The Beauty of Altar Rails

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photo: http://peregrinacionvirtual.blogspot.ca/2013/05/32-nuestra-senora-de-walsingham_17.html

The Beauty of Order

Souls need beauty. Beauty is ordered; order is beautiful. Souls need true spiritual structure(s), order, to support a right orientation to God. Communion rails or altar rails, like iconostases and rood screens, provide a focus whereby worshippers, i.e., communicants, can draw near to the Lord in confidence. The rail reminds us that God is above us and yet not distant from us.

The altar or communion rail identifies the arena in which the most profound Mystery one can encounter in this life becomes present. When we altar servers approach the sanctuary, we do so by kneeling at the Foot of the Altar. In a sense, we are kneeling at the feet of the Lord.

Crossing the Line

The altar rail provides a distinction between the profane and the sacred. When a soul has a clear distinction between the sacred and profane to guide them, it is much easier to see where one should be in relation to God. When lines are blurred between the creature and the Creator, as is too often the case preached these days made by well-intentioned but poorly formed mouthpieces who ignore such necessary distinctions, especially with regards to virtue and sin, it is far too easy to fashion a god in one's on image and to worship that god in a way that robs the soul of life, the life which God offers to the obedient believer.

And Samuel said,

Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.—1 Samuel 15:22

The communion rail, rather than merely separating people from God, makes possible a more confident relationship between the worshipper and God by helping the worshipper distinguish between God and idol. Arguably, worshippers become less humble and more susceptible to pride when they lose sight of the horizon defined by God. The altar rail is an horizon toward which the soul is oriented, and like an horizon that ever recedes, God calls us beyond our narrow interests toward Himself, He-Who-Is beyond the horizon and yet entirely present to us as He-Who-Accompanies us toward Himself, as the Resurrected Jesus accompanied the disciples on the road to Emmaus (St. Luke 24:13-35) and led them beyond the confines of their sorrow and confusion to awareness of His real and abiding Presence. Jesus present with us; Emmanuel, God-With-Us (St. Matthew 1:18-35).

Distinction & Opportunity

A true relationship can be forged between hearts and minds when a man and a woman learn that a distinction between them need not be a barrier, an obstacle, but rather can be a bridge between unique persons, an opportunity to discover complementary skills and interests that foster deeper connections between persons. People who put the good of the other before their own narrow self interests can learn to savour the differences between them and also learn how to best overcome obstacles when they encounter the truth about each other. True diversity, i.e., diverse expressions of the one Truth, is an opportunity to forge unity in the Truth among unique persons.

Although man is a creature, a child of God, he can enter into an intimate communion with Jesus Christ and His Church when clear doctrine points the soul in the direction of his Maker. Jesus gives us the grace to enter into relationship with Him and His Church. The soul is made ready for communion through confession of one's sins and by embracing Jesus' invitation to communion.

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Altar Rail Puts Communicants on Right Track
Priests and parishioners explain the value of kneeling when receiving Communion.
—by Joseph Pronechen
In many parishes, a once-standard sanctuary staple is making a comeback: the altar rail.

“Having an altar rail has really brought back a sense of reverence,” said Laurie Biszko, a parishioner at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Tiverton, Rhode Island.

Receiving Communion this way, she said, “You have a chance to focus, make an act of contrition, make an offering, and think about what’s going on. It contributes to making this a much more holy occasion.”

At Immaculate Conception Church in Westerly, Rhode Island, where altar rails were installed this spring, Paul E. Servideo has found receiving Communion kneeling makes him “recognize the level of importance that we should be placing on this particular sacrament.”

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