Would you like altar rails to return?

[Dr.Bombay]

JKirkLVNV:

No, in fact, it would appear not. Are bishops prohibited from extending it all the time (the bit about times/situations approved by the Holy See)?

No. The Vatican issued a directive after the Council allowing local bishops and national conferences to authorize Communion under both kinds. I don’t believe there’s anything illicit about distributing the chalice, even at daily Mass.

My point is, tho it may be okay, I believe it is an overly generous interpretation of the original Vatican II allowance.

And if I was Pope, I’d interpret it much more narrowly. But that’s why, among other reasons, I’m not Pope.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

Dr. Bombay:

No. The Vatican issued a directive after the Council allowing local bishops and national conferences to authorize Communion under both kinds. I don’t believe there’s anything illicit about distributing the chalice, even at daily Mass.

My point is, tho it may be okay, I believe it is an overly generous interpretation of the original Vatican II allowance.

And if I was Pope, I’d interpret it much more narrowly. But that’s why, among other reasons, I’m not Pope.

Yeah, me either…even though I sat by the phone during the first day of the conclave, thinking they’d call.

 

[Dr.Bombay]

JKirkLVNV:

Yeah, me either…even though I sat by the phone during the first day of the conclave, thinking they’d call.

I even picked out a name: Peter II.

You have to be prepared for any eventuality.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

Dr. Bombay:

I even picked out a name: Peter II.

You have to be prepared for any eventuality.

I was already praticing my wave. Killer name, btw.

 

[bear06]

Dr. Bombay:

No. The Vatican issued a directive after the Council allowing local bishops and national conferences to authorize Communion under both kinds. I don’t believe there’s anything illicit about distributing the chalice, even at daily Mass.

My point is, tho it may be okay, I believe it is an overly generous interpretation of the original Vatican II allowance.

And if I was Pope, I’d interpret it much more narrowly. But that’s why, among other reasons, I’m not Pope.

Hmmm… I thought I remember something about the chalice only being distributed on solemn occaisions and Sunday has been declared such. Sorry, it’s only a vague memory.

 

[mosher]

TOME:

No. I hold that the alter rails create the impression and goes against the understanding that while with in the Liturgy there is the specific roles for the the ordained clergy it is still the Liturgy the worship of the faithful who all share in the priesthood of Christ.
Alter Rails create a psychological barrier that can and often implies that the Mass is the priest work and we are just the spectators or passive participants in the Liturgy.

However, in saying that, if the rails are already there it would be alright not to remove them, but the gates shouldn’t be closed.

I remember arguing this with Topher for years and I have finally won him as a convert to the role of the Communion Rail. His arguement was very similar to this one. My retort has always been that to not have a altar rail is actually a error in the theological understanding of the Liturgy. The altar rail was at one time very similar to the Iconostasis of the Eastern Churches which go from floor to ceiling. In fact, at one point in time they were completely opaque and the gate (doors) were only opened periodically during the process of the liturgy to accentuate the concept of mystery. However, apart from the actual style of the seperation of the sanctuary and the naive there has been a constant theological thread that has spaned the years and has only been disrupted in recent times and that there is a necessary distinction between the sanctuary and the naive because the sanctuary represents the Head and the Naive represents the Body of Christ. This is why all things placed in the Sanctuary have a very specific Christocentric symbolism and those in the naive always have a very Communion of Saints symbolism. This is to remind us that while we are a part of the whole body there is a seperation between us and Christ and a seperation between us and heaven in this modality of the Church. The removal of the barriar (communion rail) removes this quitely taught lesson concerning the idea of the “almost but not yet” in which we find ourselves in the Church Militant. This leads to all sorts of problems with the proper understanding of our role in the liturgy and the lay faithful and the purpose of the liturgy in and of itself.