The Position of the Tabernacle by Helen Hitchcock
Father Ostdiek cites §49 of the Caeremoniale to support his view; but he neglects to mention that the document specifically concerns cathedrals, not ordinary churches. Even within cathedrals, the quoted paragraph "recommends" but does not mandate this placement of the reserved Sacrament.
The footnote to this paragraph from CE (n. 49) refers to the 1967 Instruction of Pope Paul VI, De Sacra Communione... (Holy Communion and Worship outside of Mass) n. 9. The relevant sentence is,
The reasoning here is obvious: in such churches adoration of the Blessed Sacrament could be disrupted by people continually walking about. There is no indication whatever, here or in any other authoritative Church document, that every church, including ordinary parish churches, must or even should have a separate chapel for reservation of the Eucharist.
Attention Deficit?
EACW's justification for construction of separate chapels in all churches is the assertion that "Active and static aspects of the same reality cannot claim the same human attention at the same time".
The authors (and advocates) of EACW imply that most Catholics are incapable of giving their attention to the central action of the Mass if a tabernacle containing the reserved Eucharist is visible. This is simply nonsense. Not a single instance of such confusion is offered as evidence for this supposition.
A proper understanding of Eucharist integrates both transcendent ("vertical") and immanent ("horizontal") dimensions . Yet often those who most strenuously advocate separate Eucharistic chapels for all churches seem to have difficulty integrating the "horizontal" or "communal meal" aspect of the Eucharist with its "vertical" or transcendent aspect, the Sacrifice of Christ to which every believer is called to unite himself.
Indeed, many liturgists today claim that the Second Vatican Council radically altered the Church's teaching about the essential meaning of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and seem to regard the concept of Eucharistic Adoration as an unwholesome "pre-conciliar" distraction from the "real" meaning, which, for them, is "building community". Thus the opposition to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the determined effort to relegate "Jesus to a closet", recently lamented by Cardinal George of Chicago.
The above is just an excerpt from an article by Helen Hitchcock but its implications are appalling.. I remember that a community were told when they were building a new Church that that legislation in the Church was against having the Tabernacle in the centre of the altar. And yet the one official document that dealt with Cathedrals and not parishes, only made a 'recommendation' which the bishop was free to accept or reject.
I remember a time when I read the minutes of a parish council and they were moving the tabernacle. The priest just happened to be passing so I turned to him and asked him why. "It is not liturgically correct" I asked him why and he lost his cool "Are you trying to tell me my job" No, I am asking a question" The Tabernacle was not moved and to be fair I felt for the priest who was surrounded by people who believed that Catholics were indeed so stupid that they were confused during Mass because of the presence of the Tabernacle, and I refer to my previous article where they apparently did not know it was the Holy Spirit and not the priest who changed bread and wind into the Sacred Species. This is a crucial point in how the system worked. Those who loved and adored Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament were backward children and those who were taught they were the real Body of Christ were adults. I put the word 'real' into the text because I must ask myself when I walk into a Church and there is a group of people there are they the real Body of Christ? It would seem a stupid and supercilious question and yet that is what removing the Tabernacle because the congregation is the Body of Christ is telling us. We do not adore the Body of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament because we are the Body of Christ - we are the Community. We do not love and adore Jesus when we receive Holy Communion because we are the Body of Christ - we are the Community.
I remember the days when a few people in my parish tried to keep Adoration going. We were stopped eventually because the 'community people' would never join and the RCIA would never make it clear that Adoration is part of the Catholic Faith. Nor of course were First Communicants and there was even a time when they tried to stop the girls coming in their white dresses, the parents however were appalled and rebelled and it never happened. But it proved how far from Jesus the adults preparing the children were.
Let us stop this nonsense. Let us acknowledge the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus and bow down and worship Him. Yes there is a teaching on the community being the Body of Christ but it is the Mystical Body of Christ. Our hands and our feet are those of Christ in the world, we are Christ to many people but we are not the physical Christ. And in Church the physical Christ is in the Blessed Sacrament.
The footnote to this paragraph from CE (n. 49) refers to the 1967 Instruction of Pope Paul VI, De Sacra Communione... (Holy Communion and Worship outside of Mass) n. 9. The relevant sentence is,
This [personal worship] will be achieved more easily if the chapel is separate from the body of the church, especially in churches where marriages and funerals are celebrated frequently and in churches where there are many visitors because of pilgrimages or the artistic and historical treasures.This passage makes it clear that a separate chapel is recommended especially for large, busy churches, such as cathedrals and those which may be tourist attractions. (St. Peters in Rome has a separate chapel of reservation—in which perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place, and where one always finds visitors kneeling in prayer.)
The reasoning here is obvious: in such churches adoration of the Blessed Sacrament could be disrupted by people continually walking about. There is no indication whatever, here or in any other authoritative Church document, that every church, including ordinary parish churches, must or even should have a separate chapel for reservation of the Eucharist.
Attention Deficit?
EACW's justification for construction of separate chapels in all churches is the assertion that "Active and static aspects of the same reality cannot claim the same human attention at the same time".
The authors (and advocates) of EACW imply that most Catholics are incapable of giving their attention to the central action of the Mass if a tabernacle containing the reserved Eucharist is visible. This is simply nonsense. Not a single instance of such confusion is offered as evidence for this supposition.
A proper understanding of Eucharist integrates both transcendent ("vertical") and immanent ("horizontal") dimensions . Yet often those who most strenuously advocate separate Eucharistic chapels for all churches seem to have difficulty integrating the "horizontal" or "communal meal" aspect of the Eucharist with its "vertical" or transcendent aspect, the Sacrifice of Christ to which every believer is called to unite himself.
Indeed, many liturgists today claim that the Second Vatican Council radically altered the Church's teaching about the essential meaning of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and seem to regard the concept of Eucharistic Adoration as an unwholesome "pre-conciliar" distraction from the "real" meaning, which, for them, is "building community". Thus the opposition to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the determined effort to relegate "Jesus to a closet", recently lamented by Cardinal George of Chicago.
The above is just an excerpt from an article by Helen Hitchcock but its implications are appalling.. I remember that a community were told when they were building a new Church that that legislation in the Church was against having the Tabernacle in the centre of the altar. And yet the one official document that dealt with Cathedrals and not parishes, only made a 'recommendation' which the bishop was free to accept or reject.
I remember a time when I read the minutes of a parish council and they were moving the tabernacle. The priest just happened to be passing so I turned to him and asked him why. "It is not liturgically correct" I asked him why and he lost his cool "Are you trying to tell me my job" No, I am asking a question" The Tabernacle was not moved and to be fair I felt for the priest who was surrounded by people who believed that Catholics were indeed so stupid that they were confused during Mass because of the presence of the Tabernacle, and I refer to my previous article where they apparently did not know it was the Holy Spirit and not the priest who changed bread and wind into the Sacred Species. This is a crucial point in how the system worked. Those who loved and adored Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament were backward children and those who were taught they were the real Body of Christ were adults. I put the word 'real' into the text because I must ask myself when I walk into a Church and there is a group of people there are they the real Body of Christ? It would seem a stupid and supercilious question and yet that is what removing the Tabernacle because the congregation is the Body of Christ is telling us. We do not adore the Body of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament because we are the Body of Christ - we are the Community. We do not love and adore Jesus when we receive Holy Communion because we are the Body of Christ - we are the Community.
I remember the days when a few people in my parish tried to keep Adoration going. We were stopped eventually because the 'community people' would never join and the RCIA would never make it clear that Adoration is part of the Catholic Faith. Nor of course were First Communicants and there was even a time when they tried to stop the girls coming in their white dresses, the parents however were appalled and rebelled and it never happened. But it proved how far from Jesus the adults preparing the children were.
Let us stop this nonsense. Let us acknowledge the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus and bow down and worship Him. Yes there is a teaching on the community being the Body of Christ but it is the Mystical Body of Christ. Our hands and our feet are those of Christ in the world, we are Christ to many people but we are not the physical Christ. And in Church the physical Christ is in the Blessed Sacrament.
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