Praying while facing East

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codefro

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Just looking for a very rough tally of people who adhere to this practice. 🙂
 
Yeah, what are you talking about?
I have heard about Muslims facing the Holy City, but Catholics facing the East? Never heard of it. Do explain. :o
 
When I am at home or when I am certain of the correct direction, I pray facing the East. Praying toward the East is an important part of Eastern Catholic practice. During our Baptismal Rite, we face the West when we renounce and spit towards Satan and face the East while professing Christ. 🙂
CruceSignati said:
Yeah, what are you talking about?
I have heard about Muslims facing the Holy City, but Catholics facing the East? Never heard of it. Do explain. :o
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We face the East because Christ will come from the East in his second coming. This is also why, traditionally, parishes were built so that everyone faces the East during Mass.

Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
 
CruceSignati said:
Yeah, what are you talking about?
I have heard about Muslims facing the Holy City, but Catholics facing the East? Never heard of it. Do explain. :o
Click to expand...
If you are interested in the topic, there is no better book than “The Spirit of the Liturgy” by Pope Benedict XVI. Be careful though, it just might transform the way you view prayer and the Mass forever. It did for me. God Bless.
 
Also heard that churches were built facing east. Ours faces south because when the church bought the land there were houses on the east side. To avoid making vulnerable people homeless, the church only knocked down the houses after the last tenant died or moved away. The land was used to make a church hall as we couldn’t afford to tear down the church and rebuild it facing east.
 
codefro said:
Just looking for a very rough tally of people who adhere to this practice. 🙂
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You need to modify it. Probably most of us aren’t even aware of what direction we are facing, or pray wherever we happen to be or in different places. I could not answer this question, not because I don’t know what you mean, but because there is no answer that fit, and I suspect most people fall into that category. Your poll is not going to produce any results that mean anything without more choices.

When I kneel by my bed to pray, I face west. If I sit in my bed, I face north. If I sit on my couch or chair, I face west, If I sit at my kitchen table and read and pray, I face east. In church in my pew, I am facing north, the altar is facing south.
 
I voted always, but that’s only by accident: the space I had available for my small at-home oratory faces east; the monastic church I normally worship in faces east, and the adoration chapel in the same church faces east, and the cubicle where I work from faces south and east, and I’m able to turn east when I recite Sext from my cube.

My oratory:

i179.photobucket.com/albums/w312/OraLabora/OratoryMidDayPrayer.jpg
 
I voted “never” but a more honest answer would be “I make no conscious effort to”.

Perhaps I should try to face East, I’ve just never thought about it honestly.
 
I wouldn’t know east if it wore a name tag! And, frankly, I would think God would be delighted if I prayed standing on my head instead of kneeling! If it is important, are all the prayers made by astronauts in space not finding there way to, or found unpleasant to God? I’m just saying!
 
I have heard about churches being built with the altar towards the East (my parish church was built like this) and I have also heard about people being buried so they will rise facing East at the resurrection. I have never heard that we should face East for private prayers and when praying at home I am usually facing South.
 
Facing East when praying, we seek to return to Paradise, which was in the East according to Genesis.

:heaven:
 
Sometimes buildings are not arranged so as to be convenient to eastward facing prayer. Do the best I can, though.
 
Zekariya said:
When I am at home or when I am certain of the correct direction, I pray facing the East. Praying toward the East is an important part of Eastern Catholic practice. During our Baptismal Rite, we face the West when we renounce and spit towards Satan and face the East while professing Christ. 🙂

We face the East because Christ will come from the East in his second coming. This is also why, traditionally, parishes were built so that everyone faces the East during Mass.

Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
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That does not indicate that Christ will come from the east. It means Christ’s coming will be swift and clear as lightening.
 
It’s normally just not physically possible to pray towards the East for me. Most of the time, I don’t even pay attention to what direction I am praying.
 
Neofight said:
If it is important, are all the prayers made by astronauts in space not finding there way to, or found unpleasant to God?
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In that case, or at the North Pole, bring a crucifix? Just saying. 🙂
 
As Zekariya said, it’s common Eastern praxis. And facing east is reminiscent of Jews facing Jerusalem, which Christians got from them and in turn Muslims from Syriac Christians (although after Mohammad had his spat with the Jews he redirected the qibla to the Kaaba).

Anyway, it has been given many meanings: in great anticipation of the Apocalypse, in recalling the Spiritual Jerusalem, East being the direction of God (facing West to denounce Satan, facing East to profess God).

Anyway, I make an effort to do so.
 
I’ve never really bothered about direction whilst praying - however a quick scoot through Google maps shows that all of the pre-reformation churches in this area (all now Church of Scotland) face ad orientum. The main Catholic Cathedral in Glasgow runs roughly north south (built late 19th cent). Just FYI folks
 
OraLabora said:
I voted always, but that’s only by accident: the space I had available for my small at-home oratory faces east; the monastic church I normally worship in faces east, and the adoration chapel in the same church faces east, and the cubicle where I work from faces south and east, and I’m able to turn east when I recite Sext from my cube.

My oratory:

i179.photobucket.com/albums/w312/OraLabora/OratoryMidDayPrayer.jpg
Click to expand...
I have admired your prie dieu when you have posted pictures of it. Where did you get it?

-Tim-
 
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