Altar

An altar is a table or stand on which sacrifice is offered. In Catholic churches it is the table on which the sacrifice of the Cross is offered. It is also the table of the Lord to which the People of God are called together to participate in the thanksgiving that is accomplished through the Eucharist. Altars are often made of stone or wood; ours is Indiana limestone.

The altar signifies Christ Jesus, the living stone (cf. 1 Peter 2:4; Ephesians 2:19-20).

"Altar" comes from the Latin, "a high place."

Altars in Catholic churches often have an altar stone, a small, flat stone of marble that contains in a hollowed out cavity the relic of a martyr or other saint. The practice of offering Mass over the relics of a martyr goes back to the days of the Roman empire. Around the city of Rome (and elsewhere throughout the empire) Christians would bury the bodies of their dead in underground cemeteries outside the city, called catacombs. Most often, the dead were laid to rest in a shelf dug into the sides of the cave walls. Occasionally, a famous martyr would be buried in a sarcophagus; the marble slab sealing the sarcophagus would be used as an altar for the celebration of the Mass on the anniversary of the martyr's death. Later, as the empire collapsed and journeying outside the city became dangerous, Christians exhumed the remains of their honored dead and reburied them underneath the altars of the various churches within the safety of the walled city. The practice of placing the relics of the saints under our altars continues today, reminding us of the witness of those who suffered and died for their belief in Jesus, as well as the fact that the Communion of Saints - Christians here on earth, in heaven, and in a state of purification - are united in the worship and praise of God for the gift of the gloried and risen Christ Jesus in our life.