288. What is the meaning of the altar?

288. What is the meaning of the altar?   

(Comp 288) The altar is the symbol of Christ himself who is present both as sacrificial victim (the altar of the sacrifice) and as food from heaven which is given to us (the table of the Lord).

“In brief”  

(CCC 1410) It is Christ himself, the eternal high priest of the New Covenant who, acting through the ministry of the priests, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. And it is the same Christ, really present under the species of bread and wine, who is the offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice.  

To deepen and explain   

(CCC 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. "For what is the altar of Christ if not the image of the Body of Christ?" (St. Ambrose, De Sacr. 5, 2, 7: PL 16, 447C) asks St. Ambrose. He says elsewhere, "The altar represents the body [of Christ] and the Body of Christ is on the altar" (St. Ambrose, De Sacr. 4, 2, 7: PL 16, 437D). The liturgy expresses this unity of sacrifice and communion in many prayers. Thus the Roman Church prays in its anaphora: 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 (Roman Missal, EP I (Roman Canon) 96: Supplices te rogamus, omnipotens Deus: iube haec perferri per manus sancti Angeli tui in sublime altare tuum, in conspectu divinae maiestatis tuae: ut, quotquot ex hac altaris participatione sacrosanctum Filii Corpus et Sanguinem sumpserimus, omni benedictione caelesti et gratia repleamur).  

On reflection   

(CCC 1182) The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross (Cf. Heb 13:10), 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 (Cf. GIRM 259). In certain Eastern liturgies, the altar is also the symbol of the tomb (Christ truly died and is truly risen). (CCC 617) The Council of Trent emphasizes the unique character of Christ's sacrifice as "the source of eternal salvation" (Heb 5:9) and teaches that "his most holy Passion on the wood of the cross merited justification for us" (Council of Trent: DS 1529). And the Church venerates his cross as she sings: "Hail, O Cross, our only hope" (LH, Lent, Holy Week, Evening Prayer, Hymn Vexilla Regis).    

 (Next question: When does the Church oblige her members to participate at Holy Mass?)