One of our young mothers was there with three of her children. She said both of her sons, aged 12 and 10 liked the Mass very much and Jacob, aged twelve said, "I felt the oneness of the Mass much more."
About right. When I am saying Mass versus populum I can't help feeling that I am in the 'entertainer' mode and that I really am in opposition to and other than the people. When saying Mass towards the Lord I feel so much their prayers behind me and with me. Together we face the Lord and face his beauty. I don't have to look at them, and lucky them! They don't have to look at me either.
Together we gaze on the fair beauty of the Lord.
16 comments:
Awesome!! I wish my parish would offer mass Ad Orientem. I frequently attend one offered in this manner at another parish though...
Fr. Dwight,
Couldn't you ask to be transferred to the Diocese of Belleville, IL?
Of all the Liturgical deformation after Vatican II this I believe to be the most damaging and at the same time the simplest to solve and the one that would have the most impact in the spiritual direction of the average parish.
Great news, Father! It's really nice to have this now at 3 parishes in Greenville (including the EF Mass at Prince of Peace). Now, can you put in an altar rail, please? :-)
amen good Padre
looking at a Bruce Willis/ Stephen Covey lookalike isn't too bad as unaesthetically appealing experiences go, but,
yer... you get the drift
vive ad orientum
We feel things are going back to normal. The post council anarchy is ending.
With all due respect I ask you. Do you think that Jesus turned His back to His apostles when at the Last Supper, He gave thanks to His Father and broke the Bread??
The only way I will see this before I die is to move to S.C.....God bless and I wish I was there....
AMEN!
When I read the first sentence I was getting the heavy guns out but thankfully they were not needed. By Jove I think you've got it!
Rita B,
As Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist when presented at the Consecration, His face is always turned to the people whether Fr. Dwight faces ad orientem or versus populum.
Also, there is evidence that EVERYONE faced due East during the very early Liturgies no matter which way the priest faced, this means that during the Masses at the original St. Peter's Basilica, everyone faced the main doors so effectively the priest stood behind everybody!
Dear Father, just as you may prefer facing with the people, some of us prefer seeing the host and chalice as the words of consecration are said over them. Sure they are raised immediately afterwards but I still like seeing them at the consecration itself. If when you are facing the people you realized they were not concentrating on you but on what you are holding and the words you are saying this might help.
Not all people who support versus populum are lacking in sensitivity to the Sacrifice of the Mass (I know you don't say that but some of the other comments seem to have that understanding and I reject that entirely).
For more on "versus populum" and "ad orientem," please see my article "The Shape of the Liturgy" in the October 2008 issue of *Touchstone:*
http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=21-09-022-f
"Not all people who support versus populum are lacking in sensitivity to the Sacrifice of the Mass."
This is, of course, true, but when one considers that the introduction of "versus populum" celebration in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church (and of a few other rites, such as the Maronite, the Ethiopian and the Chaldean -- the last of which decided at its November 2005 synod to end the practice) (1) goes against the whole historic tradition of that rite, (2) was introduced on the basis of ignorance (the belief that it was a return to "the ancient practice" of the Church) and mendacity (the assertion that such a change in practice was mandated by Vatican II), and (3) has resulted in such deleterious consequences as the phenomena of "the celebrant as emcee" and "the inturned community celebrating itself" (the latter the sharp diagnosis of Prof. Ratzinger some decades ago) -- then there seems little doubt that it should be discouraged and eventually eliminated.
Re: turning one's back
So, the figurehead of a ship is defiantly turning its back on the rest of the boat? Or is it just leading the way, directly facing the waves for the benefit of those behind it?
At the Last Supper, they were not sitting around looking at each other. They were all sitting on one side of the table, so as to be served. No, I am not talking about the Da Vinci painting; it was not like that. More like this:
http://blog.adw.org/2010/01/the-seating-plan-at-the-last-supper/
To say that the Last Supper occurred with Jesus "facing the people" like what happens at most Masses today is quite false.
I've had a number of priests tell me the same thing, Father...they feel like they're 'on a stage' when they're facing the people (which, by the way, also means the priest has his back to our Lord in the tabernacle). One priest described it this way: "I'm like the driver in a bus...leading, directing, and guiding the people. Who wants to be on a bus with the driver looking at the passengers all the time?"
Post a Comment