IV.

Continuing with our instruction on the Holy Mass…

After the procession the priest comes to the altar and kisses it. Altar symbolizes Christ. This explains the honor paid to it by incensing it, and the five crosses engraved on it by the bishop while consecrating it with Chrism, signify Jesus’ five wounds. That is why we bow before the altar when we pass by it. It also symbolizes His last supper table, the cross on which he died (a crucifix is placed on every altar), and also the Sepulcher or the tomb of Jesus. Earlier masses had a prayer at the end of the mass addressing the altar as the tomb of Jesus.

The altar is traditionally made of stone, calling to mind Christ as the living cornerstone of the Catholic faith:

“So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19-20)

“Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 1 Peter 2:4-6)

It is appropriate to have a fixed altar in every church, since it more clearly and permanently signifies Christ Jesus, the living stone.

In keeping with the Church's traditional practice and the altar's symbolism, the table of a fixed altar is to be of stone and indeed of natural stone. In the dioceses of the United States of America, however, wood which is worthy, solid, and well-crafted may be used, provided that the altar is structurally immobile. The supports or base for upholding the table, however, may be made of any sort of material, provided it is worthy and solid. (GIRM, #298,301)

Altar: Altar comes from a Hb word meaning, to slaughter. The Gk word means a place of sacrifice.

Altars were places where the divine and human worlds interacted. Altars were places of exchange, communication, and influence. God responded actively to altar activity. 

The contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal involving an altar demonstrated interaction between Yahweh and Baal. Noah built an altar and offered a sacrifice to Yahweh. Abraham built an altar where he pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai.

Sacrifices were the primary medium of exchange in altar interactions.

The Jerusalem temple had two altars: the altar of incense and the altar of holocausts. The altar of incense was placed inside the sanctuary in front of the curtain screening the Holy of Holies. It was made of gold-covered wood. Zecharia was doing incense before this altar when he received the message from the angel. The altar of holocausts stood in the courtyard of the temple. Like the other objects in the courtyard, the altar was made of bronze. It is on this the holocausts sacrifices were made.  

After the exile, the first thing to be rebuilt was the altar. Then the temple was reconstructed. The temple was ultimately secondary to the altar. In chastising the religious establishment, Jesus underlined the sacredness of the altar, making clear his understanding that the altar "makes the gift sacred" ( Matt 23:19 ). The New Testament writer of Hebrews (13:10) implies that the ultimate altar is the cross. Here divine and human interchange is consummated. The cross becomes the sanctuary of the believer, providing protection from the penalties of sin.

History of the Altar

The Christian altar is one of the earliest elements of the liturgy. In the first years when Christianity was illegal, the Eucharist was typically celebrated in the homes of the faithful. The altar could have been the dinner table in the home or the wooden chest in which a bishop would carry needed materials for celebrating the Eucharist from place to place.

St. Sixtus II (257-259) was the first to prescribe that Mass should be celebrated on an altar.

Fixed altars made of stone became prevalent when Constantine established that Christianity would no longer be illegal and more churches were erected for the purpose of celebrating the Mass. Wood altars were still used for a time, as were metal altars. However, with time preference was given to stone because it lasted better than wood and metal and was not subject to the decay those materials were.

Early altars were not placed against walls, but set apart so that the bishop or priests would stand facing the people. Around the 5th century, it became popular for the altar to face the East or be set against a wall. The priest would celebrate the Mass facing east, and the people would face East with him, symbolic of looking toward Christ as the Dawn. In the Middle Ages, the altar ceased to resemble the table of the early Church. Altars of Medieval times began to be designed very ornately, and were adorned with statues, relics, and paintings, and of course the tabernacle. In the mid-20th century, in many countries, the altar was moved away from the wall again, with the priest celebrating the Mass facing the people.