To Decorate the Altar with Flowers
Submitted by Felicitas
Saint Paul tells us, “For the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” (Rom. 1:20). Flowers then must tell us something of the beauty of Heaven with their delicate petals, pleasing colors, intriguing fragrances, and natural beauty. According to Rev. Nicholas Gihr, “These beautifully colored creatures are wonderfully formed by the light from the mud of the ground and colorless water. Indeed do flowers, those lilies of the field, which neither spin nor weave and yet are so splendidly arrayed, by the purity and perfection of their attire give us to understand that they are the handiwork of that Creator who created Paradise, from which they come, and that they have been left to us, as it were, as a remembrance thereof.” Possessing all these heavenly attributes, aren’t flowers the perfect adornment for our holy altars?
The following excerpts are from “The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass” by Rev. Nicholas Gihr.
To decorate the altars with flowers, especially on great feasts, is an ancient, venerable, devout, and praiseworthy custom, and, therefore, approved of by the Church. Fresh, bright, and fragrant flowers add to the decorations of the altar, making it beautiful and pleasing, and consequently they help to enhance the celebration of the feast and to edify the people. A holy religious, the Capuchin, Francis Borgia, used to say: "God has left us from Paradise three things: the stars, the flowers, and the eyes of a child." In fact, flowers have in God's creation a place entirely their own; they are on the globe of the earth what the stars are in the canopy of heaven: uneffaced traces of a former world, the earthly Paradise, the least affected by the curse of sin. In the splendor of their colors, in their fragrance, they are revelations of the beauty and goodness of God, emblems of His benevolence, images of His first, true designs (Isa. 25: I). For all these reasons, flowers, besides lighted candles and incense, have their liturgical meaning and are used to adorn the divine service. By their fine and elegant forms and lovely colors they possess a peculiar charm to please and captivate both the heart and the senses, thus impressing us the more deeply.
There is also a symbolical reason for adorning altars with flowers. Flowers possess a language all their own, they have a higher meaning; they are evident emblems of spiritual things. Flowers may also, on account of their grace and loveliness, serve as emblems of the festive joy wherewith we should long for the altar of Christ, the Author of all true joy. Flores sum signa laetitiae. Thus the adorning of the altar with flowers appears as a symbolical expression of that joy in which we may exclaim with the Psalmist: "How lovely are Thy tabernacles, 0 Lord of hosts! I have loved the place where Thy glory dwelleth" (Ps. 83: 2).
Flowers also symbolize those supernatural prerogatives, graces, and virtues with which the soul should be adorned; for the saints bloom as the lily and they are in the presence of God as the odor of balsam. Flowers, by reason of their freshness and beauty which they receive from the sun, are emblems of that innocence and holiness which we derive from Christ, the Sun of Justice, and with which we again glorify Him as the sun of our spiritual life. The flowers on the altar signify, moreover, that the blossoms of grace, prayer, and virtue unfold in the supernatural light and in the heavenly warmth which radiates from the sun of the Eucharistic sacrifice. The flowers of the altar at the same time admonish us to make of our heart a garden for God with the flowers of virtue, so that Christ, who feeds among the lilies, may find His delight therein; for nothing gives Him so much joy as a heart adorned with the blossoms of purity.
The flowers with which we ornament the altars on great feasts therefore, symbolize the souls of the faithful who adorn their interior with faith and with the grace of the divine victim in order to receive the King of Glory and offer to Him their homage. In this connection the Holy Ghost says to us: "Send forth flowers as the lily, and yield a smell and bring forth leaves in grace and praise with canticles and bless the Lord in His works" (Ecclus. 39: 19).
It should, then, be a loving occupation for us to adorn the church, to decorate the altar, and to enhance the beauty of divine worship with fresh and fragrant flowers. God is thereby honored, pious people are rejoiced and edified. On this subject we have a beautiful model in the Blessed Henry Suso:
“When delightful summer came round and the delicate flowers appeared for the first time, he refrained from culling or even from touching them until the day had arrived on which he would gather them to greet his spiritual love, the gentle, the all-fair and lovely maiden, the Mother of God. Thus he gathered the flowers with many a tender aspiration, and carried them to his cell to weave them into a wreath; he then went to the choir or to the chapel of our Lady and, kneeling humbly before her statue, he placed the lovely crown upon her head with the request: that since she is the loveliest of flowers and the summer joy of his young heart, she would not despise the first flowers of her servant.”
The altar is here on earth the most holy and the most venerable of all places. To do honor to Him who here sacrifices Himself and who so graciously deigns to dwell among us, all the splendor and decoration of the temple lend their service. The altar, therefore, should be the most beautiful of all, and the pastor should have at heart, in a special manner, its adornment, so that he may in truth be able to say: "I have loved, 0 Lord, the beauty of Thy house and the place where Thy glory dwelleth" (Ps. 25:8).
Comments (2)
That was beautiful. Great pictures too. You captured the feeling and the spirit of the feast.
Posted by obm | March 27, 2008 10:19 PM
Posted on March 27, 2008 22:19
How beautiful, and the wonderful wording of the fresh, fragrance, etc, can lead no one to think that silk or plastic flowers can adorn the Alter much less the Sanctuary ( the Holy place).Thank you Thank you.
Posted by Sharon Stockard | March 30, 2008 8:04 AM
Posted on March 30, 2008 08:04