Placement of the Tabernacle

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Placement of the Tabernacle; Bishop promulgates norms for tabernacle
Topic Started: Sunday, 19. July 2009, 14:46 (58 Views)
KatyA	Sunday, 19. July 2009, 14:46 Post #1
Administrator Posts: 5,391 Group: Admin Member #6 Joined: September 26, 2006	Bishop John M. D’Arcy of Fort Wayne - South Bend issued instructions that the Tabernacle should always be central and visible. Would that there were more like him Quote: To Priests, Deacons, Religious, and to All the Faithful, The presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is at the center of our faith and of the devotional life of our Catholic people. In recent years, the place of the tabernacle in our churches has become a source of controversy. This should not be. The Eucharist, whether we are referring to its celebration or to the place of reservation, should always be a means of unity and communion, and never of division. The place of the tabernacle in our church should reflect our faith in the real presence of Christ, and should always be guided by church documents. My experience is that our people, with their instinct of faith, have always desired that the tabernacle be central and visible. They find it confusing when the tabernacle in their churches is not visible, and if possible, central. Because of my responsibility to foster the devotional life of our people, and to keep it sound, I have asked our Office of Worship to prepare norms for the placement and design of the tabernacle in this diocese. These norms were brought before the Presbyteral Council, the Liturgical Commission and the Environment and Arts Committee. Suitable refinements and improvements were prepared. These norms are promulgated to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend on June 14, 2009, the feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of the Lord. They will be effective on Aug. 4, 2009, the feast of St. John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of priests, in whose honor the present Year for Priests has been dedicated by the Holy Father Benedict XVI. I urge all priests to follow these norms carefully and completely, and most importantly — to foster devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Sincerely yours in our Lord, Most Reverend John M. D’Arcy Diocese of Fort Worth



Derekap	Sunday, 19. July 2009, 15:00 Post #2
Posts: 3,408 Group: Members Member #14 Joined: September 26, 2006	With occasional exceptions like Westminster Cathedral where a Blessed Sacrament Chapel can be a haven of reverent peace, I prefer the Tabernacle to be centrally visible on the Sanctuary. However, I don't think the Vatican's norms insist on such. Reverting to Westminster Cathedral I must admit the main Sanctuary seems lifeless except for ceremonies.
	Derekap


CARLO	Sunday, 19. July 2009, 16:23 Post #3
Posts: 1,687 Group: Members Member #27 Joined: September 28, 2006	Derekap Sunday, 19. July 2009, 15:00 With occasional exceptions like Westminster Cathedral where a Blessed Sacrament Chapel can be a haven of reverent peace, I prefer the Tabernacle to be centrally visible on the Sanctuary. However, I don't think the Vatican's norms insist on such. Reverting to Westminster Cathedral I must admit the main Sanctuary seems lifeless except for ceremonies. I agree Derek. The Tabernacle should be central. In the great Cathedrals were people come and go often to view the building as much as to worship there is certainly a case for the BS being reserved in a non-central Chapel kept for worship and where peace and quiet reigns. However when one sees the BS exiled to some corner in other Churches of lesser status as a result of post-V2 liturgical fads, one is sorely tempted to weep! De profundis Out of the depths CARLO
	Judica me Deus


Derekap	Monday, 20. July 2009, 15:01 Post #4
Posts: 3,408 Group: Members Member #14 Joined: September 26, 2006	Carlo. I was told by full-time Sacristan in the early 1940s that really the Blessed Sacrament should be kept (according to rules) in a chapel of its own, so I doubt if V2 is to blame.
	Derekap


CARLO	Thursday, 23. July 2009, 22:10 Post #5
Posts: 1,687 Group: Members Member #27 Joined: September 28, 2006	Derekap Monday, 20. July 2009, 15:01 Carlo. I was told by full-time Sacristan in the early 1940s that really the Blessed Sacrament should be kept (according to rules) in a chapel of its own, so I doubt if V2 is to blame. That was in Cathedrals and similar grand Churches Derek where 'visitors' and 'site seekers' come and go in front of the main altar. Pax CARLO
	Judica me Deus


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