Turning to the East
A friend of mine from graduate school, Fr. Robert Johansen, is the pastor of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Dorr, Michigan. St. Stanislaus is a relatively small but quite beautiful church in the Diocese of Kalamazoo, and Father Rob, during his tenure there, has been lovingly restoring parts of the church.
His latest project was the restoration of the original high altar, at which Mass was celebrated up until the introduction of the Novus Ordo in 1970. Over at Father Rob's blog, Thrown Back, you can see pictures of the altar before restoration, as well as more pictures of the restored altar, which was unveiled on the weekend of September 7, 2008. It features a spectacular frieze of the Last Supper on the front, as well ornate woodwork and gold leaf.
In itself, the restoration was certainly worthwhile, but Father Rob has had bigger plans. On September 7, Father Rob celebrated Mass ad orientem--facing east, toward the high altar, along with the congregation.
When most Catholics think ad orientem celebration, they think of the Traditional Latin Mass, and many are under the mistaken impression that the Novus Ordo is required to be celebrated versus populum--toward the people. While that has become the norm in practice, the instructions for celebrating the Novus Ordo do not indicate the direction of celebration.
It's interesting that Father Rob's second ad orientem celebration came on September 14, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, and the first anniversary of the implementation of Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum. While Summorum Pontificum restored the Traditional Latin Mass as one of the two approved forms of the Mass, Pope Benedict made it clear that he wished to see the reverent celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass begin to influence the way in which the Novus Ordo is celebrated.
Among those who discuss liturgical matters, such interplay between the "two usages of the one Roman Rite" is known as the "reform of the reform." In his own way, Fr. Rob Johansen has contributed to that reform, and the example of his parish may well inspire others.
(Photo courtesy of Fr. Rob Johansen.)
Comments
Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Front Royal, Virginia has also been implementing this option. It’s a beautiful thing.
If one believes Christ cares one iota about which way the alter points, I believe they are mistaken. The Last Supper was celebrated in a room, in as intimate a setting as can possibly be imagined, by the one true eternal “Head” of our Church. I believe emphasizing form over substance can easily become a divisive, rather than a unitive principle.