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Ad Orientem Masses - Part 1 - February 16, 2020

Photo of Fr. Don EvertsPhoto of Fr. Kyle Sladek
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Praised be Jesus Christ!  Lent is just around the corner.  There will be many opportunities to grow in prayer and discipleship as a parish family this Lent. These can be found in our Bulletin and in the announcements at Mass.

One opportunity we are particularly excited to share with you is the chance to experience Mass celebrated by the priest in the liturgical posture of “ad orientem.”  “Ad orientem” is a Latin phrase that means “toward the East.” East, here, means Liturgical East, which is the way we face in our heart when we worship the crucified, risen, and coming Lord. Practically speaking, what this means is that the priest will face the same direction that you do when he is speaking the words of the Mass that are addressed to God. This is most noticeable when he is at the altar because he stands at the front edge of the altar and faces the altar, Crucifix, and tabernacle – that is, Liturgical East.

These “ad orientem” Masses will be celebrated every Saturday morning in Lent at 8 am, rotating through our three churches twice:

February 29          St. Katharine Drexel - St. Mary

March 7   St. Katharine Drexel - St. Francis   (Confessions @ 7:30 am)

March 14   Holy Cross

March 21   St. Katharine Drexel - St. Mary

March 28    St. Katharine Drexel - St. Francis   (Confessions @ 7:30 am)

April 4   Holy Cross

Some of you might wonder, “Why is this important?  What’s the big deal? Mass is Mass. The Eucharist is the Eucharist.” And you are exactly right. The biggest difference you will notice at these Masses is the priest facing with you, addressing our prayers toward God in the Liturgical East.

For those with enough “experience” to remember, this will remind you of the Mass you grew up with. These should not be confused, however. These upcoming Masses are the same Mass that we experience every day, just with the priest in a different orientation. (See what I did there?) They will not be entirely in Latin, and the priest will not forego a microphone! They will look, feel, and sound pretty much the same as any other Mass, with the exception of the priest’s direction of worship at the altar. Think of it this way:

“Same Mass. Same Eucharist. Same Direction.”

Lent is a wonderful time to experience this powerful form of prayer. It is a time to turn our hearts back toward God as we seek ways to grow in faithfulness to Him, His Son, and His Church, and to clean up parts of our life that have become unfocused on Him. It is a time of renewed focus and energy in our faith, so that we can receive the love and the grace that He offers. It is a time for purifying our hearts and recognizing our need to be converted – to turn again toward our Lord, so that Easter can take on its full meaning and powerfully energize our lives. If we allow it to, this way of praying the Mass can help us enter more deeply into Lent, so as to rise more profoundly with Christ at Easter.

Next week, we will explore more deeply the spirituality of this form of prayer and answer some common questions about it. We hope you will join in this great way to experience Christ’s love and grace this Lent!

In Him,

Fr. Don and Fr. Kyle

 

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