tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6437160031771728493.post6405323624734948263..comments2024-02-20T01:26:10.105-07:00Comments on The Sacred Landscape: Reflections of a Catholic Architect: The return of the altar railSchloederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05785521997797017430noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6437160031771728493.post-3205368507245844732013-01-15T13:05:26.654-07:002013-01-15T13:05:26.654-07:00hi Scott: I don't think that history bears ou...hi Scott: I don't think that history bears out your comment -- standing to receive and the multiplicity of lay ministers only happened in the 60s and 70s when communion rails were taken out -- 60 years after Pius X's motu proprio. I'm not sure how that maps on to your views. <br /><br />I have not done any measurement, but I suspect that the priest moving up and down the line is a lot more "time efficient". I also suspect that a lot of priests would move and keep repeating "Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam" while communicating several people. The altar rails in a lot of the old urban parishes were huge, and a couple of priests could communicate the whole congregation in a reasonable time. It would be interesting to do some actual time studies on this though. <br /><br />I agree certainly with you about the other aspects -- I am not opposed to intinction which could be an acceptable way of reintegrating these other concerns. <br /><br />Pax, <br /><br />SteveSchloederhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05785521997797017430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6437160031771728493.post-27171552244919091142013-01-15T11:26:53.293-07:002013-01-15T11:26:53.293-07:00Interesting commentary. The liturgical use of Comm...Interesting commentary. The liturgical use of Communion rails made (or perhaps makes) sense in a package: kneeling, receiving the host on the tongue, receiving only the host and not from the cup, distribution by the priest celebrant, with a minority of the congregation receiving at any given Mass. Any discussion of returning to kneeling must include discussion of these other factors. Restoring kneeling without restoring some of these other practices may not give the desired effect. Would it be strange to have a dozen extraordinary ministers quickly working up and down the sanctuary side of the rail with patens and chalices aplenty?<br /><br />I believe the causality flowed as such: Pope Pius X strongly promoted frequent, even daily reception of the Eucharist by all Catholics. As a result, a typical parish Mass may have gone from a couple dozen communicants to several hundred at a time, every week of the year. It would have been burdensomely long to distribute to all those people kneeling, so standing became the preferred posture as a matter of practicality. Once standing was the norm, there was no functional use for the rail which helped it to go out of fashion.Scott Pluffnoreply@blogger.com