Dear Parishioners,

I want to invite all the men of our parishes to the Men’s retreat on April 5th . Feel free to bring young men, friends, and guys from other parishes. Cost is $25 (students are free). It would be really nice if guys would sign up prior so we can plan for the food. It should be a good day. It all happens at St. Joseph. The retreat ends with Mass at 4 PM with Bishop Daniel, anyone is welcome to attend that Mass. We will still have the 4 PM Mass at OLF (Fr. George will celebrate). Because of the extra Saturday Mass, we will only have the 10:30 AM Mass on Sunday April 6th, please note this.

Holy Week this year starts with Palm Sunday April 13th. Please see the bulletin for times of our Masses during Holy Week. We will have the resurrection party after the Easter Vigil on Saturday. Easter Sunday Masses will be 8:30 AM OLF, and 10:30 SJ. I would encourage all of you to participate in the Holy Week liturgies if possible.

OLF surpassed our goal for The Ministries Appeal last year and we are getting some money back, so we are going to celebrate! Thanks for all your efforts last year. We will have a pizza party after Mass on Sat. April 26th. Please plan to come. This is our way of saying thanks.

Mark your calendars for the big weekend of May 16th-18th. We have the SJ gala, (reservations now available online or at the office), the SJ all school reunion, and the groundbreaking for the new SJ church project.

Last week, I touched on why some people are opposed to the ad orientem posture at Mass (in ad orientem, the priest stands on the same side of the altar as the people, facing the tabernacle). We had an opportunity to experience it together last Sunday, and we will have it at the 10:30 Mass on the 30th and April 6th.

Let’s touch on the question of why people are drawn to the ad orientem posture. Many feel the focus is more on the Eucharist and less on the individual priest. There is a sense that we are worshipping God together as priest and people rather than a sense of priest and people looking at each other. Many people say things like, it feels more reverent, it feels more like worship, it helps me see the sacrificial nature of the Mass. There are real differences between the priest facing the people, and the priest facing the tabernacle. One thing that is noticeable for me as the priest, is that it emphasizes more clearly who the prayers are spoken to in the ad orientem posture. When the priest turns around, it is to address the congregation, for the most part, the rest of the prayers are directed to God. People have said this helps them remember this is a prayer, not a show. We are participating in a prayer to God the Father, and the priest in the person of Christ is speaking to the Father in Jesus’ name.

Whether you identify with these sorts of statements or not, there are many people who feel these or similar sentiments. Since either posture is allowed by the church, we shouldn’t denigrate either one. We can speak of our preference, or how it makes us feel, or why we like one or the other, but I hope it is clear, that ultimately either posture is acceptable in the Roman Rite.

The rubrics of the Mass are the guidelines for how the Mass is to be celebrated. They dictate how the different ministers are to carry out their function. They help us know how we are to pray the Mass. In the rubrics there are some things which seem to indicate that the priest is facing the tabernacle. If you read the documents of Vatican II, in particular the document on the sacred liturgy (Sacro Sanctum Concilium), nowhere does it say that Mass should no longer be offered in the ad orientem posture. In fact, neither does it say that Mass should be offered versus populum. It is silent on this whole question. So, we ought not to think that Vatican II said one thing or the other. When no directive is given in this document, it would seem that there wasn’t an intention to make a change. However, we do know that changed happened, and has been adopted by almost the entire church. That counts for something, but I think it is safe to say, the council fathers by and large didn’t envision getting rid of the ad orientem posture. So, nobody can claim that we got rid of that at Vatican II. I think where we stand now in the Roman Rite, is that either posture is legitimate though there may be reason to prefer one or the other (ad orientem or versus populum).

I hope we can come to appreciate that some people are drawn to ad orientem, and others are drawn to versus populum. I hope we can begin to appreciate that not everyone thinks like ourselves, and that is okay. The Church allows for both. Getting tangled in something like this can keep us from focusing on what is really important. It is really a minor detail, and we shouldn’t let it become a major one. It is sometimes hard to keep that from happening when we feel so strongly a preference for something. It is a real test of our obedience and acceptance of Christ’s guidance through his church.

In Christ,

Fr. Eli