The Significance of the Tabernacle for Catholics

First, I would like to begin with gratitude for people who helped cover for me during a couple short vacations recently. Thanks to Fr. Lambert & Fr. Bernie for taking extra Masses, Fr. Lambert, Linda and Ulana for writing this column, and the staff and volunteer coordinators who kept things running smoothly in our parishes. I realize it can be hard for some people to take some down-time, especially if they don’t have people like this to cover for them at work or caring for loved ones (or pets), but I hope we are each finding some way to get some rest and recreation (or “re-creation”, as I like to call it) … part of the lesson God teaches us in his “resting” on the seventh day.

Another important lesson we learn initially from the Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament) is the importance of reverence for sacred places and objects, especially those given to us directly by God. In the Torah (first five books), God directed Moses in how to construct the Ark of the Covenant, a sacred chest which would contain the Ten Commandments, the staff of Aaron, and the manna God provided His people to eat during their years in the dessert. This was not an idol worshipped for its own value, but it was a place that the true God dwelled with his people by virtue of the gifts he gave that symbolized his presence. When the Ark was present, God’s divine power flowed through these symbols of his presence to care for the Israelites in extraordinary ways.

With the Incarnation, Jesus is the epitome of God dwelling with his people! He also instituted the Eucharist, his own Body and Blood given to his disciples, to perpetuate his presence through time and space. Much more than a symbol, the Real Presence of Christ, the Son of God, in the Eucharist is a most powerful way that God dwells with his people and gives us spiritual nourishment to receive with joy and to sustain us in the “desert” experiences of our lives. The early Church needed a way to respectfully preserve the Eucharist to be brought to the sick and they dying, so Tabernacles were created as reverent and beautiful chests artfully adorned, including Christian and Eucharistic symbols. Like the Ark, it is not the Tabernacle itself that we revere but what it contains. This is why we genuflect on one knee (or bow) toward the Tabernacle – except when it is empty (Good Friday) and during the Mass, when our reverence is focused on the altar where the Eucharist is being celebrated.

Both of our churches have beautiful Tabernacles prominently placed to show the centrality of the Eucharist to our faith and our lives. We strive to keep the Tabernacles well cared for, and lock them to protect the Eucharist. The Tabernacle at St. Martha was beautifully refinished in honor of a former pastor, Father John Walsh. Recently we have had a growing problem with latching the door on the Tabernacle at St. Martha, so we are sending it out to have the door frame repaired. These craftsmen have a long reputation of respectfully caring for tabernacles, chalices, etc. while restoring them to their original beauty and functionality. Meanwhile, we will use the Tabernacle from the former Religious of Jesus and Mary Convent on School Street in St. Martha church. Thank you to the RJM Sisters for donating their Tabernacle to Fr. Lambert who will ultimately be donating it to a parish in the Congo.

May we each take the time to think about why you are genuflecting (or bowing for those who are carrying something or struggle to genuflect). It is not merely a part of our ritual as we enter our pew, but a reminder of the centrality of Christ’s Real Presence as God-with-us to spiritually nourish our lives.