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Ad Orientem. It's a mysterious expression which was recently introduced into the vocabulary of the Parish Council of St Joseph's, Dannevirke. I'm not saying none of the parish worthies had heard it before, but it may well have been the first time Ad Orientem had been discussed by the parish council.
Remember that since the departure of Father Bryan Buenger, St Joseph's is laboring under the huge disadvantage of being priestless. Had Father remained, the parish council might by now know all about Ad Orientem, but as Father Bryan has returned to the Diocese of Phoenix Arizona where Ad Orientem is a commonplace, let's explain it here.
'Ad Orientem' literally means 'towards the east', and applies to the celebration of Holy Mass, and was the manner in which it was done throughout the Latin Rite until - you guessed it - after Vatican II. In practice it means priest and people face the same way, towards our rising Sun who is Christ, who is to come at the end of time.
Vatican II ended all that. How come? Vat II never called for priests to turn around. It did not abolish the Mass ad orientem. The Consilium actually stated that "the faithful take part very well in a Mass … (even if) the celebrant turns his back to them" when at the altar.
Hmmm. I'm suspicious. 'Turns his back'. When celebration of the liturgy of the Word facing the people had already been approved, was that phrase calculated to stir people up, to have priests thinking, gosh, turning my back to my people isn't nice? Was that why permission was sought and given to priests to celebrate versus populum (facing the people)?
Of the Mass versus populum, the only other thing I'll say in the meantime is what Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, powerful overseer of
Church doctrine as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said, way back in 1993, that he would like to see altars in Catholic churches turned around again …."I would
say that, in a certain way, the priest has become too important. Those
attending Mass must always be looking at him. In reality he is not nearly that
important."
Anyway, the intrepid Bob Gill of Dannevirke is pursuing the aim of reintroducing ad orientem at St Joseph's. He was initially rebuffed by the Parish Council, but in hindsight thinks they might have taken him to mean he wanted the Latin Mass, simply because that is invariably celebrated ad orientem. But ad orientem isn't a synomym for the Latin Mass. It can be, and is, applied to the 'New Mass' (the Novus Ordo).
Bob's asked advice from Father Bryan, who says it's quite common in the Phoenix Diocese, in one high school daily and in many presbytery chapels (almost all presbyteries in the US have chapels, you know. You didn't? No, neither did I.
Bob is dead keen on the idea. Father Bryan advises that the design of St Joseph's - its lamentable rejig, with a table designated as an 'altar' in the centre of the church - isn't conducive to celebrating Mass ad orientem. Neither is the Tararua Parish's other main church, St Brigid's Pahiatua.
Bob's not to be deterred, and suggests the St Joseph's side chapel, but worries about the lack of a tabernacle.
Mass ad orientem doesn't depend on the location of the tabernacle. No worries there. Bob is probably more concerned about the location of a priest who'd be willing to celebrate the Mass facing the same way as the people, but he's looking for one.
My interest in the Ad Orientem Mass has had me thinking of situations where people could be requesting such a Mass these days.
ReplyDeleteI was curious enough recently to ask an established local funeral service how many people over the years had asked for a funeral Mass for a loved one to be celebrated Ad Orientem. Not one, I was told. Would we get the same response to the question asked throughout New Zealand ?
What about nuptial Masses too, and the various anniversary Masses celebrated because of a couple’s years together? Would we still be given a similar response?
With the popularity increasing overseas for Ad Orientem Masses and the assumption that New Zealand will follow that trend, the timing is about right now for our priest hierarchy to become proactive in arranging our churches to accommodate such Masses. We have a small number of priests available only who can say a Latin Mass, but all would be capable of saying the Novus Ordo Ad Orientem and would need little training to do that. Things would move quickly once church set-ups were modified accordingly.
Dioceses like Phoenix, Lincoln and Arlington have no shortage of priests, are orthodox, and offer Novus Ordo Ad Orientem as an alternative Mass. Is this why, I ask myself, God ensures they continue to be thriving dioceses? The rest of us, it seems to me, are being punished.
While talking about Ad Orientem, I recall Father Buenger saying recently that St Brigid’s Pahiatua is not suitable at present to do Ad Orientem Masses because the altar is not in the Sanctuary and the Tabernacle is off to the side. Well, I attended the morning Mass there yesterday and did note that the altar (looks like a newish altar) had been placed just outside the Sanctuary. As I had noted on previous occasions, the Tabernacle was still in a corner.
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t believe seeing where the altar had been placed – barely outside the Sanctuary. Who makes these dumb moves? This is obviously part of the plan to remove everything from the Catholic church that is Catholic, as was outlined to Protestant attendees during Vatican II I’d heard over the years, and was something related to me again by a Catholic priest a couple of years ago. Well, it seems it’s true what they say: The way we worship is the way we believe.
Forgive some of us, Lord, who question the motives of some of Your shepherds when they continue to 'educate' us on how we should worship and show reverence to You.
Neither is "the Latin Mass" a synonym for the Antiquus Ordo.
ReplyDeleteMy recommendation is for the Novus Ordo in Latin first, then think about Ad Orientem.
As for the assumption that "New Zealand will follow that trend", I think not. Certainly not before this batch of bishops is disposed of.
I personally think we need to work on asking the priests to pray the Mass according to the rubrics and regulations FIRST and then w can look at these other concepts.
ReplyDelete