A review of the holy sacrifice of the Celebrated ad orientem

or by chance that we worship towards The history the East ... Since, therefore, God is spir- The PRIEST itual light, and Christ is called in the The history of the of the Pope Benedict states that “a Scriptures Sun of Righteousness and Mass celebrated Ad Orientem, that is turning to the East during the Eucha- Dayspring, the East is the direction that toward the East, is one of the greatest ristic Prayer remains essential. Look- be assigned to His worship. For constants in all of history. ing at the priest has no importance. everything good must be assigned to References in Sacred Scripture point What matters is looking together at the Him from Whom every good thing us eastward. For example, in Ezekiel Lord. It is not now a question of dia- arises.” We might also remember that we read, “Then he led me to the gate logue, but of , of set- catechumens in the early Church were which faces East, and there I saw the ting off towards the One who is to to renounce Satan and then turn to the glory of Israel coming from the come. What corresponds with the re- East to profess their faith in Christ. East…” In Luke, Zechariah exclaims, ality of what is happening is not the “The daybreak from on high will vis- closed circle, but the common move- it us to shine on those who sit in The direction ment forward expressed in a common darkness...” This daybreak is Jesus direction for prayer.” Sometimes Mass Ad Orientem is re- Christ to whom early Christians The priest stands as one with the faith- ferred to as Mass Ad Deum, that is, looked on Sunday mornings, the day ful and at the head of the faithful, of- toward the Lord, and this is the crux of the Resurrection. St. John Dama- fering, by vocation, the Victim to the of the matter: to turn together, priest scene, explains that “It is not without Heavenly Father. reason and faithful, towards the Lord. The has a lengthy instruction The The followed by the actual Rite with words in black (what the priest is to Every sacrifice demands an altar. Je- Each article of clothing that the priest say) and red (what the priest is to do.) sus Himself is, as the of East- puts on before Mass has meaning. The The latter are called . er reminds us, “the Priest, the Altar, last to be put on is the chasuble. Bene- and the Lamb of Sacrifice.” dict XVI reminded priests that the There are five times when these ru- brics instruct the priest to conversus In the early Church we see the dis- priest, “clad in liturgical must make it clearly visible to those ad populum, that is turn toward the tinction between a table for a meal people. These times are at the begin- and a table, that is dedicated to the present that [the priest is] there ‘in the person of an Other’. Just as in the ning and end of Mass and then for Sacrifice of the Mass. This latter was the “Pray Brothers and Sisters that my covered with a cloth, while the for- course of time priestly vestments de- veloped, they are a profound symbolic sacrifice and yours may be acceptable mer was not. As developed, to God the Almighty Father.” Then they many times were placed in the expression of what the priesthood means.” secondly at the “The peace of the apse of a church always Ad Ori- Lord be with you always.” Finally at entem and sometimes with a curved The chasuble should be beautiful, not the “Behold the Lamb of God.” back reflecting the apse itself with for the priest, but for Christ. It re- the priest standing at the front. minds both priest and faithful that the The mystery The priest comes to Mass as Christ priest is disappearing so that Christ bearing the sins of the faithful—and may appear. Often the priest finds the At the conclusion of the sacrifice the his own sins—and venerates the al- chasuble awkward which is a constant priest in awe exclaims, “Mysterium tar thereby identifying himself more reminder that he is not himself, but Fidei!” is some- and more with the crucified Christ. acting in the person of Christ. thing that should fascinate us. is made present before us and indeed The prayers at the foot of the altar in The rubrics has commanded us to do this in His the Extraordinary form of the Mass Memory. The more he hides Himself The is the book which declare, “Introibo ad altare Dei” that in the Eucharist, like a treasure buried establishes the Roman Rites of Holy is, I will go unto the altar of God. in the field of the altar, the more joy Mass There is a Novus Ordo Missal And this is what the priest does, he we have in finding Him! As St. Jean and an Extraordinary Form Missal. goes unto the altar of God and not Vianney said, “If we truly understood The official texts are in . behind it. the Mass, we would die of joy!””