From a reader:
At the meeting of the Altar & Rosary Society this morning, the
discussion about Christmas poinsettias came up. It was suggested that
even though real flowers would be used for most of the decorations,
that fake poinsettias be used around the Tabernacle. (!) The reasoning
is that real flowers would be a pain to water and might leak. I
mentioned that I thought that there was a prohibition against fake
Altar flowers, but I couldn’t remember where I had seen it. Is there
such a prohibition? (Other than just a general distaste for
tackiness?) I should also mention that there are fake flowers
underneath the statue of Our Lady of Fatima (our patroness), which are also quite ugly. The statues and tabernacle are front and center
behind the Altar, so they are seen throughout Mass.
The Church has always favored that which is natural. The unamplified human voice is better than the amplified. Pipe organ is better than electronic with speakers. Wax candles are better than artificial substances. Real bells are better than recordings.
Draw your own conclusion.
I would only add that if you don’t over do it with the flowers they won’t be so hard to tend.
