On Praying ad Orientem: Are the Reasons For Facing the East During the Mass "Rubbish"?

On a popular, ever hilarious Catholic page devoted to memes, a new meme was posted regarding the ad orientem kerfuffle that's been going on since Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Robert Cardinal Sarah, addressed a liturgical conference earlier this summer in London. Now before I go on, I get the joke that is trying to be made in this meme, pictured here, with everyone's favorite green Muppet, Kermit. But not everyone does when first reading this meme. Apparently, there have been a few bishops in the US and UK who have told their priests that they should not (note, not barred) expect to perform the Ordinary Form of the Mass ad orientem, or with both priest and congregation facing the altar in prayer.

I personally do not like this meme as the meaning can be misconstrued, especially for someone who has no foreknowledge of what has been going on the past few months. At first glance, it looks like the meme is advocating that priests and laity should disobey their bishops. Do I think it's funny? Yes, but the way it was executed is pretty bad. I think there was a better way to make the joke, and to make the meme not appear as if it were giving approval to someone disobeying their bishop.

That being said, there was of course, a fiery discussion ongoing in the comments section, and one caught my eye. One Latin Catholic woman repeatedly said that the reasons given “for 'facing East' are all rubbish”. I’ve heard that people may not prefer the priest facing the altar during Mass, but to call the reasoning “rubbish”? I found that to be very demeaning to the faithful and to the Tradition of the Catholic Church. Many of the things said were nonsensical, especially the assertion that since "God is in our midst", there's no reason to face the altar in a common orientation. If that were the case, then it shouldn't be a problem if, when we're about to receive Communion and the priest holds up the Eucharist saying "the Body of Christ", we turn around facing the people behind us and say "Amen"! But of course, that would be a problem! Not to mention, God is among us in a way that is different in the Eucharist; He is substantially there before us. Christians do not believe in a pantheistic god, that God is literally everything. God is Being itself. However, He is also locally, and substantially present in the Eucharist, reserved in all the tabernacles throughout the world.

The conversation continued with this person saying that when they attend Mass “it doesn't make… sense for people to dictate that we should all choose to face 'east', when the focus of our worship is never 'east'.” First off, who exactly is “dictating”? Surely not Cardinal Sarah, who simply made a request to return to the tradition of facing East (or liturgical East) during the Mass in common worship.

Second, what really surprised me was the notion that the focus of our worship “is never east.” Of course, our focus is on a person, our Lord and God, Jesus Christ. But since the beginning of the Church, the focus of our liturgical worship has been to the East, and with good reason… not “rubbish” reasons. I wonder if those who hold such a view on ad orientem worship had ever heard the reason given that this is a great thing to do, because of the fact it's an Apostolic Tradition. But don't take my word for it. Let’s see if the reasons that two Doctors of the Church have given for ad orientem worship are rubbish. Here's what St. John Damascene has to say:

"It is not without reason or by chance that we worship towards the East. But seeing that we are composed of a visible and an invisible nature, that is to say, of a nature partly of spirit and partly of sense, we render also a twofold worship to the Creator... Since, therefore, God is spiritual light, and Christ is called in the Scriptures Sun of Righteousness and Dayspring, the East is the direction that [is] assigned to His worship.

"Moreover Christ, when He hung on the Cross, had His face turned towards the West, and so we worship, striving after Him.

"And when He was received again into Heaven He was borne towards the East, and thus His apostles worship Him, and thus He will come again in the way in which they beheld Him going towards Heaven... So, then, in expectation of His coming we worship towards the East. But this tradition of the apostles is unwritten. For much that has been handed down to us by tradition is unwritten."

And St. Basil the Great tells us this:

"Of the beliefs and practices whether generally accepted or publicly enjoined which are preserved in the Church some we possess derived from written teaching; others we have received delivered to us in a mystery by the tradition of the apostles; and both of these in relation to true religion have the same force...

"For were we to attempt to reject such customs as have no written authority, on the ground that the importance they possess is small, we should unintentionally injure the Gospel in its very vitals... For instance... who has taught us in writing to sign with the sign of the cross those who have trusted in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ? What writing has taught us to turn to the East at the prayer? For we are not, as is well known, content with what [St. Paul] or the Gospel has recorded, but both in preface and conclusion we add other words as being of great importance to the validity of the ministry, and these we derive from unwritten teaching [of the apostles]."

Also said during this conversation, and it’s a sentiment that might be shared by not just a few people who don’t completely understand the Church’s reasoning for facing East during Mass, was that the priest blocks the “view of what should be the focus of their attention; the altar, and the sacrament thereon.” Having “a good view of the gifts being offered at the time that they are being offered” is stressed as being very important. While it is very important that we focus on the Eucharist, especially at the consecration, it should be noted that whether the Mass is being said ad orientem or versus populum (with the priest facing the congregation), the priest always lifts the Host at the consecration, and he always turns to face the people at the minor elevation ("through Him and with Him, and in Him..."). So yes, the focus is always on the Sacrifice of the altar, but so what if one can’t always see what's going on? That shouldn't affect our worship of our Lord on the altar. Otherwise, all Eastern Catholics are doing it wrong.

Especially, but not only, in the Armenian and Byzantine Rites of the Catholic Church, the priest always faces to the East and celebrates ad orientem, and they have a huge screen in front of them called an iconostasis. It's usually impossible to see what going on during the consecration unless you're sitting right in the middle, and they have no problem participating in the Divine Liturgy. Are they in the liturgical backwaters since they haven't embraced the Mass being offered facing the people? No, because they're following the same traditions of the universal Church that St. John Damascene and St. Basil speak of: they face East in a hopeful expectation of our Lord's second coming. Is this a bad thing? Are the reasons that Syro-Malankara Catholics, Ukrainian-Greek Catholics, and other Eastern Catholics do this merely "rubbish"?

Unfortunately, I was dismayed to find that my interlocutor could still say “yes I do say that it is rubbish. Nobody ever said that the Lord is going to come 'from the East' at the last day…” A sentiment such as this can be construed as extremely offensive to Eastern Catholics, to the memory of our saints of blessed memory, and I myself as a descendant of Ukrainian Catholics who does find this very offensive and dismissive. The lack of understanding of Sacred Tradition, and Scripture, is astounding. This is especially apparent in thinking that “nobody ever said” Jesus would return from the East at His Second Coming. Well, except Jesus Christ Himself…

"So, if they say to you, 'He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; if they say, ‘He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. " (Matt. 24: 26-27)

Now I agree, the Mass is no less important if the priest is facing towards the people or East in a common direction with the people. But there's a significance behind why we Catholics today, and Catholic Christians (as well as the Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, etc.) throughout history have faced East during the Divine Liturgy, as shown in the writings of the Doctors of the Church. As Pope Benedict XVI said, "a common turning to the East during the Eucharistic Prayer remains essential. This is not a case of something accidental, but of what is essential. Looking at the priest has no importance. What matters is looking together at the Lord. It is not now a question of dialogue, but of common worship, of setting off towards the One who is to come."

But I was offended not only by the disregard for the traditions of Byzantine Catholics, but also as a father of two small children. Apparently, the iconostasis is a big problem for some; however, the problem with the iconostasis, and with the priest facing East, can also be applied to parents with young children when this type of logic is presented, as it was to me: “Also, no, it is not enough for me that I am in the same room where the Mass is being celebrated. I expect to see, to hear, to watch, to listen, to understand, to respond, to join in, to share. Otherwise, I might as well not be there."

This is ridiculous. If we follow this line of thinking, I might as well not even be there when my two year old son throws a tantrum during Mass and I have to take him in the vestibule behind a closed door. I guess I might as well not even be there when I attend Divine Liturgy at a Byzantine Catholic parish since I can't see the consecration. I guess I might as well not even be there at an OF Mass said ad orientem because the priest is standing in between me and the consecrated Host on the paten. Can we see how ridiculous that sounds?

I can see, hear, watch, listen, understand, respond, join in, and share at Mass just fine as Pope Pius XI said by being present at the Mass and offering my prayers. We are not passive if our "view" is supposedly "obstructed"; if that's the case, Eastern Catholics and all Latin Catholics prior to the Second Vatican Council would've been better off not attending Mass.

I hope we all can take the opportunity to get more in touch with the Church's traditions and liturgical practices, because they are certainly something to be retained and cherished, instead of insulted. Facing towards the East during Mass, whether it be in the Ordianry Form, Extraordinary Form, or the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, is one of those holy traditions filled with deep meaning and significance. St. Augustine summed up the tradition of facing East very well and succinctly:

"When we rise to pray, we turn East, where heaven begins. And we do this not because God is there, as if He had moved away from the other directions on earth..., but rather to help us remember to turn our mind towards a higher order, that is, to God."