A Sunday Thought about the Priest and the People Facing the Same Way at Mass
Cardinal Robert Sarah, current Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship in the Vatican, has urged priests and people to face the same way at Mass: "ad orientam" to use the technical Latin term. While the Latin means "towards the East," the term isn't to be taken literally. The point is for priest and people to face in the same direction as they face the altar. When I face the altar in my local parish, I'm facing
north. That's just the way this particular church was built. But it's still considered "ad orientam." (Click HERE if you want to know more about ad orientam.) So you won't need to pull out your compass when you go to a Mass where priest and people face in the same direction.
(By the way, ad orentam assuredly has nothing to do with the priest "turning his back" on people. Whoever says this spouts modernist cant that denigrates the Church's rich tradition, the reasons for which they will likely have to account to Our Lord at the time of their individual judgement.)
More accurately and importantly, when we face the altar in the same direction together, we are facing God together, in the same way.
Having experienced Mass both ways - everyone facing God, and priest and people facing each other - it's always made more sense to me when we face God together. Are we going to Mass to socialize or to worship? If to worship, it's surely not to worship the priest. So why is the priest the center of attention in the Novus Ordo Masses? Whether he wants to be or not, he's just naturally the center of our attention when he's facing us.
(Of course, some of these guys seem to like it that way. They act like the "host" of a TV show or the director of some big social gathering. Sorry, the only Host I'm interested in is...well you know.)
With God as the center of our attention during Holy Mass, doesn't the practice of priest and people facing God together make more sense than facing each other? It not only makes more sense theologically, but isn't it simply common sense?
One more thing: The last few weeks' "A Sunday Thought..." has centered on Our Lord's Precious Blood, the special devotion recommended by Holy Mother Church for the month of July. My experience has been that such devotions don't attract Catholics as they once did. My educated guess would be that the practice of these devotions derives and depends on a strong sense of the supernatural. One of the side-effects - intended of not - of the priest facing the people has been a loss that sense of the supernatural, while the practice of priest and people facing God together inculcates and reinforces that sense. I have no proof of this, but, again, common sense tells me that when we look at each other, the lens of our soul focuses on what's before us - each other, or the priest facing us - rather than God.
So please, let's make the practice of priest and people facing the same way universal again. It will enhance our worship of God by honing that supernatural sense that raises our hearts and minds to "higher" things. We have all the time we need in this world to spend time with each other. But Holy Mass, reverently celebrated, with all of us facing God, can bring us a taste of heaven here on earth. Let's set aside our cares, our distractions, even the world itself, and treasure those precious few moments in His Presence at Holy Mass.
If you're fortunate to be at a Mass today where the priest and people face God together, ad orientam, count your blessings. If not, why not pray that your priest or bishop will soon embrace this venerable practice?
(By the way, ad orentam assuredly has nothing to do with the priest "turning his back" on people. Whoever says this spouts modernist cant that denigrates the Church's rich tradition, the reasons for which they will likely have to account to Our Lord at the time of their individual judgement.)
More accurately and importantly, when we face the altar in the same direction together, we are facing God together, in the same way.
Having experienced Mass both ways - everyone facing God, and priest and people facing each other - it's always made more sense to me when we face God together. Are we going to Mass to socialize or to worship? If to worship, it's surely not to worship the priest. So why is the priest the center of attention in the Novus Ordo Masses? Whether he wants to be or not, he's just naturally the center of our attention when he's facing us.
(Of course, some of these guys seem to like it that way. They act like the "host" of a TV show or the director of some big social gathering. Sorry, the only Host I'm interested in is...well you know.)
With God as the center of our attention during Holy Mass, doesn't the practice of priest and people facing God together make more sense than facing each other? It not only makes more sense theologically, but isn't it simply common sense?
One more thing: The last few weeks' "A Sunday Thought..." has centered on Our Lord's Precious Blood, the special devotion recommended by Holy Mother Church for the month of July. My experience has been that such devotions don't attract Catholics as they once did. My educated guess would be that the practice of these devotions derives and depends on a strong sense of the supernatural. One of the side-effects - intended of not - of the priest facing the people has been a loss that sense of the supernatural, while the practice of priest and people facing God together inculcates and reinforces that sense. I have no proof of this, but, again, common sense tells me that when we look at each other, the lens of our soul focuses on what's before us - each other, or the priest facing us - rather than God.
So please, let's make the practice of priest and people facing the same way universal again. It will enhance our worship of God by honing that supernatural sense that raises our hearts and minds to "higher" things. We have all the time we need in this world to spend time with each other. But Holy Mass, reverently celebrated, with all of us facing God, can bring us a taste of heaven here on earth. Let's set aside our cares, our distractions, even the world itself, and treasure those precious few moments in His Presence at Holy Mass.
If you're fortunate to be at a Mass today where the priest and people face God together, ad orientam, count your blessings. If not, why not pray that your priest or bishop will soon embrace this venerable practice?
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