Transforming the Sanctuary

Here’s another illustration of how a sort of trivialized altar and sanctuary can be transformed into something that glorifies God and points to His Kingdom. 

The photos below are not from the Mass I attended on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, but I know some of the people involved.  The parish is a little “mission” church, meaning that there is no resident pastor; however, in this case, the pastor responsible for the mission was willing to allow the extraordinary form of the Mass to be said there for the feast.  

The photos were taken by Heidi Maly, of HM Photography, who graciously agreed to let me post them here. See more of her work at the link.

Here’s how the sanctuary looked before the transformation: 

This gives you a feel for the general size/shape of the little church.

People are generally well-intentioned...they just need guidance!

This sanctuary was not as completely de-constructed as some have been. The altar could be moved back against the wall to its original position, and there were still six candlesticks! My contact told me, though, that the candles in them had not been lit in 8 years.  

Here’s the completed transformation.

I’m told that 60 or so people attended, and that afterwards, some were asking, “When are we going to do this again?” Many had not been touched by the negativity that is spread about the TLM, and so were open to experiencing its beauty and reverence without any “spirit of vaddican too” poison.

Here are some photos of the Mass:

An Advent Reflection

This is from Meditations for Every Day of the Year, by Bishop Richard Challoner, who lived from 1691-1781. You can view the book online, here.

…[T]he time of Advent…is a penitential time, and a time of devotion, in which we are every day called upon by the Church of God to prepare the way of the Lord, to make straight His paths; to enter into the like dispositions to those which St. John the Baptist required of the people when he was sent to preach to them conversion and penance, in order to prepare them for their Messiah; that so we also, by turning away from our sins, by sorrow and repentance, and turning ourselves to the Lord our God with our whole heart, by love and affection, may dispose our souls to welcome our Saviour whose birth we are about to celebrate; and to embrace in such a manner the mercy and grace which He brings with Him at His first coming, as to escape hereafter those dreadful judgments which His justice shall execute upon impenitent sinners at His second coming. See then, my soul, that thou dedicate this holy time to suitable exercise of devotion and penance, that thou mayest answer the end of this institution.

…[W]e are all summoned by the Church, at the beginning of this holy time, (in the words of St. Paul, Romans 8:11…) to dispose ourselves now for Christ. "Knowing the time," says the Apostle, " that is new the hour for us to rise from sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is passed, (or far spent,) the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light; let us walk honestly, as in the day".  

O! my soul, let us consider these words as particularly addressed to us, in order to awaken us, and to stir us up to begin now a new life. Alas! have we not hitherto been quite asleep as to the greatest of all our concerns? Are not far the greatest part of Christians quite asleep by their unaccountable indolence in the great business of the salvation of their souls and of a happy eternity? Are they not sleeping too, which is worse, in the very midst of dangers and of mortal enemies, who are continually plotting their destruction, and even upon the very brink of a precipice, which if they fall down, will let them in a moment into hell? O let us then all hearken seriously to this summons, and rouse ourselves now, whilst we have time, out of this unhappy lethargy, and from this hour begin to apply ourselves in good earnest to that only business for which we came into this world. O let us cast off now and forever the works of darkness, and put on Jesus Christ.

Fr. Andersen on St. Nicholas

A homily by Fr. Eric M. Andersen, Sacred Heart in Gervais, OR

Dec 6th, 2012 Feast of St. Nicholas, Bishop and Confessor

It is said that the saints whose feasts we celebrate during Advent are those which the Holy Spirit has entrusted with preparing the way for the Lord for the Christian people. In life, he helped to prepare the way by being one of the 318 bishops at the Council of Nicaea who proclaimed that the Son is consubstantial with the Father.

…[N]early every source makes a point of repeating that as a child still nursing with his mother, he abstained on Wednesdays and Fridays, taking only one meal on those days and that in the evening. This was a divine gift to the child before the age of reason. He was born into nobility and had every privilege, but his parents died when he was young and, like many saints, he heard the call from Jesus to “sell everything and come follow me.” That he did.

As a noble, even without money, he had resources to make it. There were in the town three young ladies of marrying age who were poor. Their father, without a dowry to provide, could not secure for them an honorable marriage, so he was going to abandon them to a life of prostitution. Nicholas heard about this and he came by night to the house, and tossed through the window the amount of one dower. He returned on two other occasions and did the same thing, thus providing for each daughter, all of whom subsequently married respectable men.

He traveled to the Holy Land on pilgrimage and was so inspired that when he returned, he was an example that inspired others. He went to the city of Myra in the province of Lycia in which he was born. The bishop had just died. The bishops of the province had come together for the purpose of electing a successor. They were told by a revelation from heaven that they should choose the man who, the next day, would be the first to enter the church, and that his name would be Nicholas. The next morning, they found Nicholas waiting at the church door. He became the next bishop.

St. Nicholas slapping Arius

During the reigns of Diocletian and Maximian, Nicholas was persecuted and imprisoned for his faith, but continued to teach. After Constantine I legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire, the Arian controversy arose. Nicholas was one of the bishops attending the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea (325), called to resolve the controversy. At the Council, Nicholas slapped Arius, a bishop from Alexandria, in the face, for teaching that Christ was a created being instead of eternally one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This resulted in Nicholas being deposed as bishop. However, several of the church fathers that night shared a dream in which they saw Nicholas reinstated as bishop by Christ and the Theotokos. The next day, Nicholas was reinstated as bishop and treated with respect.

Very soon after returning home from the council, he became very ill and soon died. His remains were transferred in 1087 from Myra to Bari in Apulia, Italy. At his tomb, there is an oil which emanates from the relics. This oil has been constant even from before the transfer a thousand years ago. There are countless cures that have occurred from this oil.

St. Nicholas is to the East what St. Martin of Tours is to the West. But he has been greatly venerated in the West, and there are liturgical sequences that were once chanted during the Mass and during processions on today’s feast. One of these sequences was written by Adam of St. Victor and they all recount the events of the saint’s life and the miraculous cures that have occurred due to the oil of St. Nicholas.

Dressing for Mass

I noticed an article a week or so ago with the interesting title of “How Changing What I Wear Changed My Approach to Mass”. We’ve addressed the topic of dressing for Mass on this blog before (see this homily by Fr. Eric Andersen).  

The point is not that we should view Mass as a fashion show or a way to impress your fellow parishioners – not by any stretch of the imagination!  

The point is that we go to Mass to worship the King of the Universe, and our attire ought to reflect the dignity and importance of the occasion.

There might be a better choice!

Here’s an excerpt from the article – be sure to read the entire thing at the link above:

It started a few months ago, when I was frantically digging through my closet, per my pre-Mass morning routine. I frowned at most of the choices, wondered once again how my closet could be so packed yet have so few things I actually want to wear in it, and then I paused when my hand rested on a nice blue sweater. It's one of my favorite tops, and works perfectly with a black skirt. It's classically stylish, modest, flattering, and I feel great every time I wear it. After examining it I pushed it aside with the thought:

I should save that one for a special occasion.

I ended up throwing on another outfit, some ill-fitting slacks and a blouse that mildly resembled a crumpled potato sack. I thought about that decision all the way to Mass. As much as I tried to tell myself that the clothes don't make the woman, I could not deny that my careless attire was dragging down my mood. And, more importantly, what message had I sent to myself by saying that I didn't want to wear a "special occasion" outfit to the holy sacrifice of the Mass?!

Fr. Andersen: Ad Te Levavi

A homily by Fr. Eric M. Andersen, Sacred Heart/St. Louis in Gervais, OR

Dec 2nd, 2012 Dominica I Per Annum, Anno C

“To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame.”

These are the words of the Entrance Antiphon, taken from Psalm 25. The music for almost the entire Mass on the First Sunday of Advent revolves around Psalm 25. When I say “the music of the Mass” I am referring to the musical texts that are given to us by the Church for each day of the year. These texts are in the Roman Missal itself and are part of the Mass. We usually experience Mass with these texts replaced by a song or a hymn. That has been the standard practice in most parishes for the last 40 years. But the songs and hymns we sing are not actually part of the Mass itself. To illustrate what I am saying, please turn to page 3 in Today’s Missal. You see where it is written “Entrance Chant.” Let us together recite those words for December 2nd: “To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame.” (Now the priest sings Introit from the American Gradual)

Those are the words that the Church gives us to sing. If the people sing another song during Mass, it is called an act of private worship on the part of the people because they are singing during the Mass, but it is not an act of public worship because they are not singing the Mass itself. The Mass is public worship because it belongs to the entire Church. This act of private worship on the part of the people at Mass is referred to as singing during the Mass rather than singing the Mass. For example, there was a film that came out in the late 1960s called Change of Habit with Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore. It explores several issues happening in the Catholic Church at the time. The closing scene of the film is of a “hootenany Mass” as it was called then. The priest and the altar boys are praying the Mass while the congregation is rocking out with Elvis dancing and clapping on the outside of the Communion rail. The priest was praying the public worship of the Church, while the congregation was completely disregarding the Mass.

That is an extreme example, but we can see this even now when the priest is processing into the sanctuary while the people are singing a random song that is not the text from the Entrance Antiphon. He is participating in the public worship while they are participating in private worship. The same can be said for the offertory. The Church provides a text to be used as an offertory antiphon. The priest is preparing the altar, the gifts, and saying his prayers silently at the altar. He is participating in the public worship of the Church. The people generally are taking up the collection and singing a random song chosen not by the Church, but usually by a musician. The song sung at the offertory then becomes an act of private worship in which the congregation participates with the musician in his or her private devotion, singing whatever song the musician has chosen. This started in the 1950s under Pope Pius XII who allowed for the singing of four hymns in the vernacular during a low Mass. This permission led to many abuses such as the “hootenany Mass” of Elvis Presley. In 1969, the Consilium responsible for the New Mass of Pope Paul VI instructed that “texts must be those of the Mass, not others, and singing means singing the Mass not just singing during Mass” (Notitiae 5 [1969] p. 406; USCCB BCL Newsletter, Aug/Sept 1993). This is one of the directives implicitly given in the new Roman Missal.

The new Missal instructs us that we are no longer to sing songs or hymns at Mass. The options that are given in the new Missal are to sing antiphons and psalms as they are given in the Missal itself or they can be other antiphons and psalms provided that they are part of an approved collection of the same (GIRM 48). There is an option to sing another chant. But previously the instructions allowed specifically for songs and now song are no longer an option. So Church musicians are to compose music to the actual texts of the Mass because when we sing those words, we are singing the Mass. Singing the Mass is different from singing during Mass. Why is this important? One reason that it is important is that the readings in the Liturgy of the Word are incomplete without the accompanying texts of the Antiphons.

For instance, today’s reading from the prophet Jeremiah is a hopeful message of the fulfillment of God’s promise that the house of David shall once again bring peace and security to Jerusalem. Then St. Paul instructs us to behave ourselves in a holy and blameless way for the coming of our Lord. Our Lord Himself then tells us why we must behave ourselves. He tells us of the utter destruction of creation, and tells us that people will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world. The Gospel for this Sunday is frightening. But we should not die of fright. Our Lord is warning us so that we do not die of fright. So, let us turn to the Responsorial Psalm. This is Psalm 25 and it is sung four times during the Mass: at the entrance, the Responsorial Psalm, the Alleluia, and the Offertory. Why four times? Because it is an important message that the Church wants us to pay attention to! “To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame.”

When we put this psalm in the context of the all the other readings, and we know that the Church is giving it extra weight by repeating it four times during the Mass, then we know that these words are the primary message or theme on which the Church wants us to focus during this first Sunday of Advent. In other words, in the face of destruction and terror, we the faithful should not die of fright! Instead, we should stand up straight and raise our heads and we should sing these words: “To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame.”

The first Sunday of Advent has historically been a reminder of the day of judgment. Our Lord tells us that on that day, “the hosts of heaven will be shaken loose. And then men will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with great power and glory” St. Paul tells us that on this day, “the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again” (1 Cor 15:52). St. Peter in his second epistle tells us that on this day “all the earth and the works that are in it shall be burnt up” (2 Pet 3:10). Meditating upon this day, “St. Augustine declared that nothing banished from him earthly thoughts so effectually as the fear of judgment” (cf., Alphonsus p. 26). St. Alphonsus de Liguori describes this glorious day for us: “At the sound of the trumpet the souls of the blessed shall descend from heaven to be united to the bodies with which they served God on earth” (26). That, brothers and sisters in Christ, is what we need to strive for! We need to strive to serve God on earth. We must be vigilant to serve God on earth because we do not know when that day of judgment will be. We pray that we will not be caught unaware when the Lord returns. We must stay watchful, vigilant and alert!

St. Alphonsus continues his description of that day both glorious and dreadful: “At the sound of the trumpet, …the unhappy souls of the damned shall come up from hell to take possession again of those bodies with which they have offended God. Oh, how different the appearance of the (blessed) compared with that of the (damned)” (26).

We should not fear the day of judgment. We should not fear this glorious and dreadful day of  the Lord, provided that we stay close to the Lord, that we obey His commandments, that we live a regular sacramental life. We should not fear this day, but if we do fear it, then give thanks to God because today is the day to start getting our lives in order. The Judgment will come and no one will be able to avoid it. Today is the day to repent, for the Kingdom of God is close at hand.

St. John Chrysostom wrote that this judgment will be “terrible to sinners, but desirable and sweet to the just.” St. Alphonsus says that “The last judgment shall fill sinners with terror, but will be a source of joy and sweetness to the elect; for God will then give praise to each one according to his works” (29).

Those who run forth to meet Christ, will experience the Last Judgment as a source of joy and sweetness. Grant to us, O Lord, the resolve to run forth to meet Christ. But not just to run forth. Grant us the resolve to run forth with righteous deeds. “Oh, how great shall then be the happiness of those who have mortified their bodies by works of penance!” (Alphonsus 27). As we prepare for the final advent of Our Lord at the end of time, let us pray for the resolve to run forth to meet Him with righteous deeds at His coming, so that we may not die of fright on that day, but rather, gathered at His right hand, we may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom.

“To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame.”

Advent Mini-Retreat: Fr. Andersen

Another gem from Fr. Eric M. Andersen, Church of St. Louis

December 1st, 2012

The Last Day of Ordinary Time. Saturday Week 34.

Advent Mini-Retreat

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy 

from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, 

and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.”

Our Lord says to be vigilant at all times. These are words we will hear for the next couple of weeks as we enter into Advent. What does it mean to be vigilant? We can look to the liturgy itself. What is a vigil? A vigil is simply the eve of a feast. Historically, it is an extended prayer that is made at night. It involves prayers, readings from the scriptures, and sometimes a sermon. It also involves fasting. The Church has always prayed at night. This is biblical. It was done by the Jews and it has been done by Christians. Many of our parishioners come to the adoration chapel throughout the night. They keep vigil. There is an entirely different quality of prayer in the middle of the night. We get sleepy in the middle of the night. But our Lord told Peter, James and John to stay awake in the Garden of Gethsemene and He tells us now to be vigilant.

What does a prayer vigil look like? As I said a moment ago, it involves prayers, readings from the Scriptures and a sermon. We can look at the Divine Office which is prayed throughout the Universal Church every day. The Night Office, called variously the Office of Matins, or Vigils, or the Office of Readings, is normally prayed either at Midnight, or at 3 am, or sometime between 4 and 5:30 am. When it is celebrated properly, the whole office is sung.  

The sung office of Matins can take up to 2 hours. It begins with the words, “O Lord, open my lips…and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.” Psalm 95 is prayed, and this is called an invitatory psalm. Then a hymn is sung and those praying then settle in for a nice long liturgy.  

This is the Advent Hymn for Matins:

Hymn: Verbum supernum prodiens

Celestial Word, to this our earth

Sent down from God’s eternal clime,

To save mankind by mortal birth

Into a world of change and time;

Lighten our hearts, vain hopes destroy;

And in thy love’s consuming fire

Fill all the soul with heavenly joy,

And melt the dross of low desire.

So when the Judge of quick and dead

Shall bid his awful summons come,

To whelm the guilty soul with dread,

And call the blessed to their home,

Saved from the whirling, black abyss,

Forevermore to us be given

To share the feast of saintly bliss,

And see the face of God in heaven.

To God the Father and the Son

Our songs with one accord we raise;

And to the Holy Spirit, One

With Them, be ever equal praise. Amen

(Trans. Matthew Britt OSB)

After the hymn a series of three nocturnes is prayed. Each nocturne is structured in the same way. The first nocturne properly belongs to a three hour period from 9 pm until Midnight. This first nocturne begins with three psalms which are chanted. These three psalms are followed by the Pater Noster, then by three readings from the Holy Scriptures. In between each reading is a chant called a responsory. It is a meditative chant sung by a small group or by an individual cantor so that the others praying can listen and meditate upon the reading that was just chanted. Then after the three readings and three responsories are chanted, there is silence and the nocturne is finished.

The second nocturne begins and another three psalms are chanted, followed by the Pater Noster, then a sermon from a Church father is read. The sermon is broken up into three parts with chanted responsories in between each part of the sermon. Thus ends the 2nd nocturne with silence.

The third nocturne begins with another three psalms followed by the Pater Noster and then either the gospel for the Mass of the Day and a homily on the Gospel divided into three parts with responsories sung in between the first two parts. This responsory ends with the Gloria Patri, or Glory Be, and in place of the last responsory, the Te Deum is sung. The Te Deum is an ancient hymn of thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity. It is a song currently sung in the Divine Office, but among the laity it is probably not well known.

The office of Matins ends with a collect from the Mass of the day. Thus ends the liturgical vigil, usually about the time of the dawn. The liturgical vigil, when sung, can last up to 2 or even 2 and a half hours. It is not a Mass. It is a liturgy of the hours. It prepares for the Mass. Those praying are keeping vigil for an extended period of time in the night as a preparation for the Mass of the day.

Advent is like an extended vigil. It is winter and so it is dark. The nights are long this time of year. So much of Advent is prayed in the dark. So if Advent is like a night vigil – like the Office of Matins just described – then we can say that it is a journey from night into morning, from darkness into light.

So how do we experience that vigil during Advent? Well, we first deprive ourselves of things. Nighttime is simple. It does not have the brilliance of daytime. It is deprived of light. So liturgically, the vestments worn are dark violet. The Church asks that we deprive ourselves of decorations in the church and the altars are not to be decorated with flowers. Also, historically, Advent has been a time when instrumentation was not allowed. Today, the Church asks that we limit the use of instruments during Advent and simplify the music. This is a time of the liturgical year when Gregorian Chant is most appropriate. It is simple. But we omit the singing of the Gloria at Mass.

The Church also recommends during Advent that parishes hold missions, or that people listen to sermons and that priests preach at daily Mass. Interestingly enough, priests are not required to preach at all during daily Masses throughout the year. They are only required to preach during Sunday Mass and on major feast days. So daily Mass could normally be celebrated without a homily. But during Advent and Lent, priests are asked to preach every day. This is so that the people can hear sermons during Advent and Lent as a means of more fruitfully preparing for the year’s two big Solemnities of Christmas and Easter.

When we pray in the night, we keep ourselves awake by prayer so that we may not become spiritually drowsy. Remember our Lord’s words in the Gospel: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.” When we become spiritually drowsy, we are susceptible to temptation and falling into grave sin. Advent is a time to prepare our souls so that we have something beautiful and pure to offer to Jesus at Christmas. We prepare our souls by listening to sermons, going to daily Mass, attending a parish mission, praying the Liturgy of the Hours, reading the Holy Scriptures, and by making a good confession before Christmas.

Since Advent is a time for reflection, simplicity and prayer, we as Christians should avoid parties as much as we can. It is certainly not a time for drunkenness and carousing as our Lord says in today’s Gospel. It is not a time for indulgence. That is reserved for Christmas. We want the twelve days of Christmas to be festive. In preparation, we might make a retreat during Advent. We should fast and abstain during Advent. It is difficult to avoid the parties, and open houses, and early Christmas gatherings, and we might have to make appearances at such things, but we can do so with a sense of restraint. We can certainly gather during Advent for prayer and for simple meals.

The more restraint we exercise now, the more glorious will Christmas be when it arrives. The more we exercise restraint, the more we armor ourselves against temptations of all sorts. When we fast and keep vigil, it helps to purify us and make the sacraments more fruitful in us. We owe that to God. He has a great gift in store for us in this Mass. Every Mass is an advent of our Lord. At every Mass, our Lord comes again on this altar. The Eucharist is a great sign of the Advent we await at the end of all time. Let us celebrate the Advent of our Lord in this Mass, and let us now prepare to enter into the great season of Advent at sundown today.

We begin Advent in the darkness and we journey into the light. As we begin in this lowest place, let us meditate now on the words of a sequence originally sung during the Mass for the First Sunday of Advent. The Dies Irae is a dynamic piece that communicates the full spectrum of this season: fear of judgment for the wicked at the second coming, hope in God’s mercy towards us the faithful, and the triumph of His Eternal Majesty Jesus Christ over sin and death:

Day of wrath! O day of mourning!

See fulfilled the prophets’ warning,

Heaven and earth in ashes burning!

O what fear man’s bosom rendeth

When from heav’n the judge descendeth,

On whose sentence all dependeth!

Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;

Through earth’s sepulchers it ringeth;

All before the throne it bringeth.

Death is struck, and nature quaking,

All creation is awaking,

To its judge an answer making.

Lo! the book, exactly worded,

Wherein all hath been recorded:

Thence shall judgment be awarded.

When the judge his seat attaineth

And each hidden deed arraigneth,

Nothing unavenged remaineth.

What shall I, frail man, be pleading?

Who for me be interceding,

When the just are mercy needing?

King of majesty tremendous,

Who dost free salvation send us,

Fount of pity, then befriend us!

Think, good Jesus, my salvation

Cost thy wondrous incarnation;

Leave me not to reprobation!

Faint and weary, thou hast sought me,

On the cross of suff’ring brought me.

Shall such grace be vainly brought me?

Righteous judge! for sin’s pollution

Grant thy gift of absolution,

Ere the day of retribution.

Guilty, now I pour my moaning,

All my shame with anguish owning;

Spare, O God, thy suppliant groaning!

Thou the sinful woman savedst;

Thou the dying thief forgavest;

And to me a hope vouchsafest.

Worthless are my prayers and sighing,

Yet, good Lord, in grace complying,

Rescue me from fires undying!

With thy favored sheep O place me

Nor among the goats abase me,

But to thy right hand upraise me.

While the wicked are confounded,

Doomed to flames of woe unbounded,

Call me with thy saints surrounded.

Low I kneel, with heart submission:

See, like ashes my contrition;

Help me in my last condition.

Ah! that day of tears and mourning!

From the dust of earth returning,

Man for judgment must prepare him;

Spare, O God, in mercy spare him! Amen.

So here we are at the threshold of Advent. We begin in the darkness and we set out toward the light. Each week of Advent will become increasingly lighter and lighter.  

The Altar and the Advent Wreath

Here's a re-post from last year:

It’s a good bet that your parish has an Advent Wreath placed prominently somewhere in the church during this time of the year. This is a devotion that is encouraged by the Church. What is the proper placement of the Advent Wreath, though?

From The Order of Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours and the Celebration of the Eucharist (2012):

“The Advent Wreath, a popular symbol in many churches, may be placed in the narthex or gathering area, or near the ambo.”

Notice that it does not say “in front of the altar”!

Here’s an altar beautifully vested for Advent.

It is the centerpiece. It has always been the mind of the Church that the altar is Christ. Christ is both priest and victim, and He is also the altar on which the Sacrifice takes place. And so, just as a priest is vested for Mass, so also is the altar.

The antependium (or frontal) makes the altar stand out from its surroundings; it makes the altar the focal point of Mass, as is appropriate. This is where the “action” of the Mass takes place: it is here that the bread and wine are changed to the Body and Blood of Our Lord. Nothing should take away from that.

Here is the same altar, but with an Advent Wreath in front of it.

The Advent Wreath obscures the view of the altar, and becomes itself the focal point. This point is made all the more obvious when the priest approaches the altar in the entrance procession. He will either have to genuflect right in front of the Advent wreath, which make it look like he is venerating the wreath, or he will have to go around it and place himself between it and the altar - where there is not much room.

The altar is not meant to be a backdrop to a devotional item like the Advent Wreath. That is why the Advent Wreath is placed either in the “gathering area” or near the ambo. 

Nothing should detract from the centrality of the altar.