Which way to face at Mass

[Batfink]

Hi all,

Can anybody help me by providing a list if which way we face at different points of the Mass? I used to know this and I can’t remember.

Obviously it’s sometimes easy (e.g. in the EF or in a standardrectangular shaped church with altar up front and tabernacle behind it - always face front), but other times I’m sitting in choir or in a chapel which is laid out in a semi-circle so I need to refresh my memory as to which way to face when.

From what I can remember, it’s face the lecturn for the gospel (or wherever it’s being read from), face front for the homily, face the altar for the creed… Any further thoughts? The gospel’s the one everyone knows, but it can be embarrassing for the others when there’s a mixture of front and altar (and these aren’t the same direction as each other).

All help appreciated!

 

[MarkThompson]

There are no rubrics for which way the congregation is to face. I suppose it’s assumed that you would watch whatever is going on at the time, but to my knowledge there is no strict requirement to do so.

It is also no true that in the EF there is any reason to face the tabernacle. Many old cathedrals and churches have an elevated pulpit in the nave (see below), and when it is in use you are free to face it; you don’t have to keep eyes front like a dummy.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

http://www.paradoxplace.com/Perspec...Images/Inside/750/Nave-Jun04-DC3512sAR750.jpg

 

[puzzleannie]

Hi all,

Can anybody help me by providing a list if which way we face at different points of the Mass? I used to know this and I can’t remember.

toward the altar
is this a trick question?
obviously you turn toward the reader when the readings are proclaimed but unless your church architecture is very unusual this should not present a huge problem.

 

[TheMc]

Hi all,

Can anybody help me by providing a list if which way we face at different points of the Mass? I used to know this and I can’t remember.

Obviously it’s sometimes easy (e.g. in the EF or in a standardrectangular shaped church with altar up front and tabernacle behind it - always face front), but other times I’m sitting in choir or in a chapel which is laid out in a semi-circle so I need to refresh my memory as to which way to face when.

From what I can remember, it’s face the lecturn for the gospel (or wherever it’s being read from), face front for the homily, face the altar for the creed… Any further thoughts? The gospel’s the one everyone knows, but it can be embarrassing for the others when there’s a mixture of front and altar (and these aren’t the same direction as each other).

All help appreciated!

I would probably face the altar for everything but the gospel, but I’d have to see a floor plan or photo to really say anything specific.

I have to say though, this is what happens when we start messing with things that worked well before.

 

[SMHW]

My parish church is one of those that has “unusual architecture”.

I guess you could say that it is set up in in a modified antiphonal style where the altar is on a high platform in the middle of the building which has a long aisle running from the entrance of the Church (where the baptismal pool is situated) to the “back” of Church where the choir section is located. The lectern is located in the aisle between the altar and the choir. (The platform is only big enough to accommodate the altar.) The priest’s chair is just off of the aisle.

We face the priest’s chair, the altar, or the lectern depending on where the current focus happens to be.

 

[benedictgal]

Hi all,

Can anybody help me by providing a list if which way we face at different points of the Mass? I used to know this and I can’t remember.

Obviously it’s sometimes easy (e.g. in the EF or in a standardrectangular shaped church with altar up front and tabernacle behind it - always face front), but other times I’m sitting in choir or in a chapel which is laid out in a semi-circle so I need to refresh my memory as to which way to face when.

From what I can remember, it’s face the lecturn for the gospel (or wherever it’s being read from), face front for the homily, face the altar for the creed… Any further thoughts? The gospel’s the one everyone knows, but it can be embarrassing for the others when there’s a mixture of front and altar (and these aren’t the same direction as each other).

All help appreciated!

I went through that in Houston when I was at Mass in the Seminary Chapel during the Society for Catholic Liturgy conference. The chapel is in choir, meaning that the faithful face each other. It was a little hard for me because the ambo was at one end and the altar was at the other. So, what I did was face the ambo when necessary (readings and homily by Cardinal DiNardo) and then the altar the rest of the time. When it came time for the Eucharistic Prayer, I decided to kneel facing the altar, shifting my whole body. I did the same for the “Ecce Agnus Dei”.