Mary's Altar

[youthcrusader]

I’ve often heard it said that there is such a thing as “Mary’s Altar” or the “Altar of Mary”. Is this true, and if it is, could someone explain its origin and significance? I’ve always thought an altar was for sacrifice, which of course is a form of worship reserved to God alone.

 

[Genesis315]

youthcrusader:

I’ve often heard it said that there is such a thing as “Mary’s Altar” or the “Altar of Mary”. Is this true, and if it is, could someone explain its origin and significance? I’ve always thought an altar was for sacrifice, which of course is a form of worship reserved to God alone.

Are you sure they weren’t talking about Mary’s Psalter? I have heard the Rosary called this.

I did a search on google for mary’s altar and all i found was some neo-pagan site that says she is the goddess of many religions and others where the Church was named “St. Mary’s” and the altar there was referred to as “St. Mary’s Altar.”

Finally there was one where their altar had Marian imagery on it, but that does not mean that the altar is used to offer sacrafice to Mary, it’s just a decorative altar used in the same manner as any altar at Mass–to offer sacrifice to God.

 

[mercygate]

One answer might be that churches used to have several altars – the high altar and altars around the apse as well as on either side of the main altar and sometimes in bays along the aisles. These bays are often shrines to particular saints. In the days of yore, when churches had more priests than daily Masses (before the vogue for concelebration), Priests could say their required daily Mass at one of these side altars. Nearly every church had one dedicated to Our Lady, and that would be “Mary’s altar.”

Another possibility is that when people construct a little devotional shrine with a statue or icon, candles, and perhaps flowers, they adopt the term “altar,” even though it isn’t an altar at all.

 

[SummaTheo]

youthcrusader:

I’ve often heard it said that there is such a thing as “Mary’s Altar” or the “Altar of Mary”. Is this true, and if it is, could someone explain its origin and significance? I’ve always thought an altar was for sacrifice, which of course is a form of worship reserved to God alone.

We have the main altar in the center of the church. We also have two side altars. One is a “Mary’s Altar” and the other is a St. Joseph’s Altar. We still have a low mass at the “Mary’s Altar” a few times a week.

 

[m134e5]

youthcrusader:

I’ve often heard it said that there is such a thing as “Mary’s Altar” or the “Altar of Mary”. Is this true, and if it is, could someone explain its origin and significance? I’ve always thought an altar was for sacrifice, which of course is a form of worship reserved to God alone.

There are traditionally three altars in a Catholic Church- the High altar, and two side altars- Mary’s altar, and Joseph’s altar. Masses offered on the side altars were still prayers to God- but in a special way remembered the saint on whose altar the Mass was celebrated. Before the liturgical reforms in the 60’s, priests did not concelebrate Mass- when they celebrated Mass at the same time, they used different altars.