The Holy Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood is kept (the church word is ‘reserved’) in a cupboard called an aumbry, near the altar under the tower. The Sacrament is reserved so it can be taken to the housebound, sick and dying, and so it can be a focus for the prayer and devotion of the Faithful.
The ancient custom of Christians has been to keep a lamp burning in front of the aumbry to mark it out, to give honour to the Sacrament and to remind us of the Presence of Christ, the ‘true light who enlightens everyone’. This lamp burns all the time except on Good Friday and Easter Eve, when the aumbry is empty.
At the end of the 8am Eucharist this morning, the Rector blessed a new lamp which has been bought for St Mary's using money given in memory of the late Herbert Bart, who died last December. It's a beautiful gift: a light to burn, like a lighthouse, showing the way to the Risen Lord.
The ancient custom of Christians has been to keep a lamp burning in front of the aumbry to mark it out, to give honour to the Sacrament and to remind us of the Presence of Christ, the ‘true light who enlightens everyone’. This lamp burns all the time except on Good Friday and Easter Eve, when the aumbry is empty.
At the end of the 8am Eucharist this morning, the Rector blessed a new lamp which has been bought for St Mary's using money given in memory of the late Herbert Bart, who died last December. It's a beautiful gift: a light to burn, like a lighthouse, showing the way to the Risen Lord.
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