Sacristan's Corner-- On veils and and seeing 'through a glass, darkly'

Here I've combined the fourth and fifth of the bulletin blurbs I've been writing, since both are on the topic of veils, the last focusing on the veiling of the statues for Passiontide. 

You probably remember that the Veil of the Temple was torn in two at the very moment of Jesus' death. But maybe you wonder what this mysterious veil was. Its origins are in the Book of Exodus, where the Lord instructed that the Holy of Holies containing the Ark of the Covenant and God's Mercy Seat be shielded from people's eyes. 

Veils, in other words, were important for the Jews to separate what is sacred from what is of the world. For the same reason, the tradition of veiling holy things has entered into Christian practice. 

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says that it is “very fitting,” for example, that the chalice be covered with a veil. You may have also noticed that there is now a veil over the tabernacle, which is our own true Holy of Holies, and that there is even a veil over the ciborium which the priest takes from the tabernacle before distributing Holy Communion. 

In short, these veils are beautiful reminders from our Catholic tradition that we ourselves are constantly striving to become less of the world, so that one day we may pass through the veil of this world into God's direct, unveiled presence in life everlasting. As St. Paul beautifully puts it, we see the Lord in the midst of the struggles of this life “through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). 

Today you've probably noticed that all the statues and crosses are now also veiled. These last two weeks of Lent are traditionally known as “Passiontide” because during the 5th week of Lent the Preface of the Lord's Passion is used and then, on Palm Sunday, the Passion account is read. 

Passiontide marks an intensification of our Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In Medieval Germany a large purple cloth known as the hungertuch, or “hunger cloth,” would be stretched across the entire sanctuary throughout Lent to Good Friday, a dramatic precursor to our current practice of veiling the statues. The idea is that we should hunger for the comforting visuals—the familiar statues, images, and artwork that ordinarily aid our prayer and contemplation. 

We will get them back, of course. First the Crucifix will be unveiled for our veneration on Good Friday. Then all the Passiontide veils will come off at the Easter Vigil, for the Risen Lord “satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9).

Blurb 1 (The Crotalus), Blurb 2 (Benedictine Arrangement), Blurb 3 (Benedictine Arrangement, Part 2)

We are all set for Passiontide at St. Peter's, Middle Ridge, Wis.

Sacristan's Corner-- Benedictine Arrangement, Part 2

The third in a series of bulletin blurbs I'm writing...

Last week I wrote about the “Benedictine” arrangement and specifically about the altar crucifix. But you've probably also noticed the six candles placed on the altar for weekend Masses. Why six? Simply because this is the traditional number of candles for Sundays and high holy days. 

Actually, seven candles are used when a bishop presides! In churches like St. James in La Crosse, where the original high altar is again being used, three candles are placed on one side of the tabernacle and three on the other side. 

Here at St. Peter's, our own altar crucifix, a gift from Msgr. Hundt, is from the chapel of the nuns who taught at the parish many years ago. I'm told that the candlesticks are from St. Peter's own high altar. 

What a beautiful sense of continuity there is, therefore, in returning these candlesticks to use. After all, the forebears of so many here at St. Peter's built this church. 

Now they could walk into church and recognize the altar arrangement that they knew, and that their own parents and grandparents and great-grandparents knew, and that even the early Christians knew in their own celebrations of Holy Mass by candlelight in the catacombs.

Blurb 1 (The Crotalus), Blurb 2 (Benedictine Arrangement)

Our Benedictine altar arrangement at St. Peter's Parish, Middle Ridge, Wis., during the Christmas season.

Sacristan's Corner-- The Benedictine Arrangement

The second in a series of bulletin blurbs I'm writing... 

Some are wondering, what's up with the cross and candles on the altar? It's called the “Benedictine” arrangement because it was inspired by Pope Benedict XVI, who suggested it in The Spirit of the Liturgy, published a few years before he became pope. 

Benedict wrote about how, after the Second Vatican Council, priests in many parishes began facing the congregation during the Eucharistic prayer in order to foster a greater sense of community. Fostering community is a laudable goal, Benedict wrote, but “moving the altar cross to the side to give an uninterrupted view of the priest is something I regard as one of the truly absurd phenomena of recent decades. Is the cross disruptive during Mass? Is the priest more important than Our Lord?” 

The idea is that the altar cross, with the corpus facing the priest, permits the priest to gaze upon the Crucified Christ during the Eucharistic prayer, just as the large crucifix suspended above the tabernacle permits of the congregation. After all, that's exactly what the Mass is: the unbloodly renewal of Our Lord's sacrifice on the cross. 

When Benedict became pope in 2005, he implemented the “Benedictine” arrangement for all of his liturgies, and Pope Francis has continued this practice since becoming pope in 2013. Also in the last decade, large cathedral parishes and little country parishes alike all throughout the world have followed the example of Pope Benedict and Pope Francis—including, most recently, St. Peter's Parish, Middle Ridge!

Blurb 1 (The Crotalus)

Our Benedictine altar arrangement during the Christmas season.