«GO FURTHER, SO CLOSE YOU MAKE ME DISTURBED …» IF A PRIEST REMOVES THE CRUCIFIX FROM THE CENTER OF THE ALTAR SO THAT IT DOES NOT COVER THE "CENTRALITY" OF THE CELEBRANT-PROTAGONIST, IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF THE LINE

What can we say if videos are circulating in which priests and even bishops are seen going up to the altar and removing the crucifix from above it because it evidently takes away visibility, it occupies the space that the celebrant will take up shortly afterwards, sometimes brandishing monstrous microphones that, those yes, they can very well stay where they are?

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What is strange and bizarre it usually strikes a chord social, because it dramatically increases views and attracts people's comments. No human sphere can be considered alien to this anxiety of searching for the particular, from the ridiculous to the monstrous, even the religious one.

Some truly strange events which took place in churches have found success on the various most famous and used platforms. From the priest who sings a popular song from the altar or makes it the backdrop for small laughable videos, to the shocking clothes of some spouses, to certain excessive blessings with holy water. Does anyone use i social also to stigmatize these behaviors that happen in churches or those gestures that border on the abuse of the place, because they are not suitable, that of the liturgy used at will. The world has become a great stage and unfortunately even religious people think that it can be accessed by exploiting the space of a church hall or presbytery. A few days ago there was news about a designer who designed a more than transparent wedding dress for a church wedding and there was no shortage of people who were able to comment: «A church is just a building, he can wear whatever he wants" (WHO).

But what can we say if videos are circulating in which priests and even bishops are seen going up to the altar and removing the crucifix from above it because it evidently takes away visibility, it occupies the space that the celebrant will take up shortly afterwards, sometimes brandishing monstrous microphones that, those yes, they can very well stay where they are?

The Bishop of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro

A priest of the Archdiocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno

The oddities of our time which also intersect the religious world and how the liturgy is lived and celebrated gives us the "La" to remember that the presbyters are not the undisputed masters of the celebrations and that in truth they are acting for a service that conveys a greater and deeper mystery. In this regard, I would like to focus on the altar because some oddities and distortions have occurred there, at the hands of some celebrant or diligent "pastoral worker", not to mention the so-called "liturgical animators" who think they can act as they please or more likely forget that the altar is not just any furniture, a place to put things in bulk.

Just to set the record straight, in the rite of dedication of the altar it is said that:

«with the anointing of Chrism [esso] becomes a symbol of Christ, who was called Anointed most worthily of all; in fact the Father anointed him with the Holy Spirit and made him High Priest, who offered the sacrifice of his life for the salvation of all on the altar of his own body" (Order of the dedication of the Church and the Altar, IV/22).

LThe altar is therefore a symbol of Christ and this doctrine is traditional. Saint Ambrose mentioned it several times:

«What is the altar, if not the sign of the body of Christ?» (What is the altar?, except the form of the body of Christ?), (Comm. in Cant. I,6: PL 15,1855; Of the sacred., V, 2, 7; cfr IV, 2, 7: PL 16, 447. 437).

The historical events which concern the presence of altars in churches are ancient and complex and naturally go beyond this modest contribution. We could start with the fixed altar that began to appear in the basilicas of the 4th century, until the adoption of the stone altar for which the biblical symbol of Christ "cornerstone of the spiritual building" was no stranger (cf.. Shall 118, 22; Mt 21, 42; At 4, 11; 1Color 10, 4; 1PT 2, 4-8). We could mention the ancient custom of celebrating the Eucharist on the tombs of martyrs which found concrete translation in the construction of altars above their tombs, as well as the translation of their relics under the altars of the new basilicas. Saint Ambrose always writes about this: «In the place where Christ is the victim, there are also triumphal victims. Above the altar him, who died for everyone; these, redeemed by his passion, under the altar" (Letter 22, 13: pl 16, 1023).

Of all the places that are present in a church only the altar knows a dedication rite, to underline its excellence:

«The altar, on which the sacrifice of the cross is made present in the sacramental signs, it is also the table of the Lord, in which the people of God are called to participate when they are summoned for Holy Mass; the altar is the center of the thanksgiving that takes place with the Eucharist" (The general setting of the Roman Missali, 296).

Even the Supreme Pontiff remembered it: «The gaze of those praying is directed towards the altar, priest and faithful, summoned for the holy assembly around it" (Speech by 24 August 2017).

The importance of the altar it is naturally also remembered by the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

«The altar, around which the Church is gathered in the celebration of the Eucharist, it represents the two aspects of the same mystery: the altar of sacrifice and the Lord's table, and even more so since the Christian altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present and as a victim offered for our reconciliation, both as heavenly food that is given to us" (n. 1383).

For these reasons the liturgical reform going back to the ancient Christian tradition, he wanted only one altar to be built in churches, detached from the wall to be able to walk around it and celebrate towards the people, placed in a way that attracts attention. That it was normally fixed and dedicated, with the stone table, but other worthy matters are not excluded, solid and well made. And relics of saints can be placed under the altar; that it is covered with a tablecloth and there is a cross and candlesticks above or next to it (The general setting of the Roman Missal, 298-308).

Veneration for the altar - who in fact kisses, it is incensed and bowed before it - it is motivated by its connection with the sacrifice of Christ, to whom, in the Sacrament, the sacrifice of the praying Church is associated. The spiritual offering of the faithful is placed on it, signified in bread and wine, because the Holy Spirit, for the ministry of the priest, make them a sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, so that those who feed on it become one body in Christ, to the praise of God the Father. The prayer in the preface in the dedication mass expresses this well: «Around this altar we nourish ourselves with the body and blood of your Son to form your one and holy Church».

And it is precisely the uniqueness of the redemptive sacrifice, on Calvary and in the Eucharist, on the part of Christ priest and victim, which led the conciliar liturgical reform to establish that multiple Masses cannot be celebrated at the same time in the same church and that in new churches there should be only one fixed altar. The intention to educate the Christian people with this practice and with this sign is clear, the altar, which «represents (meaning) clearly and permanently Christ Jesus, Living stone, and represents in the midst of the assembly of the faithful the one Christ and the one Eucharist of the Church" (The general setting of the Roman Missal, NN. 298, 303).

The Second Vatican Council ended in 1965, yet on this aspect, as on others, for that matter, the sensitivity of those Fathers who celebrated the important assembly and that of the many documents that followed unfortunately does not seem to have been acquired or recovered by everyone. In 2002, for example, the Holy thirst, or the Congregation for Divine Worship, had to intervene to declare it "unlawful" to celebrate the First Communion Mass on a temporary altar in the middle of the church with the naive intention of "evoking the Last Supper", since it is a useless duplication of the "sign already present"; a gesture designed to confuse the people by distracting them from the essentials. But also today in some Parishes, sometimes in front of the altar, someone places a table with the symbols of Passover on it, thus generating total liturgical and theological confusion, even if the intent would be the opposite. It is not unusual for the altar to become a support for explanatory posters, for example of a particular liturgical season and everything is placed underneath it, from the Nativity scene at Christmas time to the various offers, sometimes curious, in some celebrations. I once saw a poor little lamb forced to stay in a basket under the altar all the time when it probably would have preferred to graze in a meadow. At a certain point he started to bleat, creating hilarity in those present at the Eucharist. And a bit of everything is placed on top of it and perhaps for this very reason, as mentioned above, some celebrants find nothing better than raising the Cross, probably considering it a redundant furnishing, while instead it is foreseen and placed there to remind us towards whom we must turn our gaze.

How to fix all this? Certainly through the continuous training of everyone. Of the priests first who must take care of the celebrations and therefore be expert knowledge of the subject. In this case of the peculiarity and centrality of the sign of the altar which refers to that of Christ. They should remember, for instance, and even outside the liturgical action, the altar is an invocation and expectation of the presence of Him, Christ, who makes all things new (cf.. AP 21, 5).

Because of this, through catechesis and educational moments, they must help the faithful to form spiritually and become aware of a well-celebrated liturgy with its own signs, transparent and more important, just like the altar, it is and must be the first school in itself: «The law of prayer, law of belief».

We started by remembering the horrors that the social they are ready to reverberate until a new and sensational one pops up. Among these, some have to do with what happens in the church and in the liturgies. Thus was born this contribution which is not intended to make people laugh or multiply negative comments, as happens on Web. But it's just an invitation to take, from this circumstance, the importance and beauty of the contents of the faith and how they are expressed in the liturgy. If mistakes have been made in this area and will be made, the principle always applies: «Errors are corrected where detectedr»; that we could translate: mistakes are corrected as soon as you realize you have made them.

In conclusion we cannot fail to remind all those naive Catholics, so worried about being scandalized and shouting scandal, but not as concerned about carefully checking news and images, that many videos they posted on social they have nothing to do with the Catholic Church and our clergy. In fact, there are pseudo churches around the world which in their external liturgical apparatus are inspired by the Catholic Church. In this regard it would be enough to remember that after the First Vatican Council (opened in 1869, finished in 1870, but formally closed only in 1960) there was a schism that gave birth to the so-called Old Catholic "church".. Only from this aggregation were born and subsequently multiplied dozens of self-styled "churches" managed by rather exotic characters. Having seen and considered that there is enough liturgical abuse in our Catholic clergy; seen and considered that sometimes one almost has the impression that some of our priests compete with each other to see who can perform the most eccentric extravagance, that at least other people's antics are not attributed to us, because ours are enough and more than enough, as well as sufficiently embarrassing those of us who continue to be Catholic.

 

Florence, 20 July 2024

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