Introíbo ad altáre Dei

 Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Introíbo ad altáre Dei” were the prayers which began the Mass prior to the reforms following Vatican II.  This is translated as “I will go to the altar of God.” Based in Psalm 43 (42), it is a very important phrase for us to reflect on as we consider what we do each Sunday.  I wrote a couple of weekends ago about the ending of Mass and how it saddens me to see people leave before the final blessing, seemingly not appreciative of the gift just received in the Eucharist.  This weekend I would like to teach on the importance of Sacred Space.

The ancient Israelites desired to build a place worthy of the God they were encountering, that would house the Ark of the Covenant, and so Solomon built a temple based on the Tent of Meeting from Israel’s time in the wilderness.  This temple was destroyed at the time of the Babylonian exile.  After the exile Israel built a second temple. The main purpose of the Temple was to raise the mind to God as a place of prayer and worship.  Hence why Jesus Christ’s only recorded expression of anger is when He cleansed the Temple as told in all four Gospels: (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:14-16).   I bring this to your attention because we once again find ourselves at the beginning of a new academic year and the syllabi have been handed out, the schedules filled in and the stress begins to build.  Our church, therefore, needs to be a sanctuary for our community, a place of prayer.

The church building is meant to be a place of prayer because it is where God resides in the tabernacle.  Whether the prayer is spoken or silent, the church is to be a place where people feel free to come to pray when they want to pray.  As a Christian, a Catholic, a monk, a priest and the one entrusted with the care of souls, I want to encourage an atmosphere of prayer, which has primacy of place within the church building.  It is a place to come before God to worship Him, to adore Him, and to speak to Him like in the Temples of old. Here we offer sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.  Here God resides in the Real Presence of His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, more real than the Shekinah cloud which came into the Tent of Meeting and then the Temple: God’s presence in the Old Testament.  Here Heaven and Earth meet.  This meeting of heaven and earth is expressed in the Tent of Meeting, the Temple of Israel and our churches through art and architecture.  Pillars which remind us of trees, statues and images of saints, frescos, mosaics, etc.  When these elements are missing, we are in danger of reducing the building to something less than the dwelling place of God.  Unlike our Protestant brothers and sisters, we Catholics glory in the tradition of art and architecture because Christ became Man, because in the incarnation the Creator joined with His creation and God took on the clay of humanity, thus restoring creation and stressing its beauty. Catholics of Polish decent go all out, maybe a bit over the top; other churches are simpler in decor, like the people of West Virginia, yet all are to remind us of heaven.  When I was a college student, the chapel was the quiet place on campus, the place of prayer: praise and worship, silent adoration, the Mass, etc., the place to go to be with God.  I ask that our church, our chapel be the same for those who come to be a part of our community.  God bless you all as you begin the adventures of this semester.

Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus – That in all things God may be glorified,

Fr. Isaac Haywiser, O.S.B.
Administrator