Misuse of Altar Rail

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chloebelle

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I recently moved back to my hometown and have started attending mass in the parish I grew up in. It is an older church and there is an altar rail but it was not in use. This somewhat disappointed me as I’d like to see them making a return, but as I walked out I noticed that there was a bunch of random stuff laid out all over it. There were a few pamphlets about the church, abortion, etc. but what really concerned me is that there were boxes of just random assortments of stuff as well, including bags of uncooked popcorn and food items as well as supplies that I think are intended for their upcoming fall festival. Is this okay? It struck me as sort of irreverent and was just wondering what the general consensus is.
 
Hard to say without knowing why the stuff was there and for how long. You could call the parish office tomorrow and ask
 
Altar rails have never had any particular liturgical significance. They symbolise the separation of clergy and congregation and were mostly removed following the reforms of the second Vatican Council. Their main purpose was to provide communicants and torch-bearers with something to lean on. I wouldn’t have a problem with using them for literature relevant to a particular celebration, such as Mass sheets or the Order of Service for a funeral. However, using them as a general dumping place is part of “table syndrome” where any horizontal surface is seen as a place to put things. It comes as part of a wider consideration of whether you treat the church as the house of God or a social venue. Mention your concerns to the Parish Priest.
 
Altar rails are actually making a slow comeback. Our parish has been completing a restoration to our 120-year old church, and an altar rail was the finishing touch. It is actually an incredibly beautiful way to receive Holy Communion.

I would be disturbed if there were literature and junk laid all over the altar rail. Even if the parish is not actively using it for Communion, the rail still marks the entrance to the sanctuary and is not an appropriate place to put the items the OP described. Tables or kiosks in the back of the church or at the entrances are more appropriate.
 
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LOL “table syndrome.” Admittedly, I have severe table syndrome.
 
I used to go to a church that had its original altar rail in place. People would set their objects they wished to be blessed— statues, pictures, etc— on the altar rail, and after Communion, the priest would bless them all in a group. Then people would come up and collect their things after Mass was over.

So, if there are bags of popcorn and canned food that sits there week after week— yeah, I could see that’s a bad thing. But if it’s the designated collection point for offerings, it would be more appropriate, where everyone could see everyone’s generosity, and it would remind them, “Oh, yeah, I meant to bring something—!” especially if a church has multiple entrances.
 
We are really blessed to have it; I can’t figure out for the life of me why so many churches tore them out in the '60s and '70s. (Before anyone brings it up, no one is obliged to kneel, particularly if they are elderly and/or have knee problems. 🙂 But most people do, and it is beautiful both to experience and to see.)
 
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My parish church was built decades after Vatican II, and it was built with an altar rail. Some years later, it was remodeled, but the altar rail was kept. One of the older parishioners asked why it had not been removed. The pastor explained that the altar rail was to separate the main church form the sanctuary, the most holy area of the church, which also contained the tabernacle. The altar rail is used to distribute communion during daily Mass, but not weekend Mass.
 
Catholic25 said:
There’s really no reason to have an altar rail since Vatican II. If there’s literature you have a problem with, definitely call the parish office.
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Many parishes are bringing back the altar rail or at least a kneeler for those who wish to kneel for communion. We have several parishes in our area that have done that.
 
chloebelle said:
I noticed that there was a bunch of random stuff laid out all over it. There were a few pamphlets about the church, abortion, etc. but what really concerned me is that there were boxes of just random assortments of stuff as well, including bags of uncooked popcorn and food items as well as supplies that I think are intended for their upcoming fall festival.
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My personal opinion is that it is not okay. As someone else said the altar rail’s significance is that it separates the main church from the sanctuary. Without the altar rail the sanctuary has just become another part of the church, without the recognition of it’s significance. People randomly wander in and out of the sanctuary without any thought to the holiness of the space.
What drew me to this thread was the piling of things on the altar rail. While the altar rail is not the holy place, it leads to the holy place and sets the tone for how the sanctuary will be treated. I have seen people walk through the sanctuary and stop and lay things on the altar table as if it was just an ordinary table.
We have lost our understanding of holy.
 
Catholic25 said:
There’s really no reason to have an altar rail since Vatican II. If there’s literature you have a problem with, definitely call the parish office.
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Where did you get that from? Can you quote for me which Vatican II document tells us to tear out the altar rails?

The altar rail is also much more than a structure for communicants to lean on for receiving Holy Communion. It also serves as a border marker, separating the world from heaven. You knew this was the most sacred area of the sanctuary and you should have the utmost respect for it.

It annoys me how I see in churches without the altar rail you have children running around playing tag and other games around the tabernacle and altar without a care in the world, not even knowing Our Lord resides in the tabernacle and is worthy of adoration and respect.

The sanctuary is a place of worship, not a McDonald’s Play Place.

The removal of the altar rails has served to diminish the sacred importance of the sanctuary in my opinion. I am so glad to see that in many newly built churches, the altar rail is present.
 
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Scott84 said:
The removal of the altar rails has served to diminish the sacred importance of the sanctuary in my opinion.
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Definitely. I’m thankful that in my city there are a few Churches which do still have altar rails of which I am aware of. There may be more though.
 
There are also older churches that have had restorations done this decade that had them put back. I’ve seen lots of restoration photos of churches that had their altar rails removed in the 1970s, only to have them beautifully restored during restoration work done this decade.

It would seem the current trend (at least here in the United States, don’t know for the rest of the world) is for a restoration of old traditions that were discarded quickly in the hurry to implement reform in the 1970s.
 
Scott84 said:
I’ve seen lots of restoration photos of churches that had their altar rails removed in the 1970s, only to have them beautifully restored during restoration work done this decade.
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Yes, I have too. 😃

I also agree that it would seem that when remodeling or simply restoring Churches, the Altar Rails are being installed/returned.

And no, the removing old High Altars, Communion Rails, beautiful stations of the cross, statues etc were not stipulated or required to be removed and yet sadly they were - in many countries.

We have them at my parish, so for the OF Masses people can choose to kneel or remain standing at the rail, as well as receive either on the tongue or in the hand. Obviously in the EF, people kneel to receive on the tongue, but if for whatever physical reason they cannot kneel, they still receive on the tongue. It works for us.

You might be interested in reading -
Church Restoration, Renovation & the Third Millennium
and here is the document mentioned in the article above Opera Artis
 
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That website was a very interesting read indeed. There is a term for what happened back in the 1970s, they called it “Wreckovation” I think.

One of my favorite churches in the US is the St. Francis de Sales Oratory run by Institute of Christ the King. You take one look at this church and it will make you feel so blessed to be Catholic.

My parish is also run by Institute of Christ of the King, but it is no where near as gorgeous as the St. Francis de Sales Oratory. If memory serves, St. Francis de Sales Oratory was voted most beautiful church in America.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
That is georgous!!!

Years ago when talking to a friend I was saying that I went to a Church that I hadn’t been to before and when I entered and looked around I wasn’t sure I was in a Catholic Church! To which the reply was … look for Stations of the Cross!

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Scott84 said:
St. Francis de Sales Oratory was voted most beautiful church in America.
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Unsurprising after seeing that photo!
 
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jimXroberts said:
They symbolise the separation of clergy and congregation
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More “Heaven and Earth” than clergy and congregation . . . and when you go into the history, the altar rail, like the eastern Iconostasis, derives from a physical barrier to keep the animals of the poor (who had no choice but to bring their animals with them) out of the Holy Place . . . other meanings (Heaven and Earth) were added later.

To this day, the doors of the Iconostasis are left open from Pascha (Easter) to Pentacost to show that the barrier between Heaven and Earth has been abrogated . .
midori said:
. People would set their objects they wished to be blessed— statues, pictures, etc— on the altar rail, and after Communion, the priest would bless them all in a group.
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Note that the Byzantine practice for blessing objects is generally for the priest to place them on the Holy Table for the Divine Liturgy . . .
 
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