Reflections

Daily spiritual nourishment

The Little Children and Jesus

August 13, 2022
Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
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Living in the Tension

August 14, 2022
Twentieth Sunday In Ordinary Time
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Liturgy Q&A

Bows to Altar When the Tabernacle Is Nearby

Question: I am a bit confused about the way the veneration of the altar is happening here in Zambia at the beginning and the end of the Mass. I know that, according to the GIRM, Nos. 49 and 122, "When they reach the altar, the Priest and ministers make a profound bow." I suppose that this is in case where there is no tabernacle in the sanctuary, since No. 274 states, “If, however, the tabernacle with the Most Blessed Sacrament is situated in the sanctuary, the Priest, the Deacon, and the other ministers genuflect when they approach the altar and when they depart from it.” Does this mean that when the tabernacle is in the sanctuary, the profound bow is still maintained because the altar is always there? Or it should be only the genuflection without the profound bow? Here, in most of our parishes, we do both (profound bow and genuflection), and I was told that it is because there is an altar and a tabernacle. I can’t find this explanation in the GIRM, and I find this double veneration too bulky. Could you enlighten us? – M.A., Ndola Diocese, Zambia

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