and the altar was “the table” so she put the Book of Gospels on the floor.
Unfortunately the expression ‘being on the altar’ is ubiquitous in these parts and I don’t see it going away.
There’s also a problem with the lack of proper terms for the sacred vessels. I doubt that there is one altar server who knows the difference between the chalice, the ciborium and the paten. Why? Because the people training them don’t know the difference either. I don’t know how often I’ve corrected the coordinator of the liturgy committee, only to hear “Same difference.”