There is an excellent short article by Alcuin Reid in this week's Catholic Herald. You can read the article (with comments) at Fr Z's blog - Catholic Herald: Alcuin Reid on what the Pope is doing with ad orientem worship.
The article appears on page 4 of the paper as an "Analysis" piece below the report on the Holy Father's Mass in the Sistine Chapel last Sunday. The page is illustrated by a striking PA photo showing the whole of the "last Judgement" and part of the ceiling. At the bottom, there are the small figures of the Holy Father and ministers at the moment of the elevation of the sacred host.
Dr Reid's article is a good short summary of the case for eastward facing. It concludes with a quotation from Cardinal Ratzinger's "The Spirit of the Liturgy", ending "Looking at the priest has no importance. What matters is looking together at the Lord."
2 comments:
Fr Guy was patiently trying to explain to me re the Oratory & ad orientam & all that..still confused..
Jackie - it's quite simple. The priest faces towards the East (from where Christ will appear in the Second Coming). The East is either the true East (if the Church is built on a true East-West axis) or the liturgical East - ie the altar is towards the back wall of the sanctuary. Often enough such altars are attached to the back wall but many, like that in the Birmingham Oratory, are detached from the wall, but still designed to be used with everyone (priest and people) facing the same direction. Such an arrangement is described as 'ad orientem' ie towards the 'East'. This arrangement has been the traditional orientation of most Christians for nigh-on 2,000 years, not only in terms of the placement of altars: Christians are buried facing the East for the same reason.
'Versus populum' indicates an arrangement where an altar enables the priest to face the people. From such a position, he is less likely to be able, even symbolically, to be seen to be leading his people towards God - since he and the people look at each other and can be distracted by that. This arrangement has a pedigree of about 40 years.
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