Vatican liturgy chief urges priests to celebrate Mass facing east
- Status
J
JimR-OCDS
Guest
Well the good Cardinal is wrong in telling priests to face east when celebrating Mass.
Priests follow the directives of their Bishop and can not set norms for themselves.
The Cardinal should’ve called for Bishops to set the norm for facing East, if this was his desire, but then, he doesn’t have the authority to do this, being Vatican II gave the Bishops the option.
Jim
Priests follow the directives of their Bishop and can not set norms for themselves.
The Cardinal should’ve called for Bishops to set the norm for facing East, if this was his desire, but then, he doesn’t have the authority to do this, being Vatican II gave the Bishops the option.
Jim
R
RPRPsych
Guest
I hope his words are heeded. At the very least, this will prevent some priests I know from doing their “talk show host” routine… 
E
edwest2
Guest
As the true desires of the Fathers emerges, the Church continues to right itself.
Ed
Ed
J
J_Peterson
Guest
Why east?
R
RyanBlack
Guest
Traditionally, Christians face east in prayer, I believe because Christ will appear in the east at his second coming, according to Holy Scripture.
J
JurisPrudens
Guest
I wonder what else is needed for the clergy to heed to this. But I still doubt they will.
E
edwest2
Guest
See the book, The Spirit of the Liturgy by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger:
amazon.com/Spirit-Liturgy-Joseph-Cardinal-Ratzinger/dp/0898707846
An excerpt:
“The turning of the priest towards the people has turned the community into a self-enclosed circle. In its outward form, it no longer opens out on what lies ahead and above, but is closed in on itself. The common turning towards the East was not a ‘celebration towards the wall’; it did not mean that the priest ‘had his back to the people’: the priest himself was not regarded as so important. For just as the congregation in the synagogue looked together toward Jerusalem, so in the Christian liturgy the congregation looked together ‘towards the Lord.’”
Ed
amazon.com/Spirit-Liturgy-Joseph-Cardinal-Ratzinger/dp/0898707846
An excerpt:
“The turning of the priest towards the people has turned the community into a self-enclosed circle. In its outward form, it no longer opens out on what lies ahead and above, but is closed in on itself. The common turning towards the East was not a ‘celebration towards the wall’; it did not mean that the priest ‘had his back to the people’: the priest himself was not regarded as so important. For just as the congregation in the synagogue looked together toward Jerusalem, so in the Christian liturgy the congregation looked together ‘towards the Lord.’”
Ed
K
kdbueno
Guest
Theology is simple but not ‘complicated’.
J
J_Peterson
Guest
I like that.
That’s been on my bookshelf for a couple years now. One of these days I’ll get to it, just waiting for the spirit to hit me. I really like his writing.
J
JimR-OCDS
Guest
Of course the problem with this is many.
First off, Christ is among us at the celebration of the Mass in the priest who is Christ in persona, and Christ faced the Apostles at the dinner table, not symbolically east.
Second, this is how the Eucharist was celebrated by the apostles and the fathers of the early Church of the 1st century.
The priest facing east, came after Constantine legalized Christianity and donated public buildings to the Church. The buildings had a large shelf attached to the far end of the wall, and it was there, where the Eucharist began to be celebrated with the priest facing away from the people. Church buildings to be constructed in the future, took on the characteristics of the public buildings of Rome, i.e. a rectangle building as a kings court. Church buildings in the East, remained as a semi-circle of the people facing the altar.
Third, God dwells among us in each and every person present. The priest does not have to offer the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist to God who is out somewhere in the cosmos. He is present among us.
When Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope. he acknowledged that he was too rigid as head of the Congregation of Faith. As Pope, he celebrated Mass facing the people. If it were so important to celebrate Ad Orientem, he would have.
Jim
First off, Christ is among us at the celebration of the Mass in the priest who is Christ in persona, and Christ faced the Apostles at the dinner table, not symbolically east.
Second, this is how the Eucharist was celebrated by the apostles and the fathers of the early Church of the 1st century.
The priest facing east, came after Constantine legalized Christianity and donated public buildings to the Church. The buildings had a large shelf attached to the far end of the wall, and it was there, where the Eucharist began to be celebrated with the priest facing away from the people. Church buildings to be constructed in the future, took on the characteristics of the public buildings of Rome, i.e. a rectangle building as a kings court. Church buildings in the East, remained as a semi-circle of the people facing the altar.
Third, God dwells among us in each and every person present. The priest does not have to offer the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist to God who is out somewhere in the cosmos. He is present among us.
When Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope. he acknowledged that he was too rigid as head of the Congregation of Faith. As Pope, he celebrated Mass facing the people. If it were so important to celebrate Ad Orientem, he would have.
Jim
T
TobyLue
Guest
Hmm, Well our Basilica was built in 1926 and the altar was built such that when the priest was celebrating the Tridentine Mass he was facing west. Now, he faces east and towards the congregation so in my opinion it’s now a win-win situation.
J
JimR-OCDS
Guest
East that is referred to here is symbolic east, not literal east.
Which makes the entire idea meaningless in modern understanding the Sacred Celebration of the Mass.
Jim
P
pianistclare
Guest
Interesting, thank you!
C
Casilda
Guest
He definitely sounds like the man for such a time as this.
B
Brendan
Guest
Historically, that is probably not true. At a large, eastern Mediterranean meal of the time, the diners sat on the same side of the table, or more specifically, they reclined along the same side of the table. The table would have been ‘U’ shaped or semi-circular.
This allowed them to be served, and for the table to be cleared.
This can be seen in the Ravenna mosaic
emilycontois.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/ravenna-mosaic-the-last-supper.png
P
phil19034
Guest
Correct… most likely they were all on the same side of the table, just like in Da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
Also similar to the traditional (yet fallen out of style) long wedding party table where the whole wedding party is sitting on the same side of a long table, being served from the other side.
J
JimR-OCDS
Guest
Even so, the host sitting at the center, would not have had his back to the people and Christ at the last supper, would not have had his back to the apostles.
Jim
J
JimR-OCDS
Guest
- Status