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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Looking East for Advent

Fr. David Friel · November 23, 2014

HICH WAY should the priest face during Holy Mass? The long tradition of the Church has been that we—priest and people together—face eastward during the celebration of the liturgy. Many people erroneously think that this practice was changed by the Second Vatican Council; in reality, not a word of Sacrosanctum Concilium addresses the issue. As such, celebration ad orientem is still perfectly legitimate and is, in fact, the presumption of the GIRM.

Bishop Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, NE has drawn recent attention for directing that all Masses celebrated during Advent at his Cathedral of the Risen Christ be celebrated with the priest facing east. I have heard from a few other priests in the diocese who intend to follow their bishop’s example in their own parishes. I encourage you to read his brief pastoral column for yourself so that you can see the very pastoral language he uses to introduce this initiative.

This will, without a doubt, upset some people. But would those same people be equally upset to see photos of Pope Francis celebrating Mass ad orientem (see HERE and HERE)? We need to get beyond the stage where this manner of celebration is (or is at least perceived to be) the odd penchant of a few agenda-driven clergy. As anyone who is a student of the liturgy or of church history will know, there is nothing “new” about celebrating Mass facing east.

For more background information on celebrating Mass ad orientem, check out the various posts on the topic available HERE. Having celebrated Mass with both postures, I can attest that there is tremendous beauty to be discovered in the act of priest & people together turning toward the Lord. The logic, normality, & naturality of ad orientem worship makes me question if the true “agenda” lies not so much with those in favor of facing east as it does with those who insist that “the spirit of Vatican II” must not be undone.

Time has marched along since the tumultuous days of the post-conciliar period. Since that era, the Church has witnessed the rise of multiple generations who have none of the hang-ups about Latin & ad orientem & chant that so defined their parents’ or grandparents’ upbringing. Is it possible to hope that a new day might be dawning?

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Ad Orientem, Bishop James Douglas Conley, Mass Facing The People Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“These French offices represent a new case of the old tendency towards local modification—which the Council of Trent had meant to repress. They are commonly attributed to Gallican ideas and are supposed to be not free from Jansenist venom. Some of these local French uses survived almost to our own time. They were supplanted by the Roman books in the 19th century, chiefly by the exertions of Dom Prosper Guéranger (d. 1875).”

— Dr. Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

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