WHY IS EUCHARISTIC ADORATION A RITE? (Part – 2)
4TH – 11TH CENTURIES: After the Roman Empire ‘legalized’ the Church, persecutions ended, and she began to formalize her teachings and rites. Records show that in the 300’s, the Eucharist was kept in tabernacles, mostly in monasteries as the ‘Parish Church’ structure we know had not yet been developed. The ‘reserved’ Sacrament was kept mainly so that the sick and those who lived in communities without a Priest could receive weekly or even daily Holy Communion. Ancient tabernacles were crafted to look like: a tomb or church, from which the Risen Lord came forth; a dove, the biblical symbols of the Holy Spirit and peace; or a pelican, who pecks off her own flesh to feed her young, as Christ feed us with His own Body and Blood. By the 11th Century, it was normative that every church had a Tabernacle. (To be continued…) Father Maria Joseph Kodiganti