THE GLOBE
PO BOX 5079 (51102)
1825 JACKSON ST.
SIOUX CITY, IA (51105)
712.255.2550
800.352.9035
WWW.CATHOLICGLOBE.ORG

The direction the priest faces

By Adam Schwend
Liturgy and Ritual

Q. Last month I watched the pope celebrate Mass for the Baptism of the Lord. I noticed he celebrated with his back to the people. Is that still permissible?

A. Let’s set one thing straight. The phrase “back towards the people” is a contentious one. We know how powerful words can be and this phrase is excellent proof. Rather than saying “back towards the people”, which often conjures thoughts of an exclusionary liturgy, where the people become mere spectators (if even that), let’s say “ad orientem”, which means “towards the east” or “facing the same direction as the people”. It’s amazing that one turn of phrase can create an entire frame of mind, but it does! Even better, instead of “ad orientem”, let’s call this posture “ad Deum” or “Towards God”. In this way, we make the Lord the focal point from which we render all direction.

Now, on to the question. Yes, it is still permissible. It always has been. Contrary to popular belief, the Second Vatican Council didn’t come up with the idea. In fact, the Council never comes close to even mentioning which way the altar should face. With this said, which way the altar should face has never been legislated in Liturgical law. In fact, one can go to a number of Roman Basilicas and see freestanding altars that faced the people from the beginning. The reason for this wasn’t so much theological, but practical and architectural as well as liturgical. In the early Church, it was required that the celebrant face east, no matter which direction the church building was facing. Therefore, it was required that some church buildings have their altars facing the people, because that was east!

Despite what some may say, having the altar face the people is not an ancient custom. Rather, it was the custom of Christians to face east, all together, priest and people, when praying. This is not exclusively a Christian idea, however. Particularly in the other Abrahamic religions, the faithful have always prayed in a Sacred direction. The Jews traditionally pray toward Jerusalem (more precisely, towards the “shekinah”; the presence of the Transcendent God in the Holy of holies (Daniel 6:10)), Muslims towards Mecca. Christians prayed towards the East as they awaited the return of the Messiah, the one who “comes from the east” (Matt 24:27, Ezek 43:2). By facing the same way as the people (ad orientem/ad Deum) , the priest, in his place as one “in the person of Christ the head” (in persona Christi capitas) leads the Pilgrim Church on earth (Lumen Gentium 48) to the New and Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 21:1-6).

Although it is a historical fact that Christian worship has constantly (although not without exception, as noted above) involved the priest and the people facing the same direction, this does not mean that celebrating the Mass “versus populum” (toward the people) is incorrect or inferior. However, what we must avoid doing is simply changing the placement of the altar and making that action a substitute for delving deep into the theological reasons for the liturgical reform that the Second Vatican Council called for. How easy it is to say “Oh yeah, we have a complete understanding of Vatican II…look, we moved the altar!” In a 1993 note, the Congregation for Divine Worship echoed the statement that changing the orientation of the altar and using the vernacular could become an easy substitute for entering into the theological and spiritual dimensions of the liturgy, for studying its history and for taking into account the pastoral consequences of the reform. ("Editoriale: Pregare 'ad orientem versus'", Not 29 (1993))

If the Mass is celebrated “versus populum”, good reasons, such as respect for architecture, the ability of the congregation to hear the celebrant (a hard case to make in this day of modern technology), or legitimate pastoral reasons should be cited. The people should still know, however, that the practice of everyone, priest and people, facing the same direction is not a bad one, but a good and historical one. It is also absolutely crucial that the faithful understand that the prayers of the Mass are not directed towards them, even if the priest is facing them. Rather, the prayers are directed toward the Almighty, through his Son in the unity of the Holy Spirit. They must also know that the Mass is not some sort of fraternal meal that is merely a symbol of community. Rather, it is “preeminently a sacrifice” (Redemptionis Sacramentum 38); indeed, the very same sacrifice that the Lord made on Calvary.

The Congregation for Divine Worship, in a note from the year 2000, stated the following regarding celebrating Mass “versus populum”: “The physical position…must be distinguished from the interior spiritual orientation of all. It would be a grave error to imagine that the principal orientation of the sacrificial action is [toward] the community. If the priest celebrates versus populum, which is a legitimate and often advisable, his spiritual attitude ought always to be versus Deum per Jesus Christum [toward God through Jesus Christ], as representative of the entire Church. The Church as well, which takes concrete form in the assembly which participates, is entirely turned versus Deum [towards God] as its first spiritual movement.” (Congregation for Divine Worship, “Letter on the position of the priest during the Eucharistic Liturgy”)

With all of the above said, The Congregation for Divine Worship wisely states, in the same letter on the position of the priest; “What always remains is the event celebrated in the liturgy: this is manifested through rites, signs, symbols and words that express various aspects of the mystery without, however, exhausting it, because it transcends them. Taking a rigid position and absolutizing it could become a rejection of some aspect of the truth which merits respect and acceptance.”

This has, sadly, happened already. Many who reject the idea of celebrating Mass “ad orientem” do so because they see the Church that existed before the Second Vatican Council as something bad. They somehow think that Vatican II rejected everything in our history, which could not possibly be more incorrect. Others reject it out of understandable ignorance of the history and eschatological richness of our Catholic Worship. Probably the saddest of all, some reject it in order to further their own personal positions as being superior to the Church’s interpretation of its own documents. On the other side of the coin, some reject the idea of celebrating Mass “versus populum” as an innovation of no benefit. This, coupled with a misunderstanding of the Second Vatican Council, could lead to a rejection of some dogmatic aspects of Vatican II, which, to quote the congregation, “merit respect and acceptance”. The Congregation for Divine Worship, in its paternal wisdom, tells everyone to calm down. The Church will not rise or fall on which way the priest stands when celebrating Mass, so long as we continue to focus on that New and Heavenly Jerusalem.