(A copy of http://www.stveronica.net/SiteAssets/Pages/Liturgy-and-Sacraments/Sacred-Music/Why%20ad%20orientem.pdf . Dedicating to all ignorant Syro Malabarians who are still thinking that
Versus Populam is the right catholic way of celebrating Liturgy)
Before he became Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was one of the most
thoughtful critics of the unintended consequences that arise from the priest and people
facing each other across the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer. While some of the faithful
may have experienced a benefit from the priest and the people facing each other, Cardinal
Ratzinger argued that this arrangement is not only a radical novelty in Christian practice, but
it also has the effect of creating a circle of congregation and celebrant closed in upon itself
rather than focused on the Lord.
At St. Veronica, we are following the leadership of our Holy Father by celebrating our 11:00
a.m. Solemn Latin Mass with the priest and people standing together on the same side of the
altar during the offering of the Eucharistic Prayer. This custom is often called praying ad
orientem (towards the East) or ad Deum (towards God). At all of our other Masses where the
celebrant and people face one another, a crucifix on the altar serves as a reference point for
the liturgy. For more a more in-depth study of Cardinal Ratzinger’s theology of the
direction of liturgical prayer, please see “Eastward- or Westward- Facing Position?” in The
Feast of Faith (Ignatius, 1986) or “The Altar and Direction of Liturgical Prayer” in The Spirit
of the Liturgy (Ignatius, 2000). The following is a summary of his three main points:
Our Western understanding
+ “Praying toward the east is a tradition that goes back to the beginning.” Both Judaism and
Islam assume that we should pray in the direction of the physical place where God revealed
himself to us. In the Western world, however, we take it for granted that God is spiritual and
therefore all around us. This understanding of the universality of God is very Christian, and
we only know that God is universal because he has revealed himself to us. “And precisely for
this reason is it appropriate, now as in the past, that we should express in Christian prayer
our turning to the God who has revealed himself to us,” (The Spirit of the Liturgy, 75-6).
Historical precedent
+ Cardinal Ratzinger quotes the French, twentieth-century theologian Louis Bouyer,
explaining Bouyer’s research into the direction historically faced by priest and people.
Regarding the Last Supper, Bouyer says, “In no meal of the early Christian era, did the
president of the banqueting assembly ever face the other participants. They were all sitting,
or reclining, on the convex side of a C-shaped table….” Bouyer continues, describing the
practice from the early Church through the Middle Ages, “Never, and nowhere, [that is,
before the sixteenth century] have we any indication that any importance, or even attention,
was given to whether the priest celebrated with the people before him or behind him…
[T]he only thing ever insisted upon, or even mentioned, was that he should say the
Eucharistic prayer, as all the other prayers, facing East… Even when the orientation of the
church enabled the celebrant to pray turned toward the people, when at the altar, we must
not forget that it was not the priest alone who, then, turned East: it was the whole
congregation, together with him” (The Spirit of the Liturgy, 78-9).
The cosmic dimension
+ Finally, in The Feast of Faith, Cardinal Ratzinger discusses the cosmic dimension of the
Eucharist. Each day, as the sun rises in the east (oriens) it is a powerful symbol of
Christ’s resurrection and a promise of his coming again. Cardinal Ratzinger explains that
while the worshipping Christian community faced the oriens in expectation of
Christ’s coming again, the crucifix also originally represented Christ’s Second Coming.
For early Christians, this familiar symbol of Christ’s saving actions also held the promise of
his return. The Christian community looked towards Christ’s return while at the same time
offering his sacrifice in the Mass.
By the nineteenth century “not only had the awareness of the liturgy’s cosmic orientation
been lost, but there was also little understanding of the significance of the image of the cross
as a point of reference for the Christian liturgy. Hence the ancient eastward orientation of
the celebration became meaningless, and people could begin to speak of the priest celebrating
‘facing the wall’…” or with his “back to the people” (139-145).
At all of our Masses at St. Veronica in which the priest faces the people, there is a crucifix on
the altar, as the reference point for the liturgy.
The law of prayer is the law of belief
Lex orandi, lex credendi is a phrase by Prosper of Aquitaine that means, “The law of prayer is
the law of belief.” The liturgy is the Church’s prayer, and since that prayer informs our
beliefs, we must be very careful that we do not alter it of our own volition. Immediately
following the Second Vatican Council, however, there were many changes implemented by
Church herself. As a result, it became difficult to discern which changes were promulgated
by the Church, and which changes were innovations introduced by those without the
authority to do so.
The primary Vatican II document dealing with the liturgy is Sacrosanctum concilium. It
champions the participation of the people, saying, “In the restoration and promotion of the
sacred liturgy, this full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered
before all else; for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to
derive the true Christian spirit” (#14). The document goes on to explain that the faithful
should participate “by means of acclamations, responses, psalmody, antiphons, and songs, as
well as by actions, gestures, and bodily attitudes” (#30).
This concern for the people of God was the most refreshing change of perspective brought
about by the Second Vatican Council. It was necessary for the Church to recognize the vital
role of the gathered assembly, and it is clear that the faithful have benefited by this change.
The readings for Sunday Mass were expanded so that they cover more of the Bible. The
Psalm that serves as a response to the first reading was expanded and given a refrain that the
people could sing, and the mysterium fidei (mystery of faith) or memorial acclamation was
added after the consecration. These changes were all for the edification of the people of God.
None of the Vatican II documents, however, make any mention of one of the biggest
liturgical innovations of the 1960s: the direction the priest faces during the Eucharistic
Prayer. Until then, the priest and the people had always faced the same direction, towards
the Lord. This change of direction likely was made in an effort to emphasize the dialogue
between priest and people. Many of the faithful may have experienced this change as
beneficial as well.
Christian mysteries often have two components, however, and it is important not to
overemphasize either component to the exclusion of the other. For example, Christ was both
man and God, and the truth of this mystery lies not in one or the other extreme but in the
perfect tension between the two. Similarly, the truth behind the mystery of the gathered
community worshiping God lies not in focusing on either the gathered community to the
exclusion of God or focusing on God to the exclusion of the community but in a tension
between the two. Before the Second Vatican Council, there was an overly vertical concept of
worship: that of the priest in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) offering the sacrifice of
the Mass up to God the Father. After the Council, however, we have managed to arrive at an
overly horizontal concept of worship: that of the priest and people in dialogue. It is necessary
for us to acquire a balance between the two extremes and to offer the sacrifice of the Mass as
a worshiping community under the leadership of our priest who is acting both in persona
Christi and in persona Ecclesiae (in the person of the Church).
One solution to the overly horizontal concept of worship is to restore the practice of the
priest and people all facing the Lord during the Eucharistic Prayer. For this reason, we
celebrate our 11:00 a.m. Solemn Latin Mass ad orientem.
