The altar does not merely symbolize the table of the Last Supper. It is on the altar that the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered. From the altar we receive the Bread of Life, the Body and Blood of the Lord's Passover Supper and Sacrifice on the Cross.
From The Catechism, "para.1383: The altar, around which the Church is gathered in the celebration of the Eucharist, represents the two aspects of the same mystery: the altar of the sacrifice and the table of the Lord. This is all the more so since the Christian altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present in the midst of the assembly of his faithful, both as the Victim offered for our reconciliation and as food from heaven who is giving himself to us............... The liturgy expresses this unity of sacrifice and communion in many prayers. Thus the Roman Church (cf Roman Missal) prays in its anaphora: (Eucharistic Prayer)
We entreat you, almighty God,
that by the hands of your holy Angel
this offering may be borne to your altar in heaven
in the sight of your divine majesty,
so that as we receive in communion at this altar
the most holy Body and Blood of your Son,
we may be filled with every heavenly blessing and grace."
In the above picture, behind the altar in the centre, is the tabernacle in which is reserved the Blessed Sacrament (hosts consecrated at Mass). Belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist explains the custom of genuflection (bending on one knee) each time one passes the tabernacle. It is also the reason that non essential conversation is minimised within the body of the Church and left for other areas, such as the courtyard, porch and parish hall. From the tabernacle hosts are taken to the homebound, sick and the dying. On the altar there are candles, symbolic of the Light of Christ, and a remembrance of the candles that burned before the altar of the Temple at Jerusalem. The altar incorporates a small slab of natural stone containing sealed relics of two canonized martyrs. The bread and wine, are transformed when the priest says the words of consecration, "This is My Body.......this is My Blood". This belief (called 'Transubstantiation') means that although the appearance of bread and wine remain, they become the Body and Blood of Christ and therefore none will be thrown away. Any consecrated hosts left over after the Mass will be locked away in the tabernacle.
"..(the tabernacle) emphasises
and manifests the truth of
the real presence of Christ
in the Blessed Sacrament".
(Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 1379)
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