Cardinal Robert Sarah, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, drew sustained applause for his remarks at the annual Sacra Liturgia conference on liturgical formation in London.
While his remarks reflecting on insights from Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican Council’s dogmatic constitution on the sacred liturgy, were noteworthy, it was his closing words that generated the most energy and enthusiasm: He enjoined all priests present to begin celebrating holy Mass ad orientem (facing the east) by the First Sunday of Advent.
This exhortation and the specific target date were widely reported throughout the Church precisely because this clarion call comes from the prefect charged with overseeing the liturgical/sacramental life of the Church. Of course, this does not have the effect and force of law, but to focus solely on the juridic nature of his exhortation or the difficulties its implementation presents misses the importance of what the cardinal has been attempting to convey about the sacred liturgy throughout his tenure as prefect.
This is not the first time Cardinal Sarah has spoken specifically about the theological significance of returning to a common orientation of the faithful and the priest during the celebration of those parts of the Mass that are addressed to God.
In both L’Osservatore Romano and Famille Chretienne newspapers, Cardinal Sarah reminded the Church that it is appropriate and legitimately within the context of the thought and teaching of the Second Vatican Council that “everyone, priest and faithful, turn together toward the east, so as to express their intention to participate in the work of worship and redemption accomplished by Christ.”
The cardinal’s concern for a common posture and this specific posture results from his correct understanding of the very nature of liturgy itself. He reminds us, “[T]he liturgy is the door of our union with God”; and without this correct understanding, we are in danger of turning the liturgy into something solely human and at times devoid of the presence of God.
As such, the liturgy exists to offer the faithful an opportunity to participate in the work of Christ, who draws us into Trinitarian communion. As the Second Vatican Council taught: “… every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the Priest and of his Body, which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7).
Every celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass should reflect its paramount importance in the life of the Church. The prefect’s exhortation is meant to assist priests and bishops in keeping God at the center of every liturgical celebration and, as a consequence, keeping God at the center of our lives.
Cardinal Sarah’s comments continue the liturgical vision of Pope Benedict XVI, who understood rightly that right worship leads to right conduct. It is only when we celebrate all the sacraments, especially holy Mass, according to the mind of God that we are then able to do the things of God.
It might be rightly concluded that the current cultural climate and its many excesses can only be corrected when everyone returns to a faithful, proper adoration of God. It follows how significant it is that the priest and the faithful face the Lord when addressing the Lord, as the most concrete expression of our desire to configure ourselves to the God that we worship.
It is this complete configuration to Christ that makes it possible for us to live the life of Christ, who draws us into deep, abiding union with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Without a vibrant and properly oriented liturgical life, the Church will continuously struggle to convince the faithful to lead a correct moral life.
There is an inexplicable connection between proper adoration given to God and the ability of men to lead sanctified lives. Cardinal Sarah is offering the Church an opportunity to recapture an ancient and still legitimate practice that will greatly assist the whole Church in combating the moral decline of this current age.
Some will argue that this exhortation lacking the approval of the Pope does not have the force of law and therefore will be difficult, if not impossible, to implement. Furthermore, this lack of papal approbation will create problems for those priests who attempt to do this in their parishes, possibly bringing them into conflict with their bishops.
While this is true and possible, it obscures the true significance of Cardinal Sarah’s exhortation. He has made public what has long been discussed in private and provided a legitimate and powerful voice to a necessary conversation in the Church. Cardinal Sarah has correctly pointed out that there is no conflict in the current missal with celebrating Mass ad orientem, this despite the debates that exist regarding the missal. Immediately after Cardinal Sarah’s address, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England, openly discouraged his priests from celebrating ad orientem, citing the possibility of creating disunity and a misinterpretation of the current missal (299). The confusion created by Cardinal Nichols’ unfortunate response should not deter my brother priests from courageously responding to Cardinal Sarah’s exhortation.
Those of us who would choose to celebrate Mass ad orientem and joyfully welcome this opportunity in the life of the Church have waited a long time — not for legislation, but for clear, vocal support; and with Cardinal Sarah’s clarion call, we have received such support.
It is hoped by this author that priests and bishops alike will pay attention to the thought and words of the prefect and offer to the faithful the most fitting means to praise and worship the God who saves us.
Msgr. C. Eugene Morris is a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. He holds graduate degrees
in theology and Church history from the Kenrick School of Theology and a licentiate
in sacred theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome.
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To Joyce: Um . . . how do I say this without sounding disrespectful - what others do at Mass (prayer-wise or otherwise) is really none of our business. Sometimes I take out my Rosary during Mass - golly, who knew that actually annoyed folks or even that anyone’s paying attention. NOTE: when one is at Mass one’s focus is supposed to be on God, on Jesus Christ, on the Word, on one’s relationship with God. ...And what’s wrong with Latin? The Second Vatican Council, SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM 12/4/63 (before my time even), “The use of the Latin language, with due respect to particular law, is to be preserved in the Latin rites.” So . . . we’d be following not only the Spirit of the Council but also the recommendation. How sad you feel trepidation over Latin - give it a chance - maybe we’ll see that the passage of time (for you and others who remember it) will provide a different perspective. God Bless and. . . . be happy.
I found it very disturbing how swiftly the Vatican refuted Cardinal Sarah’s exhortation.One would think the good Cardinal had attempted to spread heresy, and perhaps it was to those currently in charge whose faith, to me, unfortunately, is suspect. It also did not present a good image that it was done against a man of color. This staunch defender of the Faith was not shown respect and I am disheartened that he was so swiftly and seriously rebuked, even being called to a private meeting with the Pope. Would that the Pope would have responded so quickly to the hue and cry after the publication of Amoris Laetitia, which remains ambiguous and divisive for the clergy and laity.
I’m 76 years old and I remember the Mass of my youth. The mass was all in Latin except the two readings and the sermon( as I can remember).With the priest facing away from the people I always felt like a spectator . We tried to follow the prayers with the booklets with English on one side and Latin on the other but it was confusing and a distraction. Most of the time you could not hear what the priest was saying let alone understand. I can remember that in my parish anyways many people took out their rosaries as soon as the Mass started. It is only a matter of time before and it has already begun to say some of the prayers in Latin. I realize that there was no mention of Latin in the article but it is coming.
Didn’t pope Francis take Sarah to the papal woodshed & told him to cease & desist?
Didn’t this author get the word?
Pretentious title to this article!
The worst pains in Purgatory is that they can not behold and adore the awesome beauty of The Trinity,
The Most wondrous joy in heaven is that behold and adore The Trinity with saints and angels.
Then,
Why on earth the priest face to us at the mass? look to God!
clergies, are you seriously gonna face to people at the heaven while we are in raptures of joy to face of Trinity?
IT was the Gift of the Holy Spirit to the fathers of Vatican Council II to implement the vernacular. Now are we to turn our backs on this Gift? Over the years abuses have occurred because local church Shepherds may not have inspected what was expected.
@David There is nothing more sacred or reverent about the Latin Mass than the Ordinary Form of the Mass. Where in scripture do you think it says there is?
I believe Cardinal Jorge in 2000 said it didnt matter which way the priest faced ........after all GOD is every way you turn…i am just tankful to GOD that i can hear Mass and by seeing the actions of the priest take a fuller part in the Sacrifice
Our young priest is already doing this, I like it. We went to a show that is put on by a woman acting like a nun, like the show, “nunsense” and she made the joke about the altar being turned around, “you know, like a cooking show.” It does help to stop watching what the priest is doing and instead concentrate on the altar and God.
Whenever I attend the Latin Mass I am so lifted. I read the opposite page English translations and explanations and I wonder why the Novus Ordo can’t have that beautiful English. Maybe Latin is too much to expect, but why can’t we have those grace filled words of that translation of the Latin.
The Novus Ordo re-trans a few years ago was so bally-hooed but turned out not to be much. I wish they would have gone right to the basic translation of the Extraordinary Form. - language and orientation are not the only weakening of the mass - its the actual new form itself. If it was vernacular but the real form it would be better.
‘Ad Orientem’: Right Worship Leads to Right Conduct.”
And while we are at it, why not bring back The Altar Rails?
The lights came on for me as a result of Eucharistic adoration, when I realized that I was praying and living as if there were two Eucharists. The first Eucharist being the Real Presence that I visited in the chapel and adored in silence. The second one being common type that I received at mass.
Of course, they are both the Real Presence, and I believed them to be in my mind. But, somehow I had been *emotionally* deceived by all the *indifference* that attends the Eucharist in a typical American mass. The Church may teach the Real Presence, but the way She typically worships teaches something else.
Ad-orientem? Bring it on.
I agree with Mary K that there is way too much time spent on form over substance in the Catholic Church. Jesus was a simple man with a simple message that has been made so complicated over the years with all the added pomp and circumstance. Love your god and love your neighbor as yourself. So much time should not be spent on the rest.
I was very interested in Cardinal Sarah’s exhortation for a return to Gregorian Chant. It is time for Catholics to stand and protest about the dreadful sop that is served up as ‘music’ in our liturgy. We’ve had enough!
In response to Mary K who says she doesn’t know whether the Jewish seder table faced the east: It wasn’t oriented in that or any other way. The seder was never a part of Temple worship. It was a meal celebrated yearly to commemorate the flight from Egypt under Moses and Aaron.
Nor was the celebration of the seder meal a priestly function. The kohens and levites were the Jewish priests and assistants who performed all Temple functions. Those were tribal assignments not open to Jews of other tribes. The head of the household, i.e. the father of the family, led the seder service with the youngest son having a role to play in it. That meant that fathers of all tribes presided at seders, as did their sons.
I hope this clears the matter up for you.
I also love how the ad orientem stance is completely ridiculous… unless there is, in fact, a real almighty, loving God Who is there to hear us. The ad orientem stance is therefore an act of faith in physical form, almost defiant against “the world” and our mere senses. And it’s easier for me to see Jesus as our Head there at the altar, leading us out triumphantly across the chasm we’ve dug, reconciling us to the Father and leading us to Heaven.
Hurrah for Cardinal Sarah! The more the Mass is reverent, beautiful, and focused on God, the better. Kneeling for Communion, and a good period of silence after Communion would be most welcome as well. We lost a lot with the post-VII, out of control changes pushing the Mass toward entertainment. I love learning about tried and true Catholic traditions (Fish eaters is a great place for this).
Modernist vs Traditionalist. It sickens me to the core of my heart that you Theological thinkers are now ready once again to tear apart the Body of Christ so that you can win a point. I face the altar no matter where it is in the Church because that is where I KNOW that Jesus will be made present in the Holy Sacrifice. If anyone does not recognize Jesus’ presence, they have no business receiving Holy Communion. And ad orientem or vs populum, This is My Body and This is My Blood is what does it. Either VatII was a work of the Holy Spirit, or the entire Church is a fraud.
Bravo Cardinal Surah. I pray this is the first step to changing the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass from an entertaining social spectacle back to something more meaningful.
From talking in church to inappropriate dress and behavior, as a church we have strayed far from the path.
I am fortunate that I have options in my diocese that include a faithful respectful mass.
To Larry and/or Will. It is not generational rebellion or criticism of the New Form of the Mass. I’m a post Vatican II baby, love the Mass, have no recollection of the Older Form of the Mass, and completely and totally welcome Cardinal Sarah’s recommendation. It would appear the generation rebellion comes from rigid oldies, who have some inexplicable fear or aversion to anything pre Vatican II (I noticed the same attitude in most nuns - no habits- growing up and in many, many priests and never understood it). It does not follow that those who welcome “ad orientem” or kneeling-and-on-the-tongue-for-communion impugn the New Form of the Mass. Lighten up guys; put down your verbal guns; and be a little more open minded. The relative panic that has copped up in some Catholic circles over this belies something else, and it appears to be rather hateful.
If the Church switches back to having the priest face the altar instead of the people, it will seem so much less intimate to me. At the Last Supper, Jesus was sitting at table with His disciples when He instituted the Eucharist. He was facing them, and then handing around the bread and wine:
Mk 14:22-24
While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.”
...also, very intimate, an extremely personal connection with Him.
If the priest is facing toward the altar, we will no longer be able to see his gestures as he performs the Holy Sacrifice, and that will be very hard for me! I love seeing his hands, ordained by a legitimate Bishop of the Church, now having the power to consecrate simple bread and wine, and cause the miracle of Transubstantiation to occur right in front of us. I love seeing him hold up the Host, and then the chalice, for our adoration. I love bowing my head, in awe over what has just happened, and contemplating the fact that I, unworthy though I am, will soon be receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, the love of my life!
Obviously, I accept the authority of the Church to change things, and I will adapt if this happens; I could not possibly leave the Church: once having found the Truth, you can never go back. But it will be a painful struggle, for sure.
God be with Cardinal Sarah, hopefully the next Pope. Deo Gratias.
I am glad to read that the cardinal’s supposed “request” was retracted almost immediately. As Will wrote, there’s an element in the church who won’t rest until we are back in 1962 or 1937 or some other bygone time. In some ways, I think it’s simple generational rebellion. This divisiveness needs to be squashed.
I am just glad that I have a regular availability to the Extraordinary form of the Mass. That is why I moved to Texas.
I think same as Elizabeth V on this post. Many are being fearful about this transition. I see it as a move forward towards a better worship by the faithful in union with the priest. We are never wrong when we put the Lord first. Saint Pope John Paul II said to us “do not be afraid”. I pray that we trust the Holy Spirit who guides our Church and has given us the gift of Cardinal Sarah. May the Church move towards unity through a proper worship to the Lord.
The modernists / progressives will fight this initiative to the death. In fact, they have already effectively killed it. Pope Francis has rebuked Cardinal Sarah through both his official spokesman (Fr. Lombardi) and his “unnoficial” spokesman (Fr. Spadaro).
The modernists / progressives see this as a “step backward” to the old days of Catholicism that they detest with all their being. The versus populum Mass is for them symbolic of their “victory” over traditional Catholicism and their “re-making” of the Church following Vatican II. They will never, ever, give this up. They loathe the very idea of it; they detest the theology behind it; and they strongly dislike the people who propose it. And, in any event, Pope Francis is with them so it will not happen under this pontificate.
Right worship does not always lead to right conduct. Martin Luther faced the east, and what did he bring us? There are many heretics in today’s Church, but I guarantee you that their facing a different direction or speaking gibberish I mean Latin will not change their conduct. Stupid is as stupid does. Momma always said.
We need to remember that the first Mass was at a dinner table with a loaf of bread and a jug of wine, and Jesus and the Apostles were speaking Aramaic. I don’t know that the Seder table faced East. I think it is what is in the heart and soul that makes the Mass a worthy offering to God, not the surroundings or the vestments or the language or the music or the direction the priest is facing.
@ Deacon David
Deacon, with all respect, Sir, the “liturgical tinkering” occurred since and because of Vatican II, contrary to the dictum of Pope St Pius V (Quo Primum, 1570) and many, many other Magisterial pronouncements to protect the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, both prior to and since Quo Primum. Pax Christi
@ Will
It is not necessarily that they “feel nothing else is reverent or sacred”, Brother. It can also be that it is believed, based on Scripture as well as theologically, that some forms of worship are more pleasing and, therefore, acceptable to Almighty God, the Most High. There is also the theological notion, probably substantiated by Scripture, that Grace can be attenuated or magnified by such aspects of worship as merit, disposition, and form. This is a seminal notion for traditionalists (aka Catholics, as Louie Verrecchio has coined). Pax Christi
The Vatican recently killed all hope that anything would be done in this regard (is anyone at all surprised?)
Any celebration that’s not all about me, whoever me is, priest, lector, congregant, will not be easily received by those who favor the boy scout jamboree/political pep rally style form, and there are too many of them.
It could be that ad orientem simply requires too much faith. After all, if there is no God, then ad orientem is foolishness.
Talk about confusion!!!! Sarah had caused sooo much confusion . Thankfully he was called in and spoken to. Imagine every Cardinal making proclamations about their wants. God help us!
Not to worry. Demographics favor tradition. The Mass of the centuries will prevail in due time. The mass of Bugnini will wither. Young priests know this. The elderly V2 prelates are on their way out.
“I know I will be accused of bringing a sermon about the recent tragedies in this country and our problems down to speaking about the liturgy. But I insist that they are linked in the deepest possible way. Because to participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is to encounter the terrible reality of the human situation within the only answer to that situation: which is the answer of the Cross. May we all have the courage to participate in this mystery and may that mystery encompass and change our lives so that we may be living examples of the great and infinite Yes of God in Jesus Christ.”
Father Richard Cipolla
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2016/07/sermon-for-eighth-sunday-after.html#more
Some people will not be happy until all Masses are back to the Mass of the early 1960s. They feel nothing else is reverent or sacred. They are wrong.
Thanks for the editorial comments Msgr. Morris. “Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England, openly discouraged his priests from celebrating ad orientem, ... “The confusion created by Cardinal Nichols’ unfortunate response should not deter my brother priests from courageously responding to Cardinal Sarah’s exhortation.”
Cardinal Sarah’s “exhortation” has no authority and I believe he is the one now causing confusion. Please remember that your brother priests answer to their Ordinary and are bound to obey him. I sincerely doubt that very many bishops in the U.S. will call for remodeling of sanctuaries to accommodate this liturgical regression, which will likely cause far more ‘confusion’ among the faithful than anything else of value. How about if we start to focus more on mercy and dispense with the liturgical tinkering.
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/ad-orientem-right-worship-leads-to-right-conduct/#ixzz4EKGEgHf5
I want to focus as much as possible on God when I am at mass. I find the behavior and posture of some priests very distracting, especially when the occasion is used for them to talk a lot about themselves during the homily instead of just focusing on talking about the lessons from the days gospel. I would welcome a transition of the priest facing east - it could help remove some of the ego that is currently exhibited.
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