Christmas in front of the tabernacle and behind the alter?

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300WhiteKnights

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The title is pretty much self-explanitory. My Jesuit university decided to put a Christmas tree in front of the tabernacle and behind the altar for decoration. A friend of mine was shocked when he walked into the school chapel and proceeded to complain to Campus Ministry. They did not remove the tree, and now my friend is having self-doubts about complaining about the tree. They told him the focus is supposed to be at the altar, so the tree is ok being there.

Does the Catechism say anything about this? Was my friend right in being concerned?

-Thanks

btw the title was supposed to include “Christmas Tree”
 
I would be shocked by this as well. I don’t think anything should be between the altar and the tabernacle. I’m sure there has to be some place else that the tree could be placed. Did he speak to the Priest or just someone on staff? I can’t imagine why they would think this was a good idea. I’m a recent convert so there may be a reason I’m not aware of.
 
300WhiteKnights said:
The title is pretty much self-explanitory. My Jesuit university decided to put a Christmas tree in front of the tabernacle and behind the altar for decoration. A friend of mine was shocked when he walked into the school chapel and proceeded to complain to Campus Ministry. They did not remove the tree, and now my friend is having self-doubts about complaining about the tree. They told him the focus is supposed to be at the altar, so the tree is ok being there.

Does the Catechism say anything about this? Was my friend right in being concerned?

-Thanks

btw the title was supposed to include “Christmas Tree”
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You go to a Jesuit University and you spell altar with an “e”?:confused:
 
Do you guys yell at little kids who walk on your front lawn?
 
300WhiteKnights said:
The title is pretty much self-explanitory. My Jesuit university decided to put a Christmas tree in front of the tabernacle and behind the altar for decoration. A friend of mine was shocked when he walked into the school chapel and proceeded to complain to Campus Ministry. They did not remove the tree, and now my friend is having self-doubts about complaining about the tree. They told him the focus is supposed to be at the altar, so the tree is ok being there.

Does the Catechism say anything about this? Was my friend right in being concerned?

-Thanks

btw the title was supposed to include “Christmas Tree”
Click to expand...
This is crazy, and yes, you should complain about this. But somehow, it doesn’t suprise me from the jesuits.
 
If it is ok to put a metal container, a cupboard door and an embroidered curtain between the sacrament and the faithful, why not a tree?
 
Tingo said:
If it is ok to put a metal container, a cupboard door and an embroidered curtain between the sacrament and the faithful, why not a tree?
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God have mercy on this soul for his/her utter disrespect.
 
thanks for the responses guys. As for the title, I was in a rush. I know altar is spelled without an “e”, you can see I spelled it correctly in my first post.
 
Just remember to be respectful (and double check that the tabernacle lamp is still lit before you complain. If they moved Him then the gravity of the situation is very different).

Find the proper chain of command, and work up it in order. If nothing is done, those who know better will ultimately owe an explanation to God. If you’ve done your best, your conscience will be clear. You can also make an Act of Reparation to Our Lord for others’ thoughtlessness towards Him.
 
300WhiteKnights said:
thanks for the responses guys. As for the title, I was in a rush. I know altar is spelled without an “e”, you can see I spelled it correctly in my first post.
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I did see that;)

I’m just a little tired of people complaining about liturgical abuses on the “alter” and was little trigger happy.

If the posters knew how to spell “alter” I would at least think that they have done a little homework about the issue, maybe even searched this forum, rather than just going on an uninformed rant.
 
Rich_C said:
Just remember to be respectful (and double check that the tabernacle lamp is still lit before you complain. If they moved Him then the gravity of the situation is very different).

Find the proper chain of command, and work up it in order. If nothing is done, those who know better will ultimately owe an explanation to God. If you’ve done your best, your conscience will be clear. You can also make an Act of Reparation to Our Lord for others’ thoughtlessness towards Him.
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This. If your friend is doing the asking, make sure you know what he said and what the response really was before getting upset about the tree.

During Mass, our focus should be on the altar of sacrifice and the miracle taking place. If the chapel is not open for prayer or adoration outside of Mass times, than there isn’t really an issue. (Although, I can see how the priest could easily get annoyed by having to dodge a Christmas tree every time he needs to open the tabernacle! )

If the chapel is usually open for prayer outside of Mass, than that is the issue I would raise. “Father, we like to be able to pray in front of the tabernacle, but with the Christmas tree where it is, we can’t even see it. Would it be possible to move the tree to [name a better location]? My friend and I would be happy to move it for you if necessary.”
 
Without the Jesuits one third of the world would not have heard the Gospel.
Franciscans and Dominicans count for the other 2/3rds;)
 
triumphguy said:
You go to a Jesuit University and you spell altar with an “e”?:confused:
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even Homer nods…

cut him some slack as we all have typos from time-to-time…especially with homophones.

BTW for anyone who doesn’t know, the reference is to the Greek poet…not Simpson! 😃
 
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