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Praytellblog.Com Liturgical Press | School of Theology • Seminary | Saint John's Abbey | Comments Policy | Contact Us Search SEARCH Home About Us Pray Tell Live Support Us Contact Us Follow us on: Subscribe to RSS « Liturgy in Collegeville: From the Archives – Part XXIX Pope Francis on the End of Time » Celebration facing the people: a centuries-old practice NOV Posted by Jonathan Day in Art and Architecture, Church Reform, Eucharist, 26 Reform of the Reform | 36 Comments After the Council, detailed directions for the celebration of the revised form of Mass were drawn up, including an instruction that the priest CONTRIBUTORS should celebrate Mass facing the people. Anthony Ruff, OSB No, I am not referring to the Second Vatican Council or Inter Oecumenici or the GIRM. This was the Council of Trent (1545 – 1563), and the (536) relevant documents were prepared under the leadership of St Charles Bill Burke Borromeo, the archbishop of Milan. He had not attended the Council, but Bruce Morrill (3) he became a major implementer of the disciplinary reforms that the Editor . (930) Council promulgated. Many of these were about removing superstitious Frederick ceremonial from the Mass; others spoke directly to the conduct of bishops and priests. The former were to avoid silken vestments, Bauerschmidt (92) Give Us This Day (5) expensive furs, rings other than the episcopal ring; the latter were to ARCHIVED POSTS exhibit restraint in their clothing and personal furnishings. Both were Jonathan Day (35) expected to exercise simplicity and moderation in every aspect of their Katharine E. Harmon Cardinal Sarah is lives. The splendor of faith was to be preferred to ornate display. You (5) might say that St Charles anticipated the call for ʻnoble simplicityʼ of a new CDW prefect Kimberly Hope later Council. by: Editor Belcher (85) Turning Eastward in He also wrote extensively about the construction and furnishings of Michael Joncas (148) churches, in a document published in 1577, Instructiones fabricae et Lincoln NE supellectilis ecclesiasticae. Chapter 10 speaks about the principal chapel Nathan Chase (113) by: Anthony Ruff, of any church: Nicholas Denysenko OSB (5) Canonization and Other Voices (554) The site of this chapel must be chosen at the head of the church, in Christ the King with a prominent place and on an axis with the main entrance. The back Paul Inwood (31) Pope Francis part should face east, even if there are houses behind it. It must Rita Ferrone (97) by: Anthony Ruff, not face to the east of the summer solstice, but towards that of the Teresa Berger (77) OSB equinox. Timothy Brunk (4) Viewpoint: Christ the King Celebrates the If this is not possible, the Bishop can decide and permit that it be View the full list here» built facing another direction, but in this case care must be taken Ultimate Security of at least that if possible it does not face north, but south. In any the World case the chapel in which the priest celebrates Mass from the high by: Other Voices altar facing the people, in accordance with the rites of the Church, New CDW prefect?? – must face west. LINKS UPDATED Adoremus by: Editor In Latin: All Saints Company C. S. Lewis Situs igitur huius capellae in capite Ecclesiae loco eminentiori, e cuius BCDW by: GiveUsThisDay regione ianua primaria sit deligi debet : eius pars posterior in orientem Calvin Institute of Liturgy and versus recta spectet, etiam si a tergo illius domicitia populi sint. Nec vero Ceremony for Pope ad solstitialem , sed ad aequino- ctialem orientem omnino vergat. Christian Worship Center for Liturgy – Francis Si vero positio eiusmodi esse nullo modo potest , Episcopi iudicio, St. Louis University by: Other Voices facultateque ab eo impetrata, ad aliam partem illius exaedificatio verti Karl-Heinz Menke, poterit; tuncque id saltem curetur, ut ne ad septentrionem , sed ad Chant Café meridiem versus si fieri potest, plane spectet. Federation of member of the International Porro ad occidentem versus illa extruenda erit, ubi pro ritu Ecclesiae a Diocesan Liturgical Theological sacerdote versa ad populum facie Missae sacrum in altari maiori fieri Commissions solet. Give Us This Day Commission, on Church Polarization In other words, orientem means simply “east”. When the priest celebrates Liturgical Institute – at the main altar, facing the people, “in accordance with the rites of the Mundelein by: Anthony Ruff, Church”, he is to face east. Liturgical Press OSB Bill Murray on Latin The historian John OʼMalley asserts that Borromeo sought to standardize Liturgy Training and promote a number of liturgical practices. Some were broadly adopted liturgy – for instance, placing the tabernacle in the center of the main altar. Publications by: Editor Others, which Borromeo had advocated, were not – OʼMalley cites National Association German Church celebration with the priest facing the people as an example. of Pastoral Musicians Historian Fears Uwe Lang speaks about Borromeo in his book about the orientation of New Liturgical “Antipope” Benedict liturgical prayer: Movement by: Editor North American … the archbishop of Milan says that the capella major must be Academy of Liturgy oriented, with the main altar facing east. Where this is impossible, Notre Dame Center it can be directed towards another cardinal point (except north) but for Liturgy preferable toward the west, ʻas, in accordance with the rite of the RECENT COMMENTS Church (pro ritu Ecclesiae) the sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated at Saint John's Abbey Saint John's School of the main altar by the priest with his face turned towards the Tim Brunk on people.ʼ Theology·Seminary Undergrads: Mixed Societas Liturgica Reviews of the The Liturgical But Lang airily dismisses this as an exception: Reformed Anointing Conference Rite Toronto School of Borromeo must have had in mind those Roman basilicas with a 12/01/2014 - 2:04 Theology Liturgy westward apse and an eastward entrance, where Mass was pm Seminar celebrated facing the people; this practice was no doubt familiar to Paul Inwood on him. Still, for Borromeo, the eastward direction was the paramount Vatican Undergrads: Mixed principle for liturgy and church architecture. Worship Magazine Reviews of the Yale Institute of Reformed Anointing This is not an uncommon move for Lang, whose works I have found Sacred Music Rite generally tendentious; he often lays out different views and interpretations (e.g. of Christine Mohrmannʼs claim that ecclesiastical 12/01/2014 - 1:58 Latin was ʻelevatedʼ) but, often without giving reasons or citing sources, pm simply chooses the one that accords with his thesis. Joseph Ratzinger November 2014 Paul Inwood on described Turning Toward the Lord as “delightfully objective and non- S M T W T F S Undergrads: Mixed polemical”, leaving one to wonder whether the busy cardinal and prefect Reviews of the had time to read the book before blurbing it. 1 Reformed Anointing 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Celebration facing the people did not become normative, as (per Rite OʼMalley), St Charles Borromeo had wished it would. But this bit of history 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 12/01/2014 - 1:42 seems to give the lie to claims that celebration facing the people was a pm fabrication of the 20th century liturgical movement, or of 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 misinterpretation of the Second Vatican Council. Todd Orbitz on 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Undergrads: Mixed SOURCES 30 Reviews of the J.W. OʼMalley SJ, Trent: What happened at the Council. Harvard University Reformed Anointing Press, 2013. (This work, which really is “delightfully objective and non- « Oct Dec » polemical”, is a must read; it was here, rather than through my own Rite research, that I came across St Charles Borromeoʼs instruction that Mass 12/01/2014 - 1:00 should be celebrated facing the people). pm ARCHIVES Instructiones fabricae et supellectilis ecclesiasticae; translation by Evelyn Deacon James Volker (see evelynvoelker.com). Latin text available in several locations Anderson Murphy on December 2014 online, e.g. www.memofonte.it/home/files/pdf/scritti_borromeo.pdf. Undergrads: Mixed November 2014 Reviews of the Acta Ecclesiae Mediolanensis (Acts of the Church of Milan), see October 2014 www.openlibrary.org Reformed Anointing September 2014 Rite U.M. Lang, Turning Towards the Lord: Orientation in Liturgical August 2014 Prayer. Ignatius, 2004 12/01/2014 - 12:35 July 2014 pm June 2014 Tags: Ad Orientem, Council of Trent, Fr. John O'Malley SJ, Fr. Uwe Michael Lang J. Michael McMahon May 2014 on Why Catholics April 2014 Canʼt Sing (revised This entry was posted on November 26, 2014, 10:50 am and is filed under Art and March 2014 edition) by Thomas Architecture, Church Reform, Eucharist, Reform of the Reform. You can follow any February 2014 Day — Review responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your January 2014 own site. 12/01/2014 - 12:30 December 2013 pm November 2013 Jan Larson on October 2013 Undergrads: Mixed 36 Comments September 2013 Reviews of the August 2013 Reformed Anointing #1 by Anthony Ruff on November 26, 2014 - 11:11 am July 2013 Rite June 2013 QUOTE REPLY 12/01/2014 - 12:24 May 2013 Wow. Great, Jonathan. Once again youʼve dug up stuff I never pm April 2013 knew about. Thanks. Sherry Weddell on March 2013 awr Brazilian Bishops February 2013 Establish January 2013 Commission on December 2012 Married Priesthood #2 by Karl Liam Saur on November 26, 2014 - 11:27 am November 2012 12/01/2014 - 11:59 October 2012 QUOTE REPLY am September 2012 For those who might be curious about “the east of the summer solstice” – the text is referring to the azimuth point August 2012 on the horizon line of the sun at sunrise. Which, at the July 2012 summer solstice in the middle latitudes, is toward (or even June 2012 CATEGORIES beyond) northeast.
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  • July 29Th, 2018
    O SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME JULY 29, 2018 Why a change in the Altar arrangement? I was visiting my parents and my father asked me what is this Benedictine altar arrangement and why are you changing it now? I have only known the liturgy since it’s reform after Vatican II. So first of all this is not some nostalgia of the Mass of my childhood. I have been inspired by the New Evangelization to consider seriously what we are doing to pass on the faith and why our youth are leaving the Christian faith and embracing secular society. How do we turn to Jesus and show them the way? This year I hope we can focus on the Liturgy as our source and summit. When the Liturgy was reformed it was promulgated in Latin and with the Priest was in unison with the people mediating the sacrifice of the Mass to God. It was special permission given to the conference of Bishops from Rome to allow: 1. Vernacular Masses and 2. To face the people. While both of these changes were embraced and became the norm of practice there were unexpected consequences from both of these changes. The Benedictine Arrangement is a compromise to continue the norm of facing the people while refocusing the Priest on the Sacrifice offered to God. The Ad orien- tum (facing East symbolically) through the placement of candles and cross is to refocus our hearts on our hope, the Sacrifice of Jesus. As a Christian community, we are all facing ad orientem (i.e.
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  • AD ORIENTEM Basilica, a Crucifix Should Be Placed on the Altar So TOWARD the EAST That Both the Priest and the Community Can Focus on by FATHER JAY A
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  • SACRED MUSIC Volume 141, Number 4 WINTER 2014
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  • What Is “Ad Orientem”?
    What is “Ad Orientem”? Ad orientem is Latin and translates as toward the orient, or toward the East. Mass ad orientem, then, is when Mass is celebrated with ALL the people facing East (“All” meaning, everyone, priest and lay faithful, facing the same direction). Why East? East is the direction of the rising sun, which is a symbol of the resurrection of our Lord. East is also the direction according to scripture, from which the Lord will come from when He returns. Having a common orientation for both the priest and the people at Holy Mass gives a new direction and a new focus to the celebration. Instead of being a circle, where people face each other, the Mass has a more upward and vertical focus where the priest stands in union with the people and as their mediator. When a church building has not been physically built toward the East, the term is ad Deum (toward the Lord), because the people symbolically face the Lord and His coming. This was how Mass was celebrated from the earliest ages of Christianity until about 1970. The idea of celebrating Mass facing the people was an innovation of the Second Vatican Council. It is not a bad or evil thing to celebrate Mass facing the people - I want to make that VERY clear; we have been doing it for 40 years! However, I also want you, my parishioners, to see and experience the beauty and value of Mass celebrated facing the East/the Lord. When we restored the four campuses here at All Saints I became more and more convinced that this was God’s will, the celebrating of Mass ad orientem/Deum.
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