Details, details, it's all in the details...

Father Tucker of Dappled Things continues a series on ceremonial articles used in the liturgy of the Roman church. This installment talks about the corporal and the burse.

I got a question for ya, Padre. You mention that a priest normally intends to consecrate those elements which are resting on the corporal, as criterion for validity. What if there is no corporal used at all, which was the case for the parish in Seattle where I served last New Year's Eve? (See The Seattle Chronicles: Day Nine.) All they had was a set of two white paraments, crossing in the middle, over a square free-standing altar.