receive Holy Communion, and became known as the communion rail. When the faithful gather at the communion rail, they symbolically gather at the altar. Scripture scholar Dr. John Bergsma, one of my professors at Franciscan University of Steubenville, put it in class once like this: The disciples of Christ recline at the communion rail like the Apostles who reclined at the sacrificial meal of the Last Supper. The altar rail is an extension of the altar and sometimes called “The People’s Altar.” This is why some altar rails are made of the same material and design as the altar. This connection is also seen with the linen communion cloth on top of the altar rail which was required to be used until 1962. The linen communion cloth is still used in some churches today to emphasize partaking at the Sacred Banquet of Heaven, including the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament founded by Mother Angelica, the founder of EWTN. The communion rail facilitates not only a more reverent distribution of Holy Communion, but also a more efficient way. Whether the communicant is standing or kneeling, it is quicker for the priest to keep moving to distribute to the next person who is prayerfully waiting to receive their heavenly food from their spiritual father, representing Christ. While the local norm now in the United State is to receive standing, kneeling is still officially the universal norm for the Roman Rite and cannot be denied to those who continue to wish do so. The communion rail makes it easier for those who desire to kneel in adoration without being rushed while still respecting the desire of those who wish to stand or cannot kneel. Reverence Outside of Mass, the altar rail serves other practical purposes. It encourages reverence of the altar and the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the sanctuary. This is especially pertinent to the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy where pilgrims and visitors are invited to come up some steps to venerate saints in their images and relics in the side chapels but do not always realize they should not step up further into the sanctuary. This issue can be seen in other highly-visited churches without altar rails where many visitors are unfamiliar with the sanctity of the sanctuary. Where an altar rail is missing, red velvet ropes are often used around the sanctuary. Furthermore, the altar rail invites people to come closer to our sanctuary and kneel and pray before the Blessed Sacrament, the Image of the Divine Mercy, the statue of the Immaculate Conception, the image of the Trinity, and the statues of the 12 Apostles. While the images in the side chapels each have a kneeler, the two most important images in our Shrine, the Divine Mercy and the Immaculate Conception, can now more comfortably accommodate those wishing to venerate them up close. On behalf of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception in the USA, thank you very much to all the benefactors who made this beautiful altar rail possible. May the Lord bless this altar rail to help foster a greater sense of the sacred and deeper appreciation of the Eucharist to all those who come here to receive His Divine Mercy, Who is so good to us, that He continues to pour out on us and the whole world His Blood and Water almost 2,000 years later through the Eucharist. By Fr. Matthew Tomeny, MIC Rector of The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy
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