Altar Rails; not just for ignorant, illiterate peasants anymore!

Guadalupe Shrine altar rails

In Tiverton, R.I., when some parishioners suggested returning altar rails to the sanctuary of Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Father Jay Finelli gladly accepted, little knowing shortly thereafter the Pope’s 2007 motu proprio letter Summorum Pontificum would follow and he would be interested in learning how to celebrate the extraordinary form of the Mass.

In Norwalk, Conn., when a groundswell of parishioner support encouraged pastor Father Greg Markey to restore St. Mary Church, the second-oldest parish in the diocese, to its original 19th-century neo-gothic magnificence, he made sure altar rails were again part of the sanctuary.

Altar rails are present in several new churches architect Duncan Stroik has designed. Among them, the Thomas Aquinas College Chapel in Santa Paula, Calif., the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wis., and three others on the drawing boards.

Altar (Communion) rails are returning for all the right reasons.

Said Father Markey: “First, the Holy Father is requiring holy Communion from him be received on the knees. Second, it’s part of our tradition as Catholics for centuries to receive holy Communion on the knees. Third, it’s a beautiful form of devotion to our blessed Lord.”

James Hitchcock, professor and author of Recovery of the Sacred (Ignatius Press, 1995), thinks the rail resurgence is a good idea. The main reason is reverence, he said. “Kneeling’s purpose is to facilitate adoration,” he explained.

When Stroik proposed altar rails for the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “Cardinal [Raymond] Burke liked the idea and thought that was something that would give added reverence to the Eucharist and sanctuary.”

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/altar-rails-returning-to-use/#ixzz1RKb1GbBQ

Thought I'd share an interesting background about the La Crosse Cathedral built in the early 1960s and her communion "tables." 

The communion stations were designed by the liturgy committee of the Cathedral.  Edward Schulte was much more into ornate buildings than he was into sacred space enhancing the participation of the laity in the Sacrifice of the Mass. 

A consultant to the bishop said that the reason a church was built was threefold:  to proclaim the gospel,  increase participation in the sacrifice of the Mass by bringing the laity closer to the altar, and protect the congregation from the elements.  He went on to say that the criticism of Schulte's architecture was that in his churches you couldn't hear the Word proclaimed, the Altar was as far from the laity as it could be placed and the congregation was surrounded by elements. 

The liturgy committee felt very strongly that a communion rail was a barrier to the sanctuary and the Sacrifice of the Mass.  The stations were designed to be direct extensions of the altar, thus the white marble which is the same of the altar with the bronze inserts of the birds being sustained by the wheat and grapes, thus bringing the Sacrifice, Eucharistic sustenance and the congregation together in unity without barriers.  This symbolism is carried out in the canopies of the choir stalls and on the ceiling of the blessed sacrament chapel, as well as the lights in there, although difficult to see on the lights.

The cathedral was designed before Vatican II and the stations were lauded as foresight into some of the changes that would take place.

The Spirit of Vatican II existed even before Vatican II I guess.  It is just so strange to me that folks were preempting the Council.  Nobody had any idea what the documents might say so they just went ahead and guessed...  Can you imagine if folks had done that prior to the Summorum Pontificum?   Interesting the "tables" were created in a way which prevented receiving communion while kneeling.  *sigh*

Does anyone else day dream about building their own church from scratch?