Will altar rails be put back?

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KatholikosMercy

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If I have missed an answer to this question already I apologize.

I am not at all certain how the “Old” Mass will be implimented in the States?

Will our Bishops and Priests decide if they want to do it or not?

I know I saw the patents from when I was a kid in the basement of the rectory covered with dust and cob webs just rotting 10 years ago now.

If I seem confused your right.
 
KatholikosMercy said:
If I have missed an answer to this question already I apologize.

I am not at all certain how the “Old” Mass will be implimented in the States?

Will our Bishops and Priests decide if they want to do it or not?

I know I saw the patents from when I was a kid in the basement of the rectory covered with dust and cob webs just rotting 10 years ago now.

If I seem confused your right.
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The parish’s basement? If so (first make sure that the pastor won’t just get rid of them) tell him about it. Tell him that it could be valuable to protect our lord by using the patens.

Catholig
 
some churches never removed their altar rails, and some of those churches still use their’s for communion.
 
KatholikosMercy said:
What a mess!

Some reformation huh?

We have lost order.
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while i haven’t read the vatican II documents (were we told to not use and remove the rails?), i am confused by your comments? what reformation are you referring to?
 
KatholikosMercy said:
If I have missed an answer to this question already I apologize.

I am not at all certain how the “Old” Mass will be implimented in the States?

Will our Bishops and Priests decide if they want to do it or not?

I know I saw the patents from when I was a kid in the basement of the rectory covered with dust and cob webs just rotting 10 years ago now.

If I seem confused your right.
Click to expand...
That’s a good question. I don’t have an answer, but wanted to join the thread. I know that some churches did not rip out their altars when Vatican II was implemented. Our Cathedral and it’s chapel are two examples of preserving the altar rails, although they don’t use them as of yet. I’ve actually attended mass at two churches that still used the patents during the N.O. mass. One was just a place that I visited for mass one day. The other was a little Irish parish of mostly farmers that I used to attend with my family as a child and throughout my adulthood whenever we stayed at our home up in the mountains. This was throughout the 80s and 90s. It does make sense to bring them back, as I’ve seen extraordinary ministers and even priests at the times accidently drop the host on the ground.
 
chewchoo said:
while i haven’t read the vatican II documents (were we told to not use and remove the rails?), i am confused by your comments? what reformation are you referring to?
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I dont think so.

I am confused.

I don’t see any reform except the one in the courts.

Only more confusion and disorder.
 
Sarabande said:
That’s a good question. I don’t have an answer, but wanted to join the thread. I know that some churches did not rip out their altars when Vatican II was implemented. Our Cathedral and it’s chapel are two examples of preserving the altar rails, although they don’t use them as of yet. I’ve actually attended mass at two churches that still used the patents during the N.O. mass. One was just a place that I visited for mass one day. The other was a little Irish parish of mostly farmers that I used to attend with my family as a child and throughout my adulthood whenever we stayed at our home up in the mountains. This was throughout the 80s and 90s. It does make sense to bring them back, as I’ve seen extraordinary ministers and even priests at the times accidently drop the host on the ground.
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Where is the unity if every other diocese interprets everything differently?
 
There is of course much more involved than just altar rails since kneelers could probably be provided where necessary to fulfill that need. There may be some rule though that does in fact require the rails to separate off the sanctuary area. I’m not sure about that one.

There is the matter of the altar itself. Would each church being asked to provide a TLM have to install a second altar? Or somehow move them around after each Mass? Realistically, most churches build since Vatican II are not set up for the logistics of the TLM, either in altars or altar rails.

I would tend to think that as a practical matter it will require that certain churches that do have the altars and altar rails available, as well as priests trained to offer the liturgy, would have to centralize TLM’s rather than having them in each parish.
 
In a church in my diocese, which is a newer church, they use about 6 one person kneelers and call that an altar rail. They use them for all the NO masses.
 
KatholikosMercy said:
Where is the unity if every other diocese interprets everything differently?
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I’m not much help with answering questions as I grew up post Vatican II and admit that I’m ignorant in regards to what the document required for the use or disuse of altar rails and other such things, which is why I joined this thread. What seems consistant in what I’ve read and learned in the VII document is that while there may have been good things that came out of it (depending on how a person looks at it), there was also a lot of ambiguity. Too much suggesting rather than mandating, saying that while it is right and proper to do something one way, it is acceptable to do it the other way if A, B, C and E. That may have caused some sort of the disunity and probably why we had some churches ripping out the altar rails, among many other things. But I’m a child with my knowledge on this since I’ve done most of my reading only on the sacred music and arts section of the document, as I’m a musician. So, someone else who is more versed would probably have a better idea. Hopefully, what they have now will help form more unity with what is permitted, although it will take some time to get everything synchronized, so to speak.
 
I have been thinking a lot about this question. (That is always a bad sign!) It is hard for those of us past a certain age to knee for communion and then get up without the help of the altar rail, but I am sure that it would be difficult to convince many pastors to install them. I thing that someone should sell a removable altar rail made in the same way as some fences that I have seen for swimming pools. The rail could be made in sections with metal dowel coming out of the ends of each section. The dowels would fit into holes fitted with tubes which would be flush with the floor. The altar rail could be used for the 1962 Mass, and then removed for other Masses if space was need for the folk group! What do you folks think?!
 
Marysann said:
I have been thinking a lot about this question. (That is always a bad sign!) It is hard for those of us past a certain age to knee for communion and then get up without the help of the altar rail!
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I couldn’t do it either, I would have to stand at the very end of the row–with my cane in hand I don’t think anyone would think I was being disrespectful.

At the TLM that I used to attend if I was visiting my parents, they used the first row of pews because there was no altar rail. It actually worked quite well…
 
ncjohn said:
There is of course much more involved than just altar rails since kneelers could probably be provided where necessary to fulfill that need. There may be some rule though that does in fact require the rails to separate off the sanctuary area. I’m not sure about that one.

There is the matter of the altar itself. Would each church being asked to provide a TLM have to install a second altar? Or somehow move them around after each Mass? Realistically, most churches build since Vatican II are not set up for the logistics of the TLM, either in altars or altar rails.

I would tend to think that as a practical matter it will require that certain churches that do have the altars and altar rails available, as well as priests trained to offer the liturgy, would have to centralize TLM’s rather than having them in each parish.
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Its my understanding that it is to be made available when requested. What that means exactly as per requesting of a priest at parish level or a diocese.
 
There is an easy solution to altar rails that’s been implemented in a lot of churches… just leave the first row of pews empty and step into them to use them as kneelers.
 
As far as the altar goes, my parish has the “celebrating” part of the altar on lockable wheels. It is out for the NO mass and pushed back against the rest of the altar for the TLM mass. It works fine.
 
Rolltide said:
There is an easy solution to altar rails that’s been implemented in a lot of churches… just leave the first row of pews empty and step into them to use them as kneelers.
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That’s assuming the pews haven’t been replaced with chairs. New churches usually just have chairs, too.
 
katy said:
As far as the altar goes, my parish has the “celebrating” part of the altar on lockable wheels. It is out for the NO mass and pushed back against the rest of the altar for the TLM mass. It works fine.
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It has been my understanding that altars are to be permanently situated. Is this perhaps an abuse?:confused:
 
rwoehmke said:
It has been my understanding that altars are to be permanently situated. Is this perhaps an abuse?:confused:
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I’m pretty sure it’s not. I remember when we had the special Novus Ordo altar made so that it could be easily removed for a TLM. Our priest was especially attentive to rules and rubrics concerning the Mass and never would have a ?non up to the rubrics altar".
 
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