Monday, October 10, 2005
"Why Can't I Find Jesus"
To which I might reply, "Because you didn't look for him."
Overheard a few weeks ago: a Catholic from another parish saying he spent weeks after he moved to Kansas City trying to find the Blessed Sacrament in a tabernacle. I've been to about ten of our diocesan churches since I moved here, fifteen if you include the Kansas side. I can't say I sympathize with the person.
If the speaker asked, "Why can't I find Jesus up there behind the altar where I'm used to locating him?" that's a question for which there's a response. About half the churches I've visited since 2002 have tabernacles in separate chapels, and about half the others do not have the tabernacle in a central location, but it is in the sanctuary. I might make some suppositions here:
1. If you can't find the tabernacle behind the altar, you're probably only going to new suburban churches.
2. If you can't find the tabernacle at all, you're just not looking. Nobody puts the Blessed Sacrament in a safe. Go looking for the separate chapel, and maybe you'll find a good place to pray when you get there.
Parishes might do well to resist the one-stop shopping narcissism of the culture: I can go to Mass, get in my obligation, send my kids to children's liturgy of the word, pray quietly before or after Mass, catch up on my neighbor's activities, and/or read the parish bulletin all in one stop.
Tabernacles behind the main altar might be a sign of that easy servicing some Catholic expect. A church is supposed to be a rich building. It should have corners and rooms long-time parishioners are unaware of. It should be able to handle different prayer experiences, rather than attempt to cram everything into one all-purpose room.
Before Vatican II, many churches built with that American pragmatism in mind: put the whole thing into one room and do the whole prayer deal there: Mass, devotions, choir practice, weddings, funerals ...
Churches have separate chapels for good reasons. Some of them have more than one, or devote their one to something besides the tabernacle. If you have the room, that's as it should be. If you have the room, it might inspire someone to get off their duff and go exploring.
