THE P RTAL
November 2014
Australia Pages - page 9
The Tabernacle: Living
Heart of Our Churches
The presence of Our Lord in Sacramental form in the
Tabernacle in Church is examined by Bishop Peter J Elliott
E
very Catholic Church contains a tabernacle for the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. The
way the Eucharist is reserved in our churches has varied across the centuries. Methods have included a
shrine or “tower”, a sacred wall safe (aumbry), or a veiled vessel sometimes shaped like a dove, suspended
above an altar (the hanging pyx).
his real presence
The second reason for
a central location of the
After the fifteenth century, the
tabernacle is found in new
Eucharist began to be reserved in
official directions in the
a locked safe called a “tabernacle”
revised General Instruction of
attached to the centre of an altar.
the Roman Missal that came
Church law set out rules for its
out in 2002. The tabernacle is
security and dignity. It was usually
to be located “in a part of the
veiled because “tabernacle” means
church which is truly noble,
the tent of the Lord who dwells
prominent, readily visible,
among us. The veil, or canopy, is
beautifully decorated and suitable for prayer” (no.
still a beautiful symbol of his real presence.
314). Therefore, the tabernacle is meant to be found
After the Second Vatican Council, the spread of Mass in an important place where everyone can see it as
celebrated facing the people meant that the tabernacle well as the lamp that always burns to indicate His real
had to be relocated. It was set directly behind or near presence.
the altar or moved over to a separate Eucharistic
Precise details are found in the General Instruction
chapel. In some dioceses, the separate chapel was
required because liturgical experts insisted on it, but no. 315. A prominent tabernacle is meant to be located
this has led to some unfortunate pastoral and spiritual in either of two areas.
(a) It may be placed on the sanctuary “apart from
problems.
the altar of celebration, in a form and place more
Adoration of Our Lord
appropriate, not excluding on an old altar no longer
In a busy church frequented by tourists, such as a used for celebration”, as has continued in Australian
European cathedral, the separate chapel makes sense cathedrals, for example in Melbourne, Sydney and
as quiet space for prayer, but in most other churches Lismore.
Eucharistic chapels have not worked well. They seem
(b) It may be “in some chapel suitable for the faithful’s
to “sideline” the Lord. People, especially children, private adoration and prayer”. It should be noted that
stopped genuflecting and only the most devout went this Eucharistic chapel is to be “organically connected
over to the side chapel to visit. Adoration of Our Lord to the church and readily visible to the Christian
was reduced to a private optional devotion, like visiting faithful”.
the image of a saint.
The last point rules out a room at the back of a
However, looking around Australia today I see an church or a tabernacle hidden in some obscure place,
obvious trend to return the tabernacle to the centre but the interesting change is the removal of no. 276
of the sanctuary of our churches. There seem to be in the preceding edition of the General Instruction of
two reasons for this. First, there is a natural reason. the Roman Missal, which “highly recommended” a
Our Lord is really present in the Holy Eucharist and Eucharistic chapel, and only conceded other locations
in human terms we want Him to be at the centre of if this was not possible. Now there is no bias in favour
our churches. Pope Paul VI put this symbolism so well of separate Eucharistic chapels, which are moved to
when he described the tabernacle as “the living heart option 2.
of each of our churches”.
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