Kissing the Altar

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pls5031

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Hi,

Recently we have noticed that an Altar server has been been kissing the altar after bringing the Book to the altar before daily Mass begins. I have never seen this done before and does not seem proper to us, but then again I have only been Catholic for 16 years.

I thought only Priests and Deacons kissed the Altar, or am I wrong?

Thanks
 
pls5031 said:
Hi,

Recently we have noticed that an Altar server has been been kissing the altar after bringing the Book to the altar before daily Mass begins. I have never seen this done before and does not seem proper to us, but then again I have only been Catholic for 16 years.

I thought only Priests and Deacons kissed the Altar, or am I wrong?

Thanks
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This is in the Rubrics for Priest, BUT NOT for altar servers.

The Altar of Sacrifice; theologically is another image of Christ; thus the reverence act.
 
pls5031 said:
Hi,

Recently we have noticed that an Altar server has been been kissing the altar after bringing the Book to the altar before daily Mass begins. I have never seen this done before and does not seem proper to us, but then again I have only been Catholic for 16 years.

I thought only Priests and Deacons kissed the Altar, or am I wrong?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Just bring this to the priest’s attention and allow him to deal with it.
 
If it’s before Mass, there are no rubrics to deal with, but your pastor should be the one to decide. I personally see nothing wrong with a reverent act like this if the server understands and isn’t merely “playing priest”. The problem would be if someone witnessing were somehow scandalized.
 
pls5031 said:
Hi,

Recently we have noticed that an Altar server has been been kissing the altar after bringing the Book to the altar before daily Mass begins. I have never seen this done before and does not seem proper to us, but then again I have only been Catholic for 16 years.

I thought only Priests and Deacons kissed the Altar, or am I wrong?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Who cares? Why get bent out of shape over nothing?
:mad:
 
dshix said:
Overreaction? I think so.
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How much do I agree with you? 👍👍

More importantly, do Catholics know what the kiss is all about?

Have you noticed the priest always kiss on the same spot? If you were to lift up the altar cloth at that spot, you will see an altar stone. It is a small stone with five crosses (one for each wound of Jesus) and contains a relic of a saint. It is what makes an altar an altar in the Catholic Church. It all goes back to masses in the catacombs, I guess, when Christians have mass in midst of bodies and of course they would rather choose to have mass over the body of a saint.

Now, maybe the altar server did not know that. Maybe those who were scandalised do (I certainly hope so: otherwise they were scandalised over something they knew nothing about). Maybe they should just tell this little bit of information to the altar boy.

Understanding why we do the so many rituals in the Church is more important than knowing what to do.
 
John_Yurich_USA said:
Who cares? Why get bent out of shape over nothing?
:mad:
Click to expand...
I very much agree. So long as the server knows they are reverencing an icon of Jesus Christ and not merely “playing priest”, I see nothing at all wrong with the practice.
 
jimkhong said:
How much do I agree with you? 👍👍

More importantly, do Catholics know what the kiss is all about?

Have you noticed the priest always kiss on the same spot? If you were to lift up the altar cloth at that spot, you will see an altar stone. It is a small stone with five crosses (one for each wound of Jesus) and contains a relic of a saint. It is what makes an altar an altar in the Catholic Church. It all goes back to masses in the catacombs, I guess, when Christians have mass in midst of bodies and of course they would rather choose to have mass over the body of a saint.

Now, maybe the altar server did not know that. Maybe those who were scandalised do (I certainly hope so: otherwise they were scandalised over something they knew nothing about). Maybe they should just tell this little bit of information to the altar boy.

Understanding why we do the so many rituals in the Church is more important than knowing what to do.
Click to expand...
1.) The priest doesn’t always kiss the altar in the same spot – particularly when he is kissing the altar at the same time as the deacon of concelebrating priest.

2.) Not all altars have altar stones, nor relics. Not by a long shot.

3.) Not all altar stones or relics are located in the same place.

4.) The kiss is a reverencing of an icon of Jesus Christ (the altar) and not of the saint whose relics might be included in the altar stone.
 
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