The Sanctuary
 |
|
"The completion of the Chapel marks an important
moment in the life of the College, and I am confident that
it will become a true spiritual home for students and faculty."
- His Eminence William J. Cardinal Levada
Prefect of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of Faith
January 21, 2009
|
| |
The Baldacchino
A
baldacchino is a permanent canopy made of wood, stone, or metal
that rises over free-standing altars to show their importance. While
medieval in origin, the notion of a baldacchino harkens back to
the tent that Yahweh commanded the Israelites to erect over the
Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 25-27). The baldacchino's bronze, Solomonic
columns reference the Temple of Jerusalem and are reminiscent of
Bernini's Baroque masterpiece in St. Peter's Basilica, thus testifying
to the College's fidelity to Rome.
Like the Ark of the Covenant, Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity
Chapel's baldacchino is surmounted by golden cherubim (Ex. 25: 18-21),
who are depicted bearing grapes and wheat, symbols of the Holy Eucharist.
Above the structure is an exalted gold crucifix - an image of the
Crucified King, Who is made present in the sacrifice that takes
place on the altar below. The baldacchino is a gift of the alumni
of Thomas Aquinas College.
Extending around the sanctuary is a white, marble altar rail supported
with coral-hued, marble balusters. The rail will be separated at
the transept by a bronze gate bearing the Greek signs of the Alpha
and the Omega, which together represent the eternal God.
| In the very center of the baldacchino's underside is a painted,
hand-carved wooden dove, an emblem of the Holy Spirit, appearing
to hover above the altar. |
The Altar
 |
|
|
|
Five crosses have been carved into the top of Our Lady
of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel's marble altar and then
finished with gold leaf. The back of the altar contains
a compartment built to house a first-class relic of the
College's patron, St. Thomas Aquinas.
|
The Tabernacle
 The
tabernacle is the heart and soul of a Catholic church. It is the
dwelling place of the Blessed Sacrament, where Our Lord abides,
Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
In light of the tabernacle's extraordinary purpose, it shares with
the altar the most honored location in Our Lady of the Most Holy
Trinity Chapel. Situated on the Chapel's central axis, the tabernacle
rests atop a five-foot-high, ornate, marble pedestal so as to be
visible above the altar. Its gold edging and dome, topped with a
foot-high statue of the Risen Christ, make it stand out against
the sanctuary's white wall.
The tabernacle's gold arched door, measuring 8 inches wide by
12 inches high, depicts six scenes from the life of Christ. Inscribed
below the dome, in gold, are Our Lord's words of consecration: hoc
est enim corpus meum, "This is My Body" (Matt. 26:26).
The tabernacle's interior is fittingly august, with gold walls.
Engraved on the inside of the door is an angel bearing a scroll
that contains the opening lines of St. Thomas Aquinas' paean to
the Holy Eucharist, Panis Angelicus. With mirrors for a floor and
ceiling, the inside of the tabernacle creates the impression of
an eternal, gold shaft uniting heaven and earth, just as the Eucharistic
Lord bridges the eternal gap between God and man.
Longtime friends of the College Carol and John Saeman donated
the funds for the tabernacle in honor of a dear friend of theirs
- and of the College - Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect Emeritus
of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the
Sacraments. Cardinal Arinze was Thomas Aquinas College's Commencement
speaker in 2004.
Signposts
| Inlaid in the sanctuary's marble floor between
the altar and the tabernacle is a compass rose, a medieval navigational
tool which takes its name from the flower it resembles, the
rose - a symbol of the Blessed Mother. |
 |
 |
When lighted, a sanctuary lamp is the outward
sign of a church's holiness, announcing to all who enter that
the Eucharistic Lord is present in the tabernacle, and as such,
these are sacred grounds. |
| Adjacent to the sanctuary is the sacristy of Our
Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, where a replica of "Abraham's
Sacrifice of Isaac" (1636) by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van
Rijn (1606 - 1669) hangs above a small altar. The painting portrays
an angel of the Lord staying Abraham's hand, thus preventing
the patriarch from giving up his only begotten son, a prefiguring
of Christ's sacrifice on Calvary (Gen. 22:1-18). |
 |
|
