Altar and Sanctuary

52 Pages·2012·17.64 MB·English

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Altar and Sanctuary
An Exposition of the
Externals of the Mass
PREPARED FOR THE USE OF CATHOLIC
STUDY CLUBS
BY
ANGELA A. CLENDENIN
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
REV. LEON A. McNEILL, M.A.
DIOCESAN SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
WICHITA, KANSAS
PUBLISHED BY THE
CATHOLIC ACTION COMMITTEE OF WOMEN
307 EAST CENTRAL AVENUE
WICHITA, KANSAS

Altar and Sanctuary
An Exposition of the
Externals of the Mass
PREPARED FOR THE USE OF CATHOLIC
STUDY CLUBS
BY
ANGELA A. CLENDENIN
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
REV. LEON A. McNEILL, MA.
DIOCESAN SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
WICHITA, KANSAS
PUBLISHED BY THE
CATHOLIC ACTION COMMITTEE OF WOMEN
3 07 EAST CENTRAL AVENUE
WICHITA, KANSAS
PRICE 25 CENTS
Nihil Obstat
REV. JAMES G. MAHER, D. D.
Censor Deputatus
Imprimatur
* AUG. J. SCHWERTNER
Bishop of Wichita
Wichita, September 9,1932
COPYRIGHT, 1932, ANGELA A. CLENDENIN
'ji Spsoial '
l^Cokbaans.
NS)IVS?
D E D I C A T I ON
"Great was my joy in being allowed, to touch the Sacred
Vessels and prepare the Altar linen on which Our Lord was
to be laid. I felt that I must increase in fervor and 1 often
recalled those words addressed to deacons at their ordina-
tion: 'Be you holy, you who carry the vessels of the Lord'."
"You know, dear Mother, how fond I am of flowers. . . .
Well I never possessed so many flowers as I have since enter-
ing Carmel. . . . For His Altar I received, in abundance, all
the flowers I loved best, cornflowers, poppies, marguerites—
one little friend only was missing, the purple vetch. I
longed to see it again, and at last it came to gladden me
and show that, in the least as in the greatest, God gives
a hundred-fold, even in this life, to those who have left
all for His love."
Autobiography of The Little Flower.
TO THE SACRISTAN OF CARMEL, THEN,
I BRING THIS HUMBLE
"PURPLE VETCH."

CONTENTS
Introduction .„•..•«{...,•'¡»^•.1. II¿«[pi •• -SBl 7
Organizing the Study ClubJRyt 9
The Christian AltariQgS ''IBSV*!?- • 12
Altar Furnishings and Decorations __________ 17
Church Linens J ''Su '\m . $ 23
The Sacred Vessek._*lHHL«. raff. -MBj 27
i
Light and Color in the Liturgy ' r ' MKi)* JH| 32
The Sacerdotal Vestments—I 37
The Sacerdotal Vestments—II sillto—, wl". 43

Introduction
"ALTAR AND SANCTUARY," an unpretentious treatise on the externals of the
Mass, is presented by its sponsors as a study club textbook. It has been planned and
prepared to meet the needs of average groups of the laity who wish to engage in
cooperative study of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Adult study is rapidly assuming an important place in the educational life
of our times. Men and women, busy with the affairs of daily life, and with only
a minimum of time available for cultural pursuits, have found the study club
a medium for serious study and for exchange of ideas on worth-while subjects.
Often study club groups work under great handicaps, one of which is the
absence of material suitable for their particular type of study. This booklet repre-
sents an attempt to organize a unit of study, to develop it in compact and readable
form, and to make it available as an individual textbook for members of study
clubs.
Experience has shown that the laity are eager to know more about the Mass,
in order that they may assist with greater devotion at the Holy Sacrifice and par-
ticipate more abundantly in its fruits. Perhaps no subject is more popular with
Catholic study clubs.
A study of the form, use, history, and symbolism of the externals required in
the celebration of Holy Mass—things with which all of us are more or less familiar,
but about which we know so little—would seem to be a psychological approach to
the study of the Mass itself. If this booklet proves serviceable in the field for which
it is intended, it will be followed by others on the theology, the ceremonies, and the
prayers of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
We cherish the hope that this little book may take its place in the steadily
increasing list of popular publications which are contributing so much to the
liturgical revival in the Church. May it also stimulate in some slight degree the
growth of the study club movement, leading those who peruse its pages in quest
of knowledge to a more sincere contemplation and a more loving service of Him
who is the Fount of all Truth.
REV. LEON A. MCNEILL, M.A.
Feast of St. Joachim,
August 16, 1932.
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