M
- Status
M
malphono
Guest
Lovely link!!! Thank you. 
It’s going to my bishop. Hopefully he will appreciate it as well.
It’s going to my bishop. Hopefully he will appreciate it as well.
M
Megan7
Guest
Thank you.
E
edwest2
Guest
Thank you. I hope others find the following useful:
"In his outstanding book, “Spirit of the Liturgy,” Cardinal Ratzinger wrote of the ancient and venerable practice of offering the Holy Sacrifice ad orientem, in which both priest and people face east:
“It has been the practice in the entire Church, East and West from time immemorial. Contrary to a prevailing misconception, there is no evidence for celebration of Mass versus populum in the first nineteen centuries of the Church’s history, with rare exceptions.”
“Despite all the variations in practice that have taken place far into the second millennium, one thing has remained clear for the whole of Christendom: praying toward the east is a tradition that goes back to the beginning. Moreover, it is a fundamental expression of the Christian synthesis of cosmos and history, of being rooted in the once-for-all events of salvation history while going out to meet the Lord who is to come again.”
Peace,
Ed
"In his outstanding book, “Spirit of the Liturgy,” Cardinal Ratzinger wrote of the ancient and venerable practice of offering the Holy Sacrifice ad orientem, in which both priest and people face east:
“It has been the practice in the entire Church, East and West from time immemorial. Contrary to a prevailing misconception, there is no evidence for celebration of Mass versus populum in the first nineteen centuries of the Church’s history, with rare exceptions.”
“Despite all the variations in practice that have taken place far into the second millennium, one thing has remained clear for the whole of Christendom: praying toward the east is a tradition that goes back to the beginning. Moreover, it is a fundamental expression of the Christian synthesis of cosmos and history, of being rooted in the once-for-all events of salvation history while going out to meet the Lord who is to come again.”
Peace,
Ed
C
Catechist54
Guest
This is marvelous, and I echo the thanks others have expressed. Let’s hope the practice spreads, and more people learn its true meaning. I get so weary of hearing people talk about the priest in the Extraordinary Form “having his back to the people.”
Unfortunately, my parish church was built in the mid-1990’s, during the, well, difficult years for church architecture in the US. The altar is not just a table; it’s carved from limestone, but the tabernacle, although it is placed directly “behind” the altar by line of sight from the narthex, is in a “chapel annex”, for lack of a better term, and is some 75 feet or more away, on a level several steps down from the altar. So while ad orientem would be possible, it wouldn’t be anything like the effect of having the tabernacle directly behind the altar, as it should be.
Darn it.
Unfortunately, my parish church was built in the mid-1990’s, during the, well, difficult years for church architecture in the US. The altar is not just a table; it’s carved from limestone, but the tabernacle, although it is placed directly “behind” the altar by line of sight from the narthex, is in a “chapel annex”, for lack of a better term, and is some 75 feet or more away, on a level several steps down from the altar. So while ad orientem would be possible, it wouldn’t be anything like the effect of having the tabernacle directly behind the altar, as it should be.
Darn it.
C
Cat
Guest
quoted from the article: “And, these men have become quite a “band of brothers” as they also gather once a month in my man cave for what we call, “Pipes and Pints” … Virtually all of them enjoy a nice pipe and brew as we discuss church related issues and try to solve all of the problems of the world. Virtually all of these men are young professionals.”
You think this is a good thing?! Young professional men smoking pipes?!
Is this article a satire or real? Who exactly are the “Knights of Divine Mercy”? I’ve never seen them in my city or diocese, and we are known for having an orthodox and conservative diocese.
You think this is a good thing?! Young professional men smoking pipes?!
Is this article a satire or real? Who exactly are the “Knights of Divine Mercy”? I’ve never seen them in my city or diocese, and we are known for having an orthodox and conservative diocese.
Y
YoungTradCath
Guest
A pipe every once in a while socially or in a spirit of celebration–ie completed semester at school–does not seem bad at all. I don’t know if tobacco is more addictive than alcohol, but I wager it is fully possible to use it minimally and exceptionally.Yes, this article is quite real. There seem to be quite a few new smallish groups of Catholic men, almost all of them quite orthodox and faithful to the Church. You haven’t seen them because they are local.
S
severus68
Guest
Priests frightened? Souls are not being lost because priests face the people and women do not veil etc, which is what appears to be implied.
M
maryjk
Guest
I thought it was interesting that the writer says that many left the parish, but had the attitude of “oh well.”
Let alone the attitude that simply turning around changed the entire dynamic of the parish.
W
Walking_Home
Guest
P
ProVobis
Guest
That argument cuts both ways. Were souls being lost because priests were saying Mass ad orientem? Why the insistence of every priest facing the people suddenly in the 60’s? Vatican II didn’t even address it, except in the translations or interpretations or “spirit” perhaps.
I often relate a similar incident which happened on one Christmas Eve. My pastor decided to do a Mass ad orientem and got so much criticism for it that he decided “what’s the point.” He simply replaced the OF Mass with an EF Mass on Christmas Eve. Far less resistance.
S
severus68
Guest
They were pushed out.I thought it was interesting that the writer says that many left the parish, but had the attitude of “oh well.”
Let alone the attitude that simply turning around changed the entire dynamic of the parish.
S
severus68
Guest
No,it does not. It is allowed that the priest face the people. The mass is a valid, licit and proper mass. It appears that the changes were made for the reason that souls were being lost. So it was a condemnation of the usual OF mass where the priest faces the people.
We can choose to attend the OF, which is the norm. If we make that choice, we are not condemning the EF.
P
ProVobis
Guest
O
OraLabora
Guest
It strikes me as odd as well. It seems to me if a soul is being lost because the priest turns around and women do not veil, their faith couldn’t have been very deep to begin with.
Perhaps I’m wrong here but it sure looks like worshipping the worship.
T
TimothyH
Guest
Correlation is not the same as causation. I don’t question that many good things are happening at that parish but am skeptical that they are happening because of altar rails and ad orientem.
Monks have been gathering around altars facing each other for as long as records have been kept and no one can claim that monks in general don’t live very holy lives.
Today in the bidding prayers our pastor told us that our parish is experiencing a phenomena - he and the other priest have been experiencing an unusually large number of fallen away Catholics in the confessional and asked us to pray that it continues. We don’t have altar rails or ad orientem.
My experience is that when parishes unite around the Eucharist as their common mission and primary purpose for existing - when everything else is put aside and the Eucharist becomes the most important thing in the life of the pastor, priests and parishoners, many good things happen. Things usually begin picking up dramatically when Eucharistic Adoration is put in place.
Many small parishes near me have started perpetual adoration in blind faith, not knowing how they are going to fill the chapel because they just don’t have the numbers. People come one way or another, and good things begin happening. God responds when there is a contstant stream of prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
-Tim-
Monks have been gathering around altars facing each other for as long as records have been kept and no one can claim that monks in general don’t live very holy lives.
Today in the bidding prayers our pastor told us that our parish is experiencing a phenomena - he and the other priest have been experiencing an unusually large number of fallen away Catholics in the confessional and asked us to pray that it continues. We don’t have altar rails or ad orientem.
My experience is that when parishes unite around the Eucharist as their common mission and primary purpose for existing - when everything else is put aside and the Eucharist becomes the most important thing in the life of the pastor, priests and parishoners, many good things happen. Things usually begin picking up dramatically when Eucharistic Adoration is put in place.
Many small parishes near me have started perpetual adoration in blind faith, not knowing how they are going to fill the chapel because they just don’t have the numbers. People come one way or another, and good things begin happening. God responds when there is a contstant stream of prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
-Tim-
S
severus68
Guest
Well said.
S
severus68
Guest
Sorry, do not get your point.
S
severus68
Guest
Yes.It strikes me as odd as well. It seems to me if a soul is being lost because the priest turns around and women do not veil, their faith couldn’t have been very deep to begin with.
Perhaps I’m wrong here but it sure looks like worshipping the worship.
- Status