In my parish church, the Tabernacle is in a side chapel, which is actually located at the rear of the church. This means that during Mass, people are sitting with their backs to Jesus. Needless to say, the atmosphere in the church is one of total disrespect for the presence of God. Loud chatter, laughing and conversations are commonplace before and after Mass.
But in the chapel, which I'm pleased to say that five or six people have actually discovered, there is silence and respect for being in the presence of Jesus. But I digress. Let's get back to the Mass, where we are sitting with our backs to Jesus, Who really belongs front and centre in any Mass. We seem to have two camps in our church about whether the chapel doors should be left open or closed during Mass.
Some contend that it is proper to close the chapel doors during Mass, to lessen the impact of us having our backs to God, and to eliminate the disrespect of people not genuflecting when they pass by the Tabernacle as they enter and leave their seats before and after Mass.
Others say they should be left open during Mass so that people can be closer to God. (I contend that the best way to be closer to God is to include Him in the Mass by making Him the central figure, but that's not an option here).
So what we have is a mismatch of doors open one Sunday, and closed another. Maybe they think God doesn't really care as long as our intentions are good. After all, aren't we behaving exactly as we have been taught in the spirit of Vatican II?
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7 comments:
This is one thing that I never could understand!
Why is the Tabernacle relgated to another room or building where the "people" can not see it as they enter Church?
Shouldn't the Tabernacle be front and center and without a need for a GPS locater to find it?
I am glad that my Church makes it easy to find...it is right where it should be front and center!
Centred is the Correct Position:
Unfortunately, there are Compromisers, whole bend over backwards to accomodate Apostates;
& My Latest Rant, a TOP 10 List, on Bad catechetics is up & running
The ones who put Him in a back room are probably the ones who "see Jesus in each other." Why even bother having that clunky "old breadbox" in the chapel cluttering up the place when "jesus" is looking at me through my neighbours eyes. UGH!!!!!
I have this rather weird thought that probably the reason why they want to close the Room with the Real Presence on it is to somehow 'block' God from seeing whatever they are doing; as if God can be 'imprisoned' in a room without no way of finding out!
If we are 'actually seeing Jesus at each other' (Which like 'God is Love' and 'Judge ye not' is a well and good idea taken out of context and turned into something radically different by some people), I guess they need to start asking everyone to stand up in front of the Altar wherein anyone passing in front of the congregation in the Altar can kneel, bow or genuflect in front of; or will they also lock the poor congregation in a room during Mass? :D
There's a church over here that doesn't have the tabernacle front and center, nor is it in an adoration chapel.
It's built into the wall on the side of the church, not even in teh santuary. So if you sat in the first few pews on the side you'd be sitting right next to it. With your attention effectively going past it.
A few weeks ago my wife, daughter and I attended Mass in a nearby parish where a new church was built some years ago. Upon entering, I looked in vain for the Tabernacle. At Communion time one of the EMHCs walked out to the vestibule and came back with a ciborium...
As we left after Mass I discovered that the Blessed Sacrament was reserved in a room off the vestibule. To call it a "Blessed Sacrament Chapel" would be generous. It was more like a closet, an after-thought - something the designer didn't really want to be bothered with, but "had to put Him somewhere..."
I thought: "Whose house is this anyway...?"
At our church the tabernacle is in a side room. I wish they would bring it out into the main body of the church. The first time I went to Mass there I couldn't find it and didn't know which direction to generuflect towards.
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