RCIA Class 11 – The Tour of the Church

1. RCIA Class 11 – The Tour of the Church

2. Today’s topics! • The Tour of the Church. • First, we will start talking about church architecture, • Then we’ll talk about the different things that we see at church, • Altar • Candles • Books • Incense • Vestments • Sacred vessels • And the various things we use in the church throughout the year and why we use them.

3. What is the Church? • The word Church • Comes from a Greek word “ekklesia.”’ • Comes from a Latin word, “ecclesia,” • These words mean • “those that are called together,” • “those that are assembled together.”

4. When were the 1st Churches established? • If we were to open our Bibles to the Acts of the Apostles, we would see that the apostles traveled from church to church shortly after the time of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension. • The church building as we know it today – probably came in the first couple of hundred years. • As we discussed in a few classes earlier, the Christians in the early church were persecuted and Christianity was not legalized until the year 315 under Constantine.

5. What about the first churches? • The first churches were built in the early days of Christianity, probably in the first couple of hundred years. • There was persecution of the Christian Church under the emperors, such as Nero, Decius, and Diocletian. • The first churches began to be built under Constantine about the year 315. • Before that, the people were meeting in peoples’ homes for services. • In the first 300 years, they were also meeting in the catacombs, the underground tunnels underneath the city of Rome. • Churches eventually began to be built. Most of them were in the center of towns

6. Then and Now • If you go to Europe today, and you want to find where the church is, just go to city center. • Usually they have steeples or bell towers, because in those days, that was the easiest way for people to see the churches at a distance. • Back then the Church was the very center of a person’s whole life. • Nowadays, in America, the shopping mall might be the center, or some other place; • In the early years, everything was centered around the cathedral, or the basilica, or the churches in Europe. • That was always the largest building in town.

7. The Cruciform • The shape of most of the ancient churches was in the “cruciform” shape, or the shape of the Cross. • What’s interesting about the cruciform shape is that it actually reminds us of the Body of Christ. • Some Churches today are built in this traditional way

8. Cruciform Architecture!

9. What do we see in churches? • In the Cruciform Churches design what you would find is the tabernacle would be at the center. • The tabernacle is the most important thing you’ll see in a Catholic Church. • Even the Jews in the Old Testament had the tabernacle, or a tent, a dwelling place. • The tabernacles were set up by the People of God as they traveled throughout the desert. • They said that God dwelt in a special way in His tabernacles. • The tabernacles would be like little meeting tents, and that’s where they would have worship of God.

10. Tabernacle – the home of Jesus • Today we call our central focus, the tabernacle, usually referred to as the gold box at the center behind the altar, • You’ll see this in every Catholic Church, usually they’re right in the center of the church. • Some places will put them on the side, but usually they’re in the center. • Before we leave today, we’ll have all of us go up and get a sneak peak tour of the tabernacle. • The tabernacle is where the Lord is present, Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. You can always tell that the Lord is present, because there will be a candle lit. It’s called the sanctuary lamp.

11. What is the sanctuary? • The word sanctuarycomes from a Latin word sanctus, meaning “holy.” • The holiest place in the Catholic Church, or any church for that matter, would be the area called the sanctuary.

12. What do we find in the sanctuary? • The altarwould be located in the sanctuary, • An altar is where the sacrifice is offered. • In the Catholic Church, the altar is the table on which the sacrifice of the Mass is offered. • On the altar, one or more relics of martyrs are commonly set into the altar, usually a patron saint of the church. • In the early church and in the catacombs, the altar was usually covering a tomb of a martyr. • St. Peter and St. Paul, etc.

13. In a church, we also find pews... • The pews, come from a French word meaning “benches,” or “seats.” • The pews are seats for worshippers in the church. • Pews are an early medieval innovation in the West, they developed from stone seats attached to walls

14. Kneelers… • In many churches, pews are equipped with kneelers in front of the seating bench so members of the congregation can kneel on them instead of kneeling on the floor. In a few other situations such as confessionals and areas in front of an altar, kneelers for kneeling during prayer or sacraments may also be used

15. Christ the Head • What’s interesting is that when you look at the church, you’ll see that it really resembles a body. • You have Christ, the Head, because He is in the tabernacle. • The tabernacle is where we keep the Blessed Sacrament, or Holy Communion, Christ Himself. Christ is the Head of the Church, so He’s there in the very central, and the Head of the Church. • Then, where we sit, and we make up the arms and the legs of the Church. We’re the Body of Christ. We sit out here in the pews. It’s the shape of a human person. The arms, and the legs, and the head - Christ being at the Head. The altar is in the sanctuary, which is the heart.

16. Then we have other altars… • The high altar receives its name from the fact that it is the chief altar in a church, • Because it is the main altar, it is raised on an elevated plane in the sanctuary, where it may be seen simultaneously by all the faithful in the body of the church. • The high altar symbolizes Christ, and it serves at the same time as the banquet table on which He offers Himself through the hands of the priest to the Eternal Father; for Christ is present in our churches not only in a spiritual manner but really, truly, and substantially as the victim of a sacrifice. • A sacrifice necessarily supposes a priest and an altar, and the Acts of the Apostles 2:42 plainly indicates that the faithful are to participate in the prayers of the sacrifice and to partake of the victim. • Priest and altar – are not both present in other churches (non-Catholic).

17. High altar • At the center of the high altar is the tabernacle. • Most high altars are very tall, and they are made of either marble or stone

18. Other altars… • Some churches might have other altars, like altars to St. Mary and St. Joseph. • Masses can be said on these altars if there is a pastoral necessity. • These altars would have been used when there were several priests living at one place, and they would read their own Mass, if the church had many different functions happening during a given day. • Every priest is obliged to say one Mass every day whether there is a congregation present or not!

19. Our church here at St. Philip Neri seats anywhere between 350-400 people. • We have roughly 750 parishioners and 290 families

20. The Vestibule

21. Next, we have a vestibule? • This is called a vestibule, or a narthex. • That’s a Greek word meaning “like an entranceway.” • The idea of the vestibule is that you want to transition from coming from the business of the world into the Church of God, or the House of God. • The Church is called God’s House. You want to be able to transition from the worldliness, and all your cares of the world, and all the busy activities, so you transition from the world into Sacred place. • The narthax is supposed to do that.

22. The Vestibule • That’s why you’d have coffee and donuts out there. You wouldn’t have coffee and donuts in the church, because this is a very holy and a very sacred place. • You could have them out in the vestibule, which is fine. That’s an area for gathering, for community, for fellowship, and for socializing. • The vestibule here at St. Philip’s has a bathroom, and provides room for books, CDs, or pamphlet racks, bulletin boards • Once we leave the vestibule and enter the church, we enter the nave.

23. The Nave

24. The Nave • Once we enter into the main part of the church that is called the nave. • We get the word “navy” from that. • “Nav” is the word meaning “the ship,” so most churches were in the shape, for example, of the ship. • In fact, the Church is always seen as the Ark of Salvation, almost like a ship upon which people go into to be saved. • Remember, at the time of Noah, when the Flood came, the people that were on the Ark were saved – those who weren’t were drowned outside. • Many of the churches have a sort of nautical feel to them, to remind us of the Ark of Salvation, wanting to be on the Ark when the Flood came, that we could be saved.

25. What is the nave? • The nave is the central open space in the church, often separated from the sanctuary by steps • The nave refers to the part of the church reserved for worshippers, including the central and side aisles and crossing transepts.

26. The transept • The transepts are the arms. • Some churches have sacristies in their transepts. • A sacristy is a room where the clergy vest and prepare for liturgical functions • The sacristy houses for sacred vessels, vestments, and other articles used for worship. • The transept crosses the main part of the sanctuary.

27. The transept • The transept is the arms of the church. • There is the altar, the Altar of Sacrifice. • That is where the Sacrifice of the Mass takes place. • As we’ll hear in a few weeks, the Mass is the same sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. • It’s not a new sacrifice; it’s the one and only sacrifice, of Jesus offering Himself to the Father; but we are privileged that at the Mass, we are made present at the Last Supper and at Calvary. • When we attend Mass, time and space are pushed aside, and we’re present at the Last Supper and present at Calvary

28. The Altar • The altar is where sacrifices take place. • In the Old Testament, they had animal sacrifices. • Those are all gone, because Christ, the Lamb of God, offered Himself, and He is the One Sacrifice to the Father. He’s the Perfect Sacrifice. • All the Old Testament offerings of lamb and bullock and goat, that was only to prefigure Jesus offering Himself to the Father as the Lamb of God. • When we attend Mass, Mass is always said around an altar, because that’s where the sacrifice of Christ takes place. Jesus’ cross was like an altar, upon which He gave His life for our salvation

29. The Baptismal Font • You’ll always see a baptismal font in church, which is where the adults or the babies are baptized. • Often times it’s found in the narthax. • There is deep significance for that, because we became Christians through Baptism. • That’s how we first entered Christianity, was through Baptism. • Baptismal fonts are often put in the front of the Church to remind us that’s how we entered into Christianity.

30. More on the font • For example, when you come into church, you’ll see the baptismal font right up front, and the Easter candle is always beside it. It is called the Paschal Candle. That candle is blessed at the Holy Saturday night mass. The baptismal font doesn’t always have to be there. It could be at other places in the church.

31. The Font • One reason the baptismal font is up front is because – everyone will be able to see people being baptized. • Also, we do so many baptisms at the parish. • We could have, three, four, even as many as six babies being baptized on a given weekend. • It’s very difficult to have three families standing back near the back of the church, with everyone trying to stand around and watch a baptism, especially for the Grandma’s and Grandpa’s. • It’s hard for them to stand for that entire length of time. By having the baptismal font in the front, you can have families sit in these pews during the baptism. Then they come up individually as a family to have the baby baptized. That’s our wisdom of having the baptismal font in the front.

32. Holy Water fonts • We have holy water containers at the main doors; so when people come into the doors, you’ll see what’s called a holy water font, these small dishes. • People can dip their hand in, and you bless yourself with the holy water, and that reminds you of how you became a Christian at your Baptism; when you entered the church. • People dip their fingers in, either one or two fingers in, and then bless yourself, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, because you were baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. • It serves as a reminder of your Baptism, and you’re encouraged to do that as you come in the church, and as you leave church every time.

33. The ceiling = vault • The ceiling is called the vault. • If you go to Europe and see some of the great cathedrals, you’ll see the magnificent ceilings or vaults that they have as well over there.

34. Architecture – Stained glass windows • The term stained glass can refer to colored glass as a material or to works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings. • The design of a window may be abstract or figurative; it may incorporate narratives drawn from the Bible, historical events, or it may represent saints or patrons, or use symbolic motifs. Windows within a building may be thematic, for example: within a church - episodes from the life of Christ, the mysteries of the Rosary, or other events.

35. Stained Glass Windows • Stained glass windows were used by some to tell a story of the life of Christ in pictures. • Some were illiterate and could not read the passage, and so by looking at the window and meditating they were able to given a glimpse of the life of the story that the window foretold

36. Stained Glass windows… • In most places, many will not be able to see the stained glass windows well at night, but during the day when the sun is shining they are beautiful. • Every stained glass window at some parishes tells a story from the bible of the life of Christ, or the life of a saint. • Stained glass window originated during the building of the great cathedrals, because majority of people could not read during that time • The window would teach them about God, or the saint. • The windows were a way to educate the faithful who could not read.

37. Confessionals • Confessionals are the place where the sacrament of Penance is administered. • In the confessional, the penitent or the one who is confessing their sins, may sit face to face and tell the priests their sins asking for his God’s forgiveness or they may go behind a screen.

38. Stations of the Cross • In every Catholic Church, you have the Stations of the Cross. • The Stations of the Cross were invented by the Franciscans, because not everybody could get to the Holy Land, in Jerusalem, to walk through the streets of Jerusalem and to make the Via Dolorosa (the way of the cross) • St. Francis and the Franciscans had an idea, they put up the 14 stations of the cross on the walls in the churches, so people could walk the path to Calvary.

39. Stations of the Cross • This is a devotion performed by meditating on the Passion of Christ, successively before 14 stations of the Cross. • The stations are attached normally to the interior walls of a church. • The pictures depict various scenes of Christ’s journey to Calvary

40. What is a parish? • What does the word parish mean?” • We have churches, but we have St. Philip Neri parish. • The word parish originally comes from a word meaning “a territorial division.” • If you go around larger towns, you’ll see various parishes like St. Mary’s Parish, Holy Family Parish, the Newman Center Parish, or Sacred Heart Parish” • It meant a district. • But eventually, when churches were put in those places, they called each of those churches a parish. • A parish means “a territorial division.”

41. Parish = territorial division • Imagine if you will 80 years ago when various churches in various cities were being built, and you had several parishes in one town. • But if you had to go to a parish because you were living on the south side of town, it would have been a hard commute without cars. Now, in cities, there are a lot of parishioners who come to church from one side of town to another because they have vehicles to get across town pretty quickly. • Back in the day, the parish in each side of the city would have served the parishioners on the side of the city where they lived before transportation was prominent.

42. Other things we find in a church? • We have already discussed a tabernacle being placed in every high altar, or behind the main altar. • Beside every tabernacle, we have what we call a sanctuary lamp. • A sanctuary lamp is a wax candle, kept in a red container, that burns day and night whenever the Blessed Sacrament, or the Holy Eucharist is reserved and present in Catholic Churches or chapels. • The lamp represents Christ’s abiding love and a reminder to the faithful to respond with loving adoration in return. • This candle is always lit to remind the people that Christ is present in the tabernacle. Is it ever not lit????

43. The answer is yes… • There are days the red candle is not lit, when? • If you ever come to church on Good Friday, the red sanctuary lamp candle will not be lit, because the Lord is removed and moved to another sanctuary for that day to remind us of his death. • Also when the church is having maintenance done, or construction done the Blessed Sacrament is removed and reverenced in another spot. • Again, the red sanctuary lamp reminds us that Christ is present, and when He is here, we genuflect and give Him reverence when we come to the House of God.

44. Sanctuary lamp = Christ is present • On Good Friday, the tabernacle doors remain open, and Jesus is removed, and the tabernacle lamp is extinguished. • According to Canon law, the tabernacles are always locked, and they have to be locked. • Why? • So no one can come and steal the Blessed Sacrament. • Vandalisms have occurred for centuries, especially groups that associate themselves with Satanic worship.

45. Where Jesus is, the lamp represents His Presence! • It is important that tabernacles are kept locked. If Jesus is not present the candle is not lit and the doors are kept wide open. • If the candle is moved a new area, like on Good Friday, a candle is lit at the new location. • Whenever Jesus is present, there is always a lit sanctuary lamp beside him.

46. Monstrance • On the sheet of sacred vessels that was given out to you at the beginning of class. The monstrance is a representative of a sunburst. • It is about two feet tall display receptacle that holds the Blessed Sacrament. • Here in Napoleon, Jesus is present for adoration from Thursday morning 6 AM to Friday night midngiht.

47. What is a Monstrance? • Monstrance comes from the Latin word meaning “to show”. • During adoration, we put the host that is consecrated into a monstrance to show it, and for the purpose of prayer and adoration. • When the Lord is exposed, we usually light seven candles on each side on a candelabra , giving attention to the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

48. Ciborium • Another thing you will find in every Catholic Church is a Ciborium • A Ciborium is a gold container with a lid. • What is put into a ciborium are hosts that are either consecrated or to be consecrated at Mass. If they are consecrated, they are put into a ciborium and put into the tabernacle. • The same Lord that we receive in Holy Communion is present in every tabernacle. That is why we often use the term “Real Presence” which we will cover in a few weeks. • There is a sense that someone is there, and it is the Lord.

49. Vessel made for the Lord • The ciborium is a covered container used to hold the consecrated small Hosts. It is very similar to a chalice but it is covered and larger. • The ciborium is made of various precious metals, and the interior is commonly gold or gold plated.

50. Short little story • When Pope John Paul II came to the east coast a few years ago, he came to Baltimore. • The secret service had to go into the place where he was staying to make sure that there were no bombs placed. • So they sent dogs into that place and when the dogs made there way into the chapel by the tabernacle, they kept barking. • What did the dogs find? They found a person named Jesus. • The dogs recognized the Real Presence.