Wisconsin bishop instructs pastors to move tabernacles to center of churches

[SWolf]

One of the reasons the priest faced Ad Orientem, was because God was thought to be in “heaven above,” exclusively.

Completely and utterly false.

sanctamissa.org/en/faq/praying-the-mass.html

What in the early Church determined the position of the altar was that it faced Eastward. To quote St. Augustine: “When we rise to pray, we turn East, where heaven begins. And we do this not because God is there, as if He had moved away from the other directions on earth…, but rather to help us remember to turn our mind towards a higher order, that is, to God.”

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Completely and utterly false.

sanctamissa.org/en/faq/praying-the-mass.html

I said it was one of the reasons, not the sole reason.

I also know about the facing east symbolism.

Jim

 

[ProVobis]

Of course this wouldn’t be an issue if the holy mass was celebrated Ad Orientem as encouraged by the current prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Cardinal Sarah.

Good grief. We wouldn’t want any more reminders of the old liturgy.

 

[commenter]

.

The “spirit of VII days” habit of placing the tabernacle in side areas was to allow space for adoration and private devotions outside of Mass. There was nothing diabolical about it.

In the years after V2, it was felt that, OF COURSE, all Catholics are very aware of the Real Presence. But some claimed Catholics were ignorant of God’s Presence in the Word. So some parishes moved the Blessed Sacrament to one side of the altar, with the Lectionary on the other side of the altar, equally prominent. Remember this was when “equality” was a mantra. Some parishes even had vigil lights in front of the Lectionary.

From there, it was an easier step to move the Blessed Sacrament to an adjoining room. Often this change was lumped together in a larger project: “We need to clean the Church, repaint, and, um. other updates”. Usually they find the new décor doesn’t have room for a prominent crucifix either. In one parish they decided to start an Adoration Chapel. Great idea! But when people found the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel, they noticed no provision was made for the Blessed Sacrament in the Church. As time went on, fewer people went to the Adoration Chapel, so it is open very, very few hours now. But the Blessed Sacrament was never put back in the Church.

The 1960s assumption - that Catholics overwhelmingly understand and believe in the Real Presence - no longer holds. Catholics who go to separate adoration chapels, which are good in themselves, were raised in churches where the Blessed Sacrament and crucifix were prominent in the church itself.

Historically for most Catholics, the main adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is in the church, before and after Mass, or other activities - even if only 10 seconds recognition. All the other adoration - including now the adoration chapels, are a great supplement for relatively few; not a replacement, for the great majority of Catholics.