Leaving the key in the unlocked tabernacle?

[Wine]

Not true - You were in attendance of the Tabernacle.

I don’t entirely disagree with you here. Even though, in the specific circumstance, the danger was minimal, it could be seen as a bad practice/habit.

If we knew the local situation, which you did not tell us, then perhaps some of the answers would have been different. We can only work with what you give us.

Peace
James

No way. Technically I was on my way out of the church to attend to another ministry before Mass when I locked the tabernacle. It really wouldn’t have mattered anyway. I was not “in attendance of the Tabernacle.”

 

[Wine]

This is SOP in my parish where the reserved Hosts are always brought to the altar at the fraction rite. Otherwise the EMHC who retrieves the Hosts would have to go to the sacristy to retrieve the key. How many ‘wrong’ practices can you count in the above statement?

This person has no pockets?

 

[JRKH]

I’m very sorry I asked this question. The assumptions people have made have been outrageous.

I prepare and set-up for Mass at my parish on a regular basis. Bad assumption on your part.

There was nothing “rude” about the way I asked away. Why make such assumptions?

I gently tossed the keys about a foot because I could not reach the table to set them down. One more bad assumption.

As I said in my last post, we can only work with what you give us. Certain assumptions, right or wrong, might be made in the absence of clear information…

I find it intersting that you have reacted strongly to those who reacted strongly to your strongly worded OP, while you have virtually ignored those posts less strongly worded. Perhaps this is something you need to consider. It may well be that, while you may not think you were rude, your manner or tone of voice etc may have come across as rude. You yourself said in your OP that you said, “in a controlled voice…”, indicating that you were upset but trying to control it. Perhaps what you thought of as 'controlled" was not heard as “controlled”…It can happen…

In any event, you were not charged with setting up mass that day and, unless you are in charge of the training and or there is a specific instruction used in the training at your parish about this, you overstepped your authority.

In your OP you asked:
Was this this right thing to do? I mean, it should be OBVIOUS to any pew-sitting Catholic that it’s not OK to unlock the tabernacle, leave they key in it and then leave it unattended, right? Or am I being unrealistic? Thank you.
The consensus seems to be that you handled the situation poorly, but because the consensus disagrees with you - now you are sorry that you asked the question.
Perhaps there are some things here that you could pray about.
Things like anger and pride. (two things I strugle with mightily)
I don’t say this to come down on you. I don’t know you, but it is obvious that you Love the Lord and wish to serve Him well. You may just not be going about it in the best way possible. Please pray on this and talk to your confessor about it.

Peace
James

 

[Spirithound]

Has this happened before?

 

[1ke]

Perhaps I should ask in this manner:

Do you really think the security concern is not real? How come?

Do you really think the sign value is not horrid? How come?

Why in the world would anyone unlock the tabernacle and leave the key in it before Mass to begin with?

Your pastor is the head liturgist. These questions are for HIM to answer. The correct thing to do would be to discuss it with your pastor and follow his instructions, not what you did do.

 

[JRKH]

Perhaps I should ask in this manner:

As 1ke has said, it is best to talk to the Pastor about your concerns. However i wuill offer my opinions on your questions.

Do you really think the security concern is not real? How come?

In the instance and manner you describe, no I don’t particularly see musch security cnern, and for reasons I have already described - the fact that it is coming near to mass time and there are already people in church. A single person - bent on descecration “could” get to theblesed sacrament, but really - what are the odds…

Do you really think the sign value is not horrid? How come?

I’m not sure what you mean by “sign value”. If you mean does it suggest a lack of respect/concern for the Holy Eucharist, it might, but I don’t think it comes up to the level of “horrid” either.

[quoteWhy in the world would anyone unlock the tabernacle and leave the key in it before Mass to begin with?
[/QUOTE]

1. Because that was how they were trained.
2. Because this is S.O.P. for the parish
3. Because they forgot
4. Because the training was insufficient

There could be any number of reasons.

I note that you said earlier that you set up for mass regularly. That is wonderful. Could you tell us what the Standard procedure is for your parish that makes you believe this act was so horrid? In other words, what is “normal” in your parish that made this such a grave error that it requires your immediate intervention.

Peace
James

 

[JRKH]

No way. Technically I was on my way out of the church to attend to another ministry before Mass when I locked the tabernacle. It really wouldn’t have mattered anyway. I was not “in attendance of the Tabernacle.”

Ahh - - Another piece of unprovided information. In your OP, you stated that you were in church 15-20 minutes before mass and noted the action of the EMHC. you then stated that you considered taking the key and “leaving mass”…certainly an indication that you were there for mass and “not on your way out” as you state here.
As for being in attendence of the Tabernacle, I don’t know your Church layout so I don’t know how visible the Tabernacle is from the pews, but by your OP description, it seems that it is quite visible. Any Catholic, in Church, sitting before the Tabernacle is “in attendance”.

The bottom line on all of this is twofold:
a) You asked a question - obviously looking for support - and don’t particularly like the ansers you have gottne.
b) Rather than continue discussing this matter here, I recommend you make an appointment with your pastor to discuss 1) the specific incident and 2) the S.O.P. the parish is currently using.

Peace
James

 

[Bbigam]

In my parish we put the key in the lock of the Tabernacle before Mass. But our Tabernacle is on the High Altar in the sanctuary, right near the sacristy. It’s not a big place and people are pretty good about not going into the sanctuary unless they need to. It would be really obvious if someone went to the tabernacle and took the ciboria out of it.

In your case it surely sounds like the key should not be left in the tabernacle. But probably a better way to deal with it would be to lock it, and return the key to someone in the sacristy (preferably the person who left it), suggesting to them that it’s not good practice for the safety of the Sacrament to leave the key. End of story, unless the practice continues - in which case, mention it politely to the pastor sometime.

 

[laszlo]

In such case I would go to the sacristy and tell the person who left there the key what happened. The tabernacle is sacred, set aside to God, and not to be approached by unauthorized person.

Just think it over, what you do, if you see a car in the parking lot of the Church with light on. Do you try to open the door and switch off the light, or ask somebody to make a message in the Church about the light?

 

[PattiDay]

I’m very sorry I asked this question. The assumptions people have made have been outrageous.

I prepare and set-up for Mass at my parish on a regular basis. Bad assumption on your part.

There was nothing “rude” about the way I asked away. Why make such assumptions?

I gently tossed the keys about a foot because I could not reach the table to set them down. One more bad assumption.

Wine, You asked a question here and didn’t receive the kind of answers you expected.

There is the perception of rudeness throughout your description of your response. Even if there were a second key, to mail the key to bishop would have brought some chaos into the situation. Whether you ever would actually have considered it a viable alternative, you still posted it, so be prepared to have people address it.

Gently tossing the keys a foot? Which did what? You could have quietly called one of them to hand it to. Instead you tossed it and caused the people in the room to look up in surprise only to see the back of you as you exited without any explaination? Seems very dramatic and unneccessary. If you felt so strongly about what was wrong in this situation, it could have been a teaching moment. Instead you chose to leave the peopler in the room shrugging their shoulders?

I think you expected outrage when you posted this, but didn’t anticipate that it would come back in your direction.

 

[jpjd]

This morning about 15-20 minutes before Mass began a layperson came out of the sacristy, through the sanctuary and unlocked the tabernacle (it’s located adjacent to the sanctuary) to see how many hosts were in repose so he could set out the right number for Mass.

After he checked, he left the tabernacle unlocked with the key in it. The church didn’t have many people in it yet. I walked up, locked the tabernacle and removed the key. I was thinking about leaving Mass and dropping the key in the mail to my bishop. Instead I went into the sacristy, softy tossed the key on the counter where the people were preparing and said in a controlled voice “someone left the key in the tabernacle.” I was walking out as the vocal objections began. The pastor was not yet in the sacristy or I would have handed the key directly to him.

Was this this right thing to do? I mean, it should be OBVIOUS to any pew-sitting Catholic that it’s not OK to unlock the tabernacle, leave they key in it and then leave it unattended, right? Or am I being unrealistic? Thank you.

No, as was well-explained in a previous post, you not only lost a teaching moment, but how you handled this situation was uncharitable.

In our parish (during Sat and Sun Mass), the sacristan who sets up for the Mass inserts the key into the tabernacle, and it remains there until after Communion when the priest puts the unconsumed hosts in the tabernacle. He then removes the key and gives it to the altar server who puts it on the credence table, then the sacristan puts it in the sacrisy after Mass. The point is, the key is put in the tabernacle ahead of time to allow things to go smoothly during Mass if additional hosts should be needed during Communion and when the ciborium is returned to the tabernacle after Communion. So, perhaps that is why the person in your parish left the key in the tabernacle.

In any case, please do not be so quick to anger. The best way to handle these situations is with patience and kindness. People are MUCH more receptive to correction when it’s done with positive virtues.

 

[FrCorey]

I would tell the pastor and the bishop. the contents of that are more valuble then gold. and should be treated as such.
too many are being too lax about it these days.
so good for you.

 

[zab]

This morning about 15-20 minutes before Mass began a layperson came out of the sacristy, through the sanctuary and unlocked the tabernacle (it’s located adjacent to the sanctuary) to see how many hosts were in repose so he could set out the right number for Mass.

After he checked, he left the tabernacle unlocked with the key in it. The church didn’t have many people in it yet. I walked up, locked the tabernacle and removed the key. I was thinking about leaving Mass and dropping the key in the mail to my bishop. Instead I went into the sacristy, softy tossed the key on the counter where the people were preparing and said in a controlled voice “someone left the key in the tabernacle.” I was walking out as the vocal objections began. The pastor was not yet in the sacristy or I would have handed the key directly to him.

Was this this right thing to do? I mean, it should be OBVIOUS to any pew-sitting Catholic that it’s not OK to unlock the tabernacle, leave they key in it and then leave it unattended, right? Or am I being unrealistic? Thank you.

Well, since you asked, I believe that while you may have a legitimate concern, you handled this poorly. I agree with James.

 

[EvelynEVF]

Our key is put in the tabernacle door before Mass and ends up on the credence table. If you are worried about the security of the Eucharist, what about Adoration? In my own parish, I would be far more concerned about one person praying versus a church filling up with people before Mass.

I would suggest that no one ever take rash action based on the “knowledge” that there is a spare key in the sacristy. Sometimes that spare disappears.

 

[Cathryn]

As sacristan at my parish I follow the instructions of my pastor to place the key in the tabernacle before Mass and count the hosts in the ciborium, so as to know how many hosts are needed. I am also instructed by the Pastor to remove the key after Mass from the tabernacle and it is locked up with the sacred vessels in the sacristy. No parishoner has the right to walk up to the tabernacle and remove the key and toss it at a sacristan. The key is the responsibility of the Pastor alone. He has the authority to delegate this responsiblity to his sacristan or anyone he trusts. You should have gone to the Pastor and asked him why the key was in the tabernacle. The priest would probably have told you that this is where he wants the key to be before Mass begins. You might want to consider discussing what you did with the priest and also it would be charitable to apologize to the sacristan if he or she was following the instructions of the priest.

 

[zab]

As sacristan at my parish I follow the instructions of my pastor to place the key in the tabernacle before Mass and count the hosts in the ciborium, so as to know how many hosts are needed. I am also instructed by the Pastor to remove the key after Mass from the tabernacle and it is locked up with the sacred vessels in the sacristy. No parishoner has the right to walk up to the tabernacle and remove the key and toss it at a sacristan. The key is the responsibility of the Pastor alone. He has the authority to delegate this responsiblity to his sacristan or anyone he trusts. You should have gone to the Pastor and asked him why the key was in the tabernacle. The priest would probably have told you that this is where he wants the key to be before Mass begins. You might want to consider discussing what you did with the priest and also it would be charitable to apologize to the sacristan if he or she was following the instructions of the priest.

Cathryn, when I was a sacristan, that is how we were taught as well. But then our present pastor made a change on where he wanted the key placed before Mass. The thing is, as you have pointed out, the sacristans follow the instructions that were given to them. Being a sacristan at one parish does not give one the authority to make changes to how things are done in another parish. Certainly, one may express their concerns to the pastor in the hope that things could be done in a better way. But we could also ask-- what gives the OP the authority to enter the sanctuary at parish other than the one they serve and start changing the way things are done just because they think it should be done their way and all the while the sacristan is presently setting up for Mass?

 

[Monica4316]

My opinion is a bit different than most people here…

I think that your intention was to protect the Blessed Sacrament…am I correct? surely, that is not a bad thing, even if you could have done the same thing differently.

 

[Cathryn]

Cathryn, when I was a sacristan, that is how we were taught as well. But then our present pastor made a change on where he wanted the key placed before Mass. The thing is, as you have pointed out, the sacristans follow the instructions that were given to them. Being a sacristan at one parish does not give one the authority to make changes to how things are done in another parish. Certainly, one may express their concerns to the pastor in the hope that things could be done in a better way. But we could also ask-- what gives the OP the authority to enter the sanctuary at parish other than the one they serve and start changing the way things are done just because they think it should be done their way and all the while the sacristan is presently setting up for Mass?

No one has that authority to enter the sanctuary and remove the key from the tabernacle, unless it is given them by the priest.
If a Catholic believes that the key should not be placed in the tabernacle before Mass, he can discuss this with the priest, but the priest has the sole discretion of what is safe. The key to the tabernacle is his responsibility. There is nothing in the rubrics prohibiting the key being in the tabernacle before Mass begins.

 

[zab]

My opinion is a bit different than most people here…

I think that your intention was to protect the Blessed Sacrament…am I correct? surely, that is not a bad thing, even if you could have done the same thing differently.

What is that saying that has been attributed to St. Bernard–“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

 

[Oneofthewomen]

Actually , I believe it was St. John Chrysostom, and the quote is~

“The Road to Hell is paved with the bones of priests and monks, and the skulls
of bishops form the lamp posts that light the path,”

Think he was a little upset…?