Priest facing away from the congregation.

[Gfourbees]

Our priest has begun facing away from the congregation during the consecrecration. He has written a letter to us in our bulletin explaining reasoning for the change. He said that it makes the prayer a verticle prayer instead of a closed circle which results from facing us. Could someone help me to understand why this is better. I feel that looking at the back of the priest during this important time of the mass excludes us.

 

[kage_ar]

He has begun FACING the Altar, actually leading the people in this prayer!

Thanks be to GOD!!!

 

[MercyMia]

Remember, when we are facing forward at the alter; we are not doing so to look upon the priest, but to look towards Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. The Priest, by looking forward towards Christ as well, is pointing us towards Christ. In some denominations, reverence is all but lost, the pastor is the star of the show and everyone is looking at him…a good priest knows it is not about him, he is merely a servant.

 

[Seatuck]

He has begun FACING the Altar, actually leading the people in this prayer!

Thanks be to GOD!!!

I know ! Amen!

 

[bpbasilphx]

\ Our priest has begun facing away from the congregation during the consecrecration.\

**Wrong.

He is facing liturgical East.**

 

[benedictgal]

My parochial vicar will celebrate Mass ad orientum, at least for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

He has taken the example of no less than Pope Benedict XVI who wrote about this in his book, The Spirit of the Liturgy. The Holy Father offers this explanation:

Arrangement of Saint Peter’s copied

The ordering of Saint Peter’s was then copied, so it would seem, in many other stational churches in Rome. For the purposes of this discussion, we do not need to go into the disputed details of this process. The controversy in our own century was triggered by another innovation. Because of topographical circumstances, it turned out that Saint Peter’s faced west. Thus, if the celebrating priest wanted – as the Christian tradition of prayer demands – to face east, he had to stand behind the people and look – this is the logical conclusion – toward the people. For whatever reason it was done, one can also see this arrangement in a whole series of church buildings within Saint Peter’s direct sphere of influence.

The liturgical renewal in our own century took up this alleged model and developed from it a new idea for the form of the Liturgy. The Eucharist, so it was said, had to be celebrated versus populum (towards the people). The altar – as can be seen in the normative model of Saint Peter’s – had to be positioned in such a way that priest and people looked at each other and formed together the circle of the celebrating community. This alone, so it was said, was compatible with the meaning of the Christian Liturgy, with the requirement of active participation. This alone conformed to the primordial model of the Last Supper.

These arguments seemed in the end so persuasive that after the Council (which says nothing about “turning to the people”) new altars were set up everywhere, and today celebration versus populum really does look like the characteristic fruit of Vatican II’s liturgical renewal. In fact it is the most conspicuous consequence of a re-ordering that not only signifies a new external arrangement of the places dedicated to the Liturgy, but also brings with it a new idea of the essence of the Liturgy – the Liturgy as a communal meal.

Misunderstanding of meal symbolism

This is, of course, a misunderstanding of the significance of the Roman basilica and of the positioning of its altar, and the representation of the Last Supper is also, to say the least, inaccurate. Consider, for example, what Louis Bouyer has to say on the subject:

The idea that celebration versus populum was the original form, indeed the way the Last Supper itself was celebrated, rests purely and simply on a mistaken idea of what a banquet, Christian or even non-Christian, was like in antiquity. In the earliest days of Christianity the head of table never took his place facing the other participants. Everyone sat or lay on the convex side of an S-shaped or horseshoe-shaped table. Nowhere in Christian antiquity could anyone have come up with the idea that the man presiding at the meal had to take his place versus populum. The communal character of a meal was emphasized by precisely the opposite arrangement, namely, by the fact that everyone at the meal found himself on the same side of the table (54f).

In any case, there is a further point that we must add to this discussion of the ‘shape’ of meals: the Eucharist that Christians celebrate really cannot adequately be described by the term ‘meal’. True, Our Lord established the new reality of Christian worship within the framework of a Jewish (Passover) meal, but it was precisely this new reality, not the meal as such, which He commanded us to repeat. Very soon the new reality was separated from its ancient context and found its proper and suitable form, a form already predetermined by the fact that the Eucharist refers back to the Cross and thus to the transformation of Temple sacrifice into the reasonable worship of God.

Pope Benedict XVI went even further by writing the foreword to the book, “Turning Towards the Lord”, written by Fr. U. M. Lang, whom the Holy Father appointed to serve in his Office of Liturgy. Here is the link to an experpt from Fr. Lang’s book:

Early Critics of “facing the people”
Already in the sixties, theologians of international renown criticized the sweeping triumph of the celebration versus populum. In addition to Jungmann and Bouyer, Joseph Ratzinger, then professor of theology at Tübingen and peritus at the Council, delivered a lecture at the Katholikentag of 1966 in Bamberg that was received with much attention. His observations have lost nothing of their relevance:

We can no longer deny that exaggerations and aberrations have crept in which are both annoying and unbecoming. Must every Mass, for instance, be celebrated facing the people? Is it so absolutely important to be able to look the priest in the face, or might it not be often very salutary to reflect that he also is a Christian and that he has every reason to turn to God with all his fellow-Christians of the congregation and to say together with them ‘Our Father’?16

The German liturgist Balthasar Fischer concedes that the turning of the celebrant towards the people for the entire celebration of the Mass was never officially introduced or prescribed by the new liturgical legislation. In post-conciliar documents it was merely declared possible. In view of this, however, the fact that the celebration versus populum has become the dominant practice of the Latin Church shows the astounding extent to which “the active role of the people in the celebration of the Eucharist” has been realized; for Fischer this is indeed the fundamental issue of the liturgical reform after Vatican II.17

You can read the rest of the article here:

adoremus.org/0405LiturgicalPrayer.html

You should be grateful that you have a pastor who has taken the initiative to something that is well within his right.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

You aren’t being excluded, you are being led (by definition, included.)

 

[Seatuck]

See the following article:

The first thing to remember is that the Eucharistic sacrifice is offered to the one and triune God, just as all Christian prayer is an act of worshipping God. So how this can be communicated most fittingly in liturgical gesture? When we speak to someone, we obviously face that person. Accordingly, if whole liturgical assembly, priest and people, face the same way, they turn towards God to whom prayers and offerings are addressed in this common act of worship. It is a mistaken idea that in this case the celebrating priest is facing “towards the altar”, “towards the tabernacle”, or even “towards the wall”. (cf. Ratzinger, Feast of Faith: Approaches to a Theology of the Liturgy (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986), 139-143)

I have often heard the phrase that Mass is being celebrated with the priest “turning his back on the people”. This is confusing theology with physical position. The crucial point is that the Mass is a common act of worship where priest and people together, representing the pilgrim Church, reach out for the transcendent God. The priest isn’t turning his back on the people; he is joining the people in prayer. At Mass, all of us are praying together to God through Jesus Christ. Whether the priest celebrates towards the people or not, all of us - both you and me - are turned towards God as our first spiritual movement in prayer.

The physical position must be distinguished from the interior spiritual orientation of all. It would be a grave error to imagine that the principal orientation of the sacrificial action is towards the community. (CDW, 25 September 2000, Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estévez)

Notice that during the Eucharistic prayer, the prayers are not addressed towards you - but to the Father. At that moment in the Mass, the priest is not speaking to the faithful; he is offering prayer to the Father as a representative of the entire Church.

This is why, since the earliest times, Mass has been celebrated with both the people and priest facing the same direction, ad orientem, toward the East. Even after Churches were built where it was not literally possible to face East, then at least symbolically the priest and people were turned toward the Lord. It had nothing to do with trying to obstruct people’s view of what is happening, or of the priest turning his back on the people. Nor is it even primarily for the sake of facing the altar or tabernacle. Rather, when the priest and faithful together face the same way, it manifests our common act of worship; it symbolizes our common pilgrimage toward the returning Lord, the Sun of Justice and our hope in the resurrection and the world beyond the here-and-now, our pilgrimage to the Promised Land.

The priest and people can both face the same direction. And celebrating ad orientem, the Eastward position, is both biblical and patristic and has been done throughout the history of the Church. So what can this teach us about the Mass?

Pope Benedict XVI addressed the topic in a Wednesday audience saying how liturgy evokes the mystery of the transcendent God: “a joyful celebration which includes, on the one hand, the adoring people, the liturgical assembly, and on the other, the Lord Who returns and is again present and active… The heart of the liturgy is in this intersection between priests and faithful on one side, and the Lord and His might on the other.” (Pope Benedict audience 9/14/05, 3)

As he put it the next Wednesday audience, the liturgy is where “God and man meet each other in an embrace of salvation”. (Pope Benedict audience 10/5/05, 3)

The Mass is to have the sense of an ordered, solemn ceremony addressed to God. There is what we call a vertical dimension - that mystery of the transcendent God. Although ordained to administer the sacraments, it is not the priest who gives grace; it is not I who shed my blood on the cross. When the priest faces the congregation, we can forget or misunderstand that only Christ is the source and giver of all grace. ad orientem avoids focusing attention on the personality and mannerisms of the celebrant and reminds us that the priest stands at the altar in persona Christi, offering the Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary.

Again we can ask: what is full and active participation in the Mass? Yes, participation includes external actions, like reading and singing. But external actions are secondary to out interior action of prayer. Cardinal Ratzinger, before being elected pope said: “Doing really must stop when we come to the heart of the matter: prayer (the oratio). It must be plainly evident that prayer (the oratio) is the heart of the matter, but that it is important precisely because it provides a space for the action (actio) of God. Anyone who grasps this will easily see that it is not now a matter of looking at or toward the priest, but of looking together toward the Lord and going out to meet him.” (Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000), 174)

Theologically, the Mass includes God speaking to his people (versus populum), especially during the Liturgy of the Word. But today, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we can recall that the Mass is directed at the same time towards God (ad orientem). We now know that the Church allows us to continue this long tradition of priest and people facing the same direction, for together we join in offering our prayer to the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit. To Jesus Christ be all praise and glory forever.

• The parts of Mass in which the priest faces the Congregation are: The Sign of the Cross, Opening Greeting, and Penitential Rite; Orate Fratres; Pax Domini; Ecce Agnus Dei; Final Blessing and Dismissal. Last Updated ( Jul 24, 2009 at 08:32 PM )

saintcatherinesienawf.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=388&Itemid=1&lang=en

 

[StillWondering]

\ Our priest has begun facing away from the congregation during the consecrecration.\

**Wrong.

He is facing liturgical East.**

Can you explain the different between Liturgical East and directional East?

Are churches meant to physically face a particular direction?

 

[malphono]

Can you explain the different between Liturgical East and directional East?

Are churches meant to physically face a particular direction?

Sometimes (zoning, physical restrictions, etc) it just not possible to build a church facing geographical east. The expression “liturgical east” is used in such cases, since the liturgical action presumes facing east (hence the term ad orientem, meaning “toward the east”).

 

[damooster]

I feel that looking at the back of the priest during this important time of the mass excludes us.

I mean this in the most humble way possible: are you seriously asking this question or are you trying to incite something?

If you are asking a sincere question then I truly apologize. But with this being your first post, it seems like someone could just be trying to start something here.

 

[scylla]

He is joining you in facing God, the Priests job is to lead you to God, direct you towards Him.

Just in the same way that the people around you are not facing you but towards God, the Priest does the same. We don’t see anything wrong with the people in front of us having their back towards us as they pray to God, in the same way there is something good about the Priest leading us to God.

Support your Priest who looks to be seeking, to lead you to Christ, it is a good and noble thing to do.

In Christ
Scylla

 

[Bluegoat]

The whole facing the congregation is a new thing, and has questionable origins. Liturgical East was the norm for a very long time. If it makes you feel better, think of him as being with the congregation, facing God.

 

[Advocatus_Fidei]

Our priest has begun facing away from the congregation during the consecrecration. He has written a letter to us in our bulletin explaining reasoning for the change. He said that it makes the prayer a verticle prayer instead of a closed circle which results from facing us. Could someone help me to understand why this is better. I feel that looking at the back of the priest during this important time of the mass excludes us.

The priest is looking with you towards God. God been who you are supposed to be focusing on rather than the priest.

 

[Monty61]

It’s like the pilot of an airplane. He does not face you, he faces along with you taking you where you want to go.

 

[sarahraegraham]

It’s like the pilot of an airplane. He does not face you, he faces along with you taking you where you want to go.

That’s a great analogy that I would not have thought of.

Going on the assumption that your question is genuine , I’m sure the change may cause some uneasiness on your part. Don’t feel bad for asking the question or questioning his practice. We should! The statements of the posters above are correct. The congregation at mass is worshipping Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. That includes the priest as well. I would suggest taking the opportunity of this change to help you see how the change helps to focus your and the entire congregation’s attention on that.

 

[The_Reginator]

It’s like the pilot of an airplane. He does not face you, he faces along with you taking you where you want to go.

That’s a great analogy that I would not have thought of.

The congregation at mass is worshipping Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. That includes the priest as well.

I’ve actually found it rather odd that the priest faces the people. For us all to face the same direction makes more sense to me.

 

[benedictgal]

This is from the New Liturgical Movement. It is the text of a speech delivered last night by Msgr. Guido Marini, the Papal MC.

1. The orientation of liturgical prayer.

Over and above the changes which have characterised, during the course of time, the architecture of churches and the places where the liturgy takes place, one conviction has always remained clear within the Christian community, almost down to the present day. I am referring to praying facing east, a tradition which goes back to the origins of Christianity.

What is understood by “praying facing east”? It refers to the orientation of the praying heart towards Christ, from whom comes salvation, and to whom it is directed as in the beginning so at the end of history. The sun rises in the east, and the sun is a symbol of Christ, the light rising in the Orient. The messianic passage in the Benedictus canticle comes readily to mind: “Through the tender mercy of our God; * whereby the Orient from on high hath visited us”

Very reliable and recent studies have by now proven effectively that, in every age of its past, the Christian community has found the way to express even in the external and visible liturgical sign, this fundamental orientation for the life of faith. This is why we find churches built in such a way that the apse was turned to the east. When such an orientation of the sacred space was no longer possible, the Church had recourse to the Crucifix placed upon the altar, on which everyone could focus. In the same vein many apses were decorated with resplendent representations of the Lord. All were invited to contemplate these images during the celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy.

Without recourse to a detailed historical analysis of the development of Christian art, we would like to reaffirm that prayer facing east, more specifically, facing the Lord, is a characteristic expression of the authentic spirit of the liturgy. It is according to this sense that we are invited to turn our hearts to the Lord during the celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy, as the introductory dialogue to the Preface well reminds us…Now if such an orientation must always be adopted interiorly by the entire Christian community when it gathers in prayer, it should be possible to find this orientation expressed externally by means of signs as well. The external sign, moreover, cannot but be true, in such a way that through it the correct spiritual attitude is rendered visible.

Hence the reason for the proposal made by the then Cardinal Ratzinger, and presently reaffirmed during the course of his pontificate, to place the Crucifix on the center of the altar, in order that all, during the celebration of the liturgy, may concretely face and look upon Lord, in such a way as to orient also their prayer and hearts. Let us listen to the words of his Holiness, Benedict XVI, directly, who in the preface to the first book of his Complete Works, dedicated to the liturgy, writes the following: “The idea that the priest and people should stare at one another during prayer was born only in modern Christianity, and is completely alien to the ancient Church. The priest and people most certainly do not pray one to the other, but to the one Lord. Therefore, they stare in the same direction during prayer: either towards the east as a cosmic symbol of the Lord who comes, or, where this is not possible, towards the image of Christ in the apse, towards a crucifix, or simply towards the heavens, as our Lord Himself did in his priestly prayer the night before His Passion (John 17.1) In the meantime the proposal made by me at the end of the chapter treating this question in my work ‘The Spirit of the Liturgy’ is fortunately becoming more and more common: rather than proceeding with further transformations, simply to place the crucifix at the center of the altar, which both priest and the faithful can face and be lead in this way towards the Lord, whom everyone addresses in prayer together.” (trans. from the Italian.)

Let it not be said, moreover, that the image of our Lord crucified obstructs the sight of the faithful from that of the priest, for they are not to look to the celebrant at that point in the liturgy! They are to turn their gaze towards the Lord! In like manner, the presider of the celebration should also be able to turn towards the Lord. The crucifix does not obstruct our view; rather it expands our horizon to see the world of God; the crucifix brings us to meditate on the mystery; it introduces us to the heavens from where the only light capable of making sense of life on this earth comes. Our sight, in truth, would be blinded and obstructed were our eyes to remain fixed on those things that display only man and his works.

…In our time, the expression “celebrating facing the people” has entered our common vocabulary. If one’s intention in using this expression is to describe the location of the priest, who, due to the fact that today he often finds himself facing the congregation because of the placement of the altar, in this case such an expression is acceptable. Yet such an expression would be categorically unacceptable the moment it comes to express a theological proposition. Theologically speaking, the holy Mass, as a matter of fact, is always addressed to God through Christ our Lord, and it would be a grievous error to imagine that the principal orientation of the sacrificial action is the community. Such an orientation, therefore, of turning towards the Lord must animate the interior participation of each individual during the liturgy. It is likewise equally important that this orientation be quite visible in the liturgical sign as well.

His points are quite valid, as, naturally, they mirror what Pope Benedict XVI has said and written. I hope that this article will help the OP understand why orientation in prayer is very important.

 

[PacoG]

It’s like the pilot of an airplane. He does not face you, he faces along with you taking you where you want to go.

As a former high school band member, I see the priest as our drum major. Some times the drum major faces forward (ad orientum). Sometimes he faces the band (ad populum). But it must be remembered that in both situations, the drum major is leading. In either situation, the drum major isn’t there for the entertainment of the band. He’s there to lead us in the direction and to keep us in rhythm.

 

[Shin]

Our priest has begun facing away from the congregation during the consecrecration. He has written a letter to us in our bulletin explaining reasoning for the change. He said that it makes the prayer a verticle prayer instead of a closed circle which results from facing us. Could someone help me to understand why this is better. I feel that looking at the back of the priest during this important time of the mass excludes us.

Thank God for this good priest! Now you will be focusing on God with him, instead of watching his facial expressions and focusing too much on him as an individual.