| Question Title | Posted By | Question Date |
|---|---|---|
| Re:- Western Antimensium | Steven | Friday, March 25, 2005 |
Question: I have just read Fr. Anthony's question of a couple of months ago, and thought the following might help to clarify the matter. I first came across the sort of corporal that Fr. Anthony mentions when I was at school and served as sacristan in the school chapel. I also encountered one when I was at university, and have heard them referred to as "relic cloths" or "Greek corporals". The explanation I was given is that they are essentially to be considered as portable altars in the same way that "altar stones " were. An altar stone was a stone or concrete slab, a little more than a foot square, containing relics. It was consecrated like an altar, and set into the top of a temporay altar-like structure (usually of wood) to give the appearance of a normal altar, in such a way that it would be under the corporal at Mass. The altar stone was the true altar and the "altar" just a support for it. They were often used in temporary chapels (eg in missionary areas) or where the "altar" had to be portable such as in schools or hospitals. The relic cloth was an even more portable version, and could be placed on a table under an altar cloth to provide a makeshift "altar". We used one at school when the chapel was too small and Mass was said in a hall or classroom. Similarly, the university chaplaincy used one as part of a travelling Mass kit when Masses were said in the various colleges of the university. Their use is no longer essential, since relics have not been compulsary for temporary altars since Vatican II, however it would still be appropriate to use one out of devotion, recalling as it does the practice of saying Mass over the tombs of martyrs in the early Church. I would suggest that Fr. Anthony might use his if he is called to say Mass in a school or even a private house. Hope this is of use. Yours in Christ, Steven. |
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| Question Answered by Mr. Jacob Slavek
Dear Steven, Thank you for the comments. Mr. Slavek Footer Notes: (a) A Eucharistic Minister is clergy (Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion). Laity are Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and should never be called Eucharistic Ministers. (b) There is no such Mass called the Novus Ordo. The Current Mass is the Roman Missal of 2000, or the Oridinary Form of the Mass. The Tridentine Mass is the Roman Missal of 1962, or the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Please refrain from using the term, Novus Ordo. Thanks. (c) The titles of Acolyte and Lector belong exclusively to the Installed Offices of Acolyte and Lector, who are men (only) appointed by the Bishop. These roles performed by others are Altar Servers and Readers, respectively. |
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