Liturgy in Montgomery

One unplanned portion of my trip to Montgomery last weekend was a liturgical conference on Saturday morning given by two priests in the area and two experts in liturgical  matters. Fr. Driscoll gave a presentation in defense of ad orientem - that is, Mass with the priest facing east, the same way as the people. He demonstrated that the documents of Vatican II say nothing on the subject of Mass facing the people. Several post-Vatican II documents recommend celebrating Mass facing the people, but don't require it. Fr. Driscoll told a story of celebrating Mass in Rome soon after he was ordained. They told him to celebrate on a side altar, which of course made it impossible to celebrate facing the people. He was really nervous, but the other priest said it was easy - just follow the directions in the sacramentary. Indeed, the sacramentary assumes the priest is celebrating Mass facing the same direction as the people.

Another priest made an interesting point which I hadn't thought about much. He said that in previous times, people didn't go to Mass in the mindset of "what can I get out of this?" Instead, they went with the mindset, "what can I give to God?" So, the priest said every time he hears someone complain about not getting anything out of Mass, he tells them they have the wrong mindset.

This makes sense. In our times, some people think of Mass and communion services as essentially the same thing. They are very similar, if you only think of what you get out of them: communion. But, communion services, as good as they are, cannot compare to Mass. In Mass, the priest, united with the people, gives God the greatest gift that can possibly be given: His Son. The Son comes down from heaven and, acting in the priest, offers His body and blood in a holy sacrifice, giving Himself entirely to the Father. And we get to be there with the Son as he does this. Thanks be to God!