Bishop D’Arcy, first made headlines with the Notre Dame scandal, now he goes deeper calling his flock to put Jesus in the center of the Church. Literally, he is mandating all tabernacles to be placed in the center of the Church.
Read below for full details.
To Priests, Deacons, Religious, and to All the Faithful,
The presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is at the center of our faith and of the devotional life of our Catholic people.
In recent years, the place of the tabernacle in our churches has become a source of controversy. This should not be. The Eucharist, whether we are referring to its celebration or to the place of reservation, should always be a means of unity and communion, and never of division.
The place of the tabernacle in our church should reflect our faith in the real presence of Christ, and should always be guided by church documents.
My experience is that our people, with their instinct of faith, have always desired that the tabernacle be central and visible. They find it confusing when the tabernacle in their churches is not visible, and if possible, central.
Because of my responsibility to foster the devotional life of our people, and to keep it sound, I have asked our Office of Worship to prepare norms for the placement and design of the tabernacle in this diocese. These norms were brought before the Presbyteral Council, the Liturgical Commission and the Environment and Arts Committee. Suitable refinements and improvements were prepared.
I urge all priests to follow these norms carefully and completely, and most importantly — to foster devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
Sincerely yours in our Lord,
Most Reverend John M. D’Arcy
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2 comments:
YES! There is nothing worse than entering a Catholic Church and wondering where the Tabernacle is, like the time I attended Mass in a church in Cranbrook B.C. and couldn't see the Tabernacle anywhere; turns out they relegated the Lord of Lords to a room in the basement. I was horrified, and have never gone back there. In our Church, it's to the right of the Altar; I'd much rather see Him placed front and center, as he should be in our lives.
Yes, yes, yes let's pray for Bishop D'Arcy that he can make this a success throughout
the US, Canada and the world.....
I'd sure like to see another major change in the Catholic church and that is that all priest go back to the original way of praying in the confessional when the penitent
enters the confessional rather than just sitting there not uttering a word except "you may proceed" and, a new one I just encountered the other day is the Priest asking that the sign of the cross be made jointly with the priest, followed immediately by
the penitents confession.
Why are some priest so afraid to pray??
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