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What is a Christian house of prayer?
A Christian house of prayer is both a sign of the ecclesial communion of people at a specific place and also a symbol of the heavenly dwellings that God has prepared for us all. In God's house we gather together to pray in common or alone and to celebrate the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
"It smells like heaven here." "Here you can be very quiet and reverent." Many churches surround us perceptibly in a thick atmosphere of prayer. We sense that God is present here. The beauty of church buildings directs our attention to the beauty, greatness, and love of God. Churches are not just stone messengers of the faith, but dwelling places of God, who is really and truly and substantially present in the sacrament of the altar.
What liturgical spaces define a house of God?
The central places of a house of God are the altar with the crucifix, the tabernacle, the celebrant's chair, the ambo, the baptismal font, and the confessional.
The altar is the central point of the church. On it Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the Cross and Resurrection are made present in the celebration of the Eucharist. It is also the table to which the People of God are invited. The tabernacle, a kind of sacred safe, houses with the greatest honor in a most worthy place in the church the Eucharistic species in which the Lord himself is present. The so-called perpetual lamp indicates that the tabernacle is "occupied". If the lamp is not burning, the tabernacle is empty. The raised chair (Latin cathedra) of the bishop or the priest means that ultimately Christ is the one who leads the congregation. The ambo (from Greek anabainein = to climb up), the lectern for the Word of God, should manifest the value and dignity of the biblical readings as the Word of the living God. Baptisms are performed at the baptismal font, and the holy water font should be a vivid reminder of our baptismal promises. A confessional or confession room is there so that we can acknowledge our guilt and receive forgiveness. (YOUCAT questions 190-191)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (1179-1188) and other references here.
Part 2: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (1066 - 1690)
Section 1: The Sacramental Economy (1076 - 1209)
Chapter 2: The Sacramental Celebration of the Paschal Mystery (1135 - 1209)
Article 1: Celebrating the Church's Liturgy (1136 - 1199)
IV. WHERE IS THE LITURGY CELEBRATED? ⇡
The worship "in Spirit and in truth"53 of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively to any one place. The whole earth is sacred and entrusted to the children of men. What matters above all is that, when the faithful assemble in the same place, they are the "living stones," gathered to be "built into a spiritual house."54 For the Body of the risen Christ is the spiritual temple from which the source of living water springs forth: incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, "we are the temple of the living God."55
53.
54.
55.
When the exercise of religious liberty is not thwarted,56 Christians construct buildings for divine worship. These visible churches are not simply gathering places but signify and make visible the Church living in this place, the dwelling of God with men reconciled and united in Christ.
56.
Cf. DH 4.
A church, "a house of prayer in which the Eucharist is celebrated and reserved, where the faithful assemble, and where is worshipped the presence of the Son of God our Savior, offered for us on the sacrificial altar for the help and consolation of the faithful — this house ought to be in good taste and a worthy place for prayer and sacred ceremonial."57 In this "house of God" the truth and the harmony of the signs that make it up should show Christ to be present and active in this place.58
57.
PO 5; Cf. SC 122-127.
58.
Cf. SC 7.
The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross,59 from which the sacraments of the Paschal mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center of the church, the sacrifice of the Cross is made present under sacramental signs. The altar is also the table of the Lord, to which the People of God are invited.60 In certain Eastern liturgies, the altar is also the symbol of the tomb (Christ truly died and is truly risen).
59.
Cf. Heb 13:10.
60.
Cf. GIRM 259.
The tabernacle is to be situated "in churches in a most worthy place with the greatest honor."61 The dignity, placing, and security of the Eucharistic tabernacle should foster adoration before the Lord really present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.62
The sacred chrism (myron), used in anointings as the sacramental sign of the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, is traditionally reserved and venerated in a secure place in the sanctuary. The oil of catechumens and the oil of the sick may also be placed there.
61.
Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei: AAS (1965) 771.
62.
Cf. SC 128.
The chair of the bishop (cathedra) or that of the priest "should express his office of presiding over the assembly and of directing prayer."63
The lectern (ambo): "The dignity of the Word of God requires the church to have a suitable place for announcing his message so that the attention of the people may be easily directed to that place during the liturgy of the Word."64
63.
GIRM 271.
64.
GIRM 272.
The gathering of the People of God begins with Baptism; a church must have a place for the celebration of Baptism (baptistry) and for fostering remembrance of the baptismal promises (holy water font).
The renewal of the baptismal life requires penance. A church, then, must lend itself to the expression of repentance and the reception of forgiveness, which requires an appropriate place to receive penitents.
A church must also be a space that invites us to the recollection and silent prayer that extend and internalize the great prayer of the Eucharist.
Finally, the church has an eschatological significance. To enter into the house of God, we must cross a threshold, which symbolizes passing from the world wounded by sin to the world of the new Life to which all men are called. The visible church is a symbol of the Father's house toward which the People of God is journeying and where the Father "will wipe every tear from their eyes."65 Also for this reason, the Church is the house of all God's children, open and welcoming.
65.
IN BRIEF ⇡
The liturgy is the work of the whole Christ, head and body. Our high priest celebrates it unceasingly in the heavenly liturgy, with the holy Mother of God, the apostles, all the saints, and the multitude of those who have already entered the kingdom.
In a liturgical celebration, the whole assembly is leitourgos, each member according to his own function. The baptismal priesthood is that of the whole Body of Christ. But some of the faithful are ordained through the sacrament of Holy Orders to represent Christ as head of the Body.