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TrueLight said:
Okay. A home altar.

That’s interesting. They have these in pagan religions as well.
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No, it’s not a home altar

An altar is where a sacrifice takes place. In “pagan” religions they can have home altars as they may “sacrifice” something (eg rice). The only altars in Catholicism are in churches, where the Sacrifice of the Mass takes place.

I like to pray in front of my “prayer shelf”, as it has a crucifix on it. I can’t have a crucifix on the wall, as I live in rented accommodation.
 
starsmurf said:
No, it’s not a home altar

An altar is where a sacrifice takes place. In “pagan” religions they can have home altars as they may “sacrifice” something (eg rice). The only altars in Catholicism are in churches, where the Sacrifice of the Mass takes place.

I like to pray in front of my “prayer shelf”, as it has a crucifix on it. I can’t have a crucifix on the wall, as I live in rented accommodation.
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I don’t think you’re correct, otherwise all the “side altars” in Catholic parishes (at which the faithful pray) would have to have Masses celebrated at them to be properly called an altar.

When I had my home altar blessed by my priest he referred to it as such.
 
xixxvmcm85 said:
I don’t think you’re correct, otherwise all the “side altars” in Catholic parishes (at which the faithful pray) would have to have Masses celebrated at them to be properly called an altar.

When I had my home altar blessed by my priest he referred to it as such.
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Of course, such altars are not the same as the kind of altar at which the Holy Sacrifice is made. It’s like the difference between a race car and a family car - they’re both cars, but it would be inadvisable, for example, to race the family car at Sonoma.
 
starsmurf said:
No, it’s not a home altar

An altar is where a sacrifice takes place. In “pagan” religions they can have home altars as they may “sacrifice” something (eg rice). The only altars in Catholicism are in churches, where the Sacrifice of the Mass takes plac
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That’s not correct either. You can have a neo-pagan altar with statues of a goddess, candles, herbs and other things, without anything like a sacrifice taking place.
 
TrueLight said:
That’s not correct either. You can have a neo-pagan altar with statues of a goddess, candles, herbs and other things, without anything like a sacrifice taking place.
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That is what my priest told me when I asked during my RCIA. And why in my old church it was the Communion Table not the Altar. I think the word does get mis-used, even by priests.

But it’s all a little po-tay-to po-tah-to isn’t it? 😃
 
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