UPDATE REVIEW: The ULTIMATE Priest’s Gift – Super Cool Portable Altar
Do you remember when I posted about the coolest gift for a priest ever? HERE There is a carpenter who makes portable altars of wood, rather like a suitcase, with wings that fold out, and an embedded altar stone.
After I received the first beautiful altar, which a priest friend immediately wanted to borrow, I offered some suggestions for improvements. The carpenter took them to heart!
Another priest friend recently obtained his own, upgraded, portable altar. He brought it over and I shot some photos.
In its case.
This one is considerably lighter than the one I have. Different wood, I believe, and construction have taken quite a few pounds off.
The altar, closed up.
One of the improvements I recommended were slots to place altar cards. He added them!
This version of the altar has a storage compartment under the element that holds the altar stone.
On the altar stone you can see a certificate of its provenance, that it was duly consecrated. I checked out the sepulcher for relics.
This version utilizes supports for the “wings” that fold out. Mine uses the drawers that pull out from the sides. Mine doesn’t have the central compartment.
The only concern I have is that the surface has to be pretty level and even for these side supports to work. Great if you are on a table.
The carpenter’s wife makes altar cloths to fit the altar! That’s really helpful. My altar didn’t come with cloths.
Not only are the cloths fitted, one of them is a cere cloth! This is important with a wooden surface.
The Cross sits atop. However, he added a little tongue/groove – one of the improvements I suggested – so that it will more easily stay in place.
My friend told me that there was a little book stand, too. I didn’t see it.
Pretty spiffy.
I would like to swap mine out for this, or at least have some of the upgrades!
This might be the coolest priest gift ever. It might also, in the future, be one of the most useful.
As the persecution of the Catholic Church mounts, it may be that we will lose a lot of our properties. Priests might have to take things on the road.
Also, lay people might want to have one of these stored away. Stock up on altar wine, hosts, candles and squirrel them away with your altar.
Otherwise, leave it set up all the time as a home altar! You could put a shelve over it for statues and hand a fine piece of religious art over it…. even a baldachin, much in the style of some home chapels I saw in palazzi in Rome.
