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PURIFICATOR

This is a linen cloth used for wiping the chalice, and the fingers and mouth of the celebrant after Communion. It is spread over the cup of the chalice at the beginning and end of Mass. From the Offertory until the Ablutions the purificator is placed folded next to the corporal. Most purificators are marked with an embroidered cross in the center.

Ensure that purificator is slightly tucked into the cup and that the bottom edges are even.

PALL

This is a square stiffened piece of linen which covers the chalice after the wine and water have been poured in at the Offertory and until the Ablutions. It is used to protect the offered wine and upon its consecration, the Precious Blood from dust and falling matter. This linen is often stiffened with a piece of card stock, or even plastic, which can be removed when the pall needs to be cleaned. While a pall’s top can be made of cloth other than linen, the bottom (i.e., that which might come into contact with the Precious Blood) must be made of linen.

The top of the pall is usually marked with a cross. Ensure that the pall is centered upon the paten.

CHALICE ASSEMBLY

Ensure that the burse is centered on the top of the chalice assembly.

When moving the chalice, carry it with your right hand on the node, and your left hand flat over the burse, with the front of the veil facing away from you.

	The Altar by liturgical law and the Church’s ancient custom is covered with three Altar linens for a practical and spiritual purpose. Practically, the Altar is covered with the three clothes to prevent any sacrilege of the Precious Blood, should any spill from the chalice after the Consecration; thus the cloths will absorb It and prevent any from spilling onto the ground. Symbolically, the cloths represent the three-fold nature of the Church: Triumphant, Suffering and Militant; it can also represent the Holy Trinity and most especially the winding cloths of Our Lord in the Sepulcher (i.e, the Holy Shroud of Turin). The cloths must be made of white linen, as linen is purified after a long process. The cloths must cover the mensa (top) of the Altar and the sides as well, just reaching to the floor. According to liturgical law and the universal and ancient tradition of the Church, every Altar is to be vested with an antependium (or frontal), and the Tabernacle is to be vested with a conopaeum (derived from the Greek word meaning, mosquito net), which is a veil that covers the entire Tabernacle and not just the doors (this imitates the tabernacle, or tent, used by the Jews in the desert to cover the Ark of the Covenant, which was “God amongst them”, though in a spiritual form only). The Altar is to be vested in the same colors as the Mass because the Altar represents the body of Christ. Hence the only time that the Altar should be denuded is at the end of the ceremonies of Holy Thursday during the Dividunt (They have divided my clothes) when the Altar is stripped of its garments (which includes the Altar linens) in imitation of Our Lord being stripped of His clothes at the Foot of the Cross.
	SACRED VESSELS ON THE ALTAR The sacred vessels have mainly a practical purpose, namely to prevent any sacrilege to the Sacred Species, and hence their use in conjunction with the Sacred Species demands that they be made with materials of high quality befitting to God’s majesty, as was commanded to the Jews in the worship in the Temple. Therefore, gold and silver, fine linen (which is purified and made with much labor) and fine materials of cloth are employed for their construction and use. Shown below are the various items that are used in conjunction with the chalice and their order and method of assembly:
	CHALICE This is a cup made of gold or silver, or if of silver, the interior must be of gold. It holds the wine for the Holy Sacrifice. There are four parts of a chalice: the foot (or base), stem, node and cup. The node is in the center of the stem and the celebrant uses this to elevate and hold the chalice. Every chalice has a cross or crucifixion scene to demark its “front” on its foot. Always vest the chalice with the front facing you and center all items with it.
	PURIFICATOR This is a linen cloth used for wiping the chalice, and the fingers and mouth of the celebrant after Communion. It is spread over the cup of the chalice at the beginning and end of Mass. From the Offertory until the Ablutions the purificator is placed folded next to the corporal. Most purificators are marked with an embroidered cross in the center. Ensure that purificator is slightly tucked into the cup and that the bottom edges are even.
	PATEN & CELEBRANT’S HOST This is a plate which the top surface (upon which the celebrant’s host rests) must be at least gold plated. The host remains on the paten until the Offertory and then is placed on the Altar (the paten is then covered with the purificator and corporal, though during a Solemn High Mass it is held at this time by the subdeacon). After the Consecration, the Sacred Host is once again placed on the paten in order to prevent the loss of Sacred Particles. Most patens have an emblem on their underside. Ensure that the paten and its emblem are centered on the cup and that host (and its impressed design if any) is centered upon the paten.
	PALL This is a square stiffened piece of linen which covers the chalice after the wine and water have been poured in at the Offertory and until the Ablutions. It is used to protect the offered wine and upon its consecration, the Precious Blood from dust and falling matter. This linen is often stiffened with a piece of card stock, or even plastic, which can be removed when the pall needs to be cleaned. While a pall’s top can be made of cloth other than linen, the bottom (i.e., that which might come into contact with the Precious Blood) must be made of linen. The top of the pall is usually marked with a cross. Ensure that the pall is centered upon the paten.
	CHALICE VEIL This is the cloth which covers the chalice until the Offertory, and again after Communion (i.e., when the chalice is not being used). It also is made of the same material and color as the vestments. The act of covering the chalice follows the rule of covering those items that are sacred or used for sacred purposes. Ensure that the veil just barely touches in front of the chalice’s foot, and that it is centered widthwise on the chalice.
	BURSE AND CORPORAL The burse is a square container for the corporal when the latter is not in use. It is made of the same material and color as the vestments. The corporal is a square piece of linen. In size and appearance it resembles a small napkin. It is spread out on the Altar, and the chalice is placed upon it. During the Mass the Sacred Host rests for a time on the corporal, hence the reason for its name, meaning body, as the Sacred Body of Our Lord rests upon it. Ensure that the corporal is fully inside the burse with the opening of the corporal facing the opening of the burse.
	CHALICE ASSEMBLY Ensure that the burse is centered on the top of the chalice assembly. When moving the chalice, carry it with your right hand on the node, and your left hand flat over the burse, with the front of the veil facing away from you.