Tabernacle?

[SacredHeartFan]

When I enter a Catholic Church building (it is the people that make the church) I see the tabernacle directly behind the alter. When I enter the sanctuary at my church it is on the left hand side of the alter. I see many people genuflecting to the alter when they should be genuflecting to the tabernacle. Do you think the placement causes the youth to genuflect to the wrong place and thus instilling in them the need to genuflect to the alter? Do you think the placement of the tabernacle is wrong?

 

[Just_1_hr_a_wk]

Just as the priest bows to the altar as he approaches it for mass it is not wrong for us to bow/genuflect toward it as a sign of respect and reverence for its function.

 

[Phemie]

IMO, that has more to do with inadequate catechesis by their parents and teachers than with the placement of the Tabernacle.

 

[RavenousWolf]

The placement of the tabernacle is in no way incorrect. At the church I grew up in, the tabernacle was to the right of the altar. At the church I currently attend, the tabernacle is in the center of the altar, but it varies just about everywhere I go!

It wasn’t actually until middle school that I realized why people genuflected toward the front of the church, when my religion teacher taught us how to properly genuflect. Now that I am a Eucharistic Minister, I have an even more profound respect for Christ in the Eucharist, and I try to impart this respect to those around me. I do this by genuflecting and bowing at proper times during the Mass, as well as occasionally having conversations with my Catholic friends about the magnitude of the Eucharist. It’s important of course not to force such conversations, but to let them flow naturally.

As the poster before me said, if people are genuflecting improperly, it is just because they haven’t been taught properly. If you have friends who genuflect improperly, this would be the perfect time to gently impart to them some of your knowledge. Simply explain what genuflecting is and that its purpose is to reverence Christ in the tabernacle. You may speak with your parish priest if you are worried about it, though I believe God receives their good intentions and understands our fallible nature (after all, He did create us!).

God bless you and yours in this most joyous of seasons!

 

[Phemie]

Just as the priest bows to the altar as he approaches it for mass it is not wrong for us to bow/genuflect toward it as a sign of respect and reverence for its function.

We genuflect to Christ in the Tabernacle, we bow to the altar.

 

[japhy]

We genuflect to Christ in the Tabernacle, we bow to the altar.

… until the Blessed Sacrament is present on the altar, at which point, if we make a sign of reverence to the altar, it should be genuflection.

 

[John_Lilburne]

… Do you think the placement causes the youth to genuflect to the wrong place and thus instilling in them the need to genuflect to the alter? …

At least this way you can tell when people are genuflecting to the wrong place. They can be told the correct place and the reason for it.