Kissing of the Altar

[brothergiles]

At what point or points in the Mass would the priest kiss the altar? What are the reasons for each kiss?

 

[teachccd]

At what point or points in the Mass would the priest kiss the altar? What are the reasons for each kiss?

After he processes in and before leaving at the end of Mass. This exhibits the reverence due to Christ since the altar is where Christ is present in the unbloody Sacrifice of the Mass.

 

[japhy]

The altar is a symbol for Christ. Kissing the altar at the beginning and end of Mass is showing reverence to Christ and also to the altar as a liturgical object itself, because it is the place where the Holy Sacrifice is made present. (Traditionally, there are relics of a saint in the altar, and the priest kisses the altar in the spot where those relics are stored.)

One explanation of the symbolism of the kiss is:
TO KISS THE ALTAR IS TO KISS CHRIST

It is then understandable that we want to make ours this kiss of the
celebrant. It evokes in our memory the many kisses of that sinful woman in the
Pharisee’s house. She could not cease to kiss Christ’s feet, washing them with
her tears. Great sins were forgiven her because she also loved greatly, the
Gospel tells us (Lk 7:38). And we have so many faults to ask pardon for!

Now, by this kiss, the priest also signifies the union of the Spouse (Christ)
with his Bride (the Church). And, indeed, what the priest is beginning to
accomplish here is nothing other than to forge the union of the Church with her
Master, of the soul with its Redeemer.

 

[Cluny]

In the present order of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, the Priest(s), and I would guess Deacons, kiss the altar only on entering and leaving the Sanctuary.

The rubrics of the Extraordinary Form, to say nothing about the Eastern Liturgies, are quite different, with more kisses.

 

[Breviarylover]

From the GIRM:

Greeting of the Altar and of the People Gathered Together

1. When they reach the sanctuary, the priest, the deacon, and the ministers reverence the
   altar with a profound bow.
   As an expression of veneration, moreover, the priest and deacon then kiss the altar itself; as the
   occasion suggests, the priest also incenses the cross and the altar.
   **
   THE CONCLUDING RITES**

The dismissal of the people by the deacon or the priest, so that each may go out to do
good works, praising and blessing God;

**The kissing of the altar by the priest and the deacon, followed by a profound bow to
the altar by the priest, the deacon, and the other ministers. **

 

[centurionguard]

TO KISS THE ALTAR IS TO KISS CHRIST
It is then understandable that we want to make ours this kiss of the
celebrant. It evokes in our memory the many kisses of that sinful woman in the
Pharisee’s house. She could not cease to kiss Christ’s feet, washing them with
her tears. Great sins were forgiven her because she also loved greatly, the
Gospel tells us (Lk 7:38). And we have so many faults to ask pardon for!
Now, by this kiss, the priest also signifies the union of the Spouse (Christ)
with his Bride (the Church). And, indeed, what the priest is beginning to
accomplish here is nothing other than to forge the union of the Church with her
Master, of the soul with its Redeemer.

Kissing the altar

It is clear that from the earliest times a kiss was not only a token of love, but also under certain circumstances a symbol of profound respect. For example, the son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus 29:5) describes how would-be borrowers, when they wish to ingratiate themselves “kiss the hands of the lender, and in promises they humble their voice”. It is in accordance with this symbolism, so universally understood and practised, that the Church enjoins the kissing of many holy objects, e.g. relics, the book of the Gospels, the cross, blessed palms, candles, the hands of the clergy and nearly all the utensils and vestments connected with the liturgy. In particular the altar is repeatedly kissed by the celebrant in the course of the Mass, and this practice is of very ancient date. The earliest of the Ordines Romani mentions it twice, but only twice: first, when the bishop ascends to the altar at the beginning, and secondly, at the Offertory, when he comes again to the altar from his throne. Innocent III speaks of the altar being kissed three times, but in the days of Durandus nine such salutations were in use, as at present. By a symbolism prevalent from a very early period the altar was regarded as typical of Christ, the God-Man, abiding permanently with His Church in the Sacrifice of the Mass, and this conception is preserved, for example, in the address now made to the candidate in the ordination of a subdeacon. The appropriateness of kissing the altar before the salutation Dominus vobiscum need not be insisted upon: it clearly implies that the greeting comes, not from the priest only, but from Christ, the head and corner-stone, to the faithful who are the members of His Church. On the other hand the prayer said by the priest, on first ascending to the altar, indicates that this kiss has also special reference to the relics therein enshrined.

 

[malphono]

In pre-conciliar times, it was the case that altars in the Latin Church were consecrated, or at least were required to have a consecrated altar stone. That’s where the relic comes in. (The requirements for the East and Orient are different: the Eastern Churches use what is called an antimension, which is made of cloth, and the Oriental Churches use what is called a tablitho, which is made of wood.) The requirement was such that, in time of war, military chaplains were furnished with consecrated antimensia so that Mass could be offered in the absence of an altar stone.

To cut to the chase, the requirement of the altar-stone, unfortunately, no longer exists. One will find that most table-altars in use these days have nothing.