{"id":33656,"date":"2016-08-19T13:21:05","date_gmt":"2016-08-19T18:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=33656"},"modified":"2016-08-19T18:28:53","modified_gmt":"2016-08-19T23:28:53","slug":"ad-orientem-worship-from-the-deaf-perspective-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2016\/08\/19\/ad-orientem-worship-from-the-deaf-perspective-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Ad Orientem Worship<\/I> from the Deaf Perspective – Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part II\u2013 Toward a Celebration of Mass Ad Christum<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Audrey Seah<\/em><\/p>\n

Celebrating Mass Ad Christum<\/em> as a Development of Doctrine\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

In his well-known essay on the development of doctrine<\/a>,\u00a0 Blessed John Henry Newman named seven marks of true doctrinal development:<\/p>\n

\n
    \n
  1. one in type;<\/li>\n
  2. one in its system of principles;<\/li>\n
  3. one in its unitive power towards externals;<\/li>\n
  4. one in its logical consecutiveness;<\/li>\n
  5. one in the witness of its early phases to its later;<\/li>\n
  6. one in the protection which its later extend to its earlier; and<\/li>\n
  7. one in its union of vigor with continuance, that is, in its tenacity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    In view of what we know today about human bio-cultural diversity, multiple intelligences, and the gifts that such diversity bring to the Church as exemplified by what has been revealed to us through the Deaf Catholic community, I suggest that these conditions are fulfilled in the practice of celebrating Mass facing the people. It follows that it is more reasonable to recognize the practice of having the priest face the people as a legitimate development of liturgical orthopraxis, rather than an accommodation to western individualism as Cardinal Sarah\u2019s supporters seem to suggest. To aid the recognition of this practice as a faithful development of doctrine, however, more theologically precise terms need to be used to describe it.<\/p>\n

    To this end, I propose that ad Christum ubi venit <\/em>(to where Christ comes) or ad Christum <\/em>in short replace the terms versus populum <\/em>and ad orientem, <\/em>as it describes the doctrinal and liturgical principle that the Church has retained throughout history more accurately. Versus populum <\/em>describes what one may observe today, but does not articulate the theological basis of the practice. Likewise, ad orientem<\/em> describes a tradition but not its underlying theology \u2013 we turn to the east because the east signifies Christ\u2019s coming. In contrast, ad Christum <\/em>stresses the theological doctrine from which both these descriptors proceed.<\/p>\n

    Indeed, ad Christum <\/em>emphasizes the continuity in doctrine underscored in Newman\u2019s first and second conditions but is also able to go further. The term reminds the faithful that all are in fact facing the same direction at Mass \u2013 the altar, the priest, and each other \u2013 because Christ continually comes to us by being present in the person of his minister, the Eucharistic species upon the altar, the baptized, the proclamation of scriptures, and the church\u2019s prayers (SC 8).<\/p>\n

    The term also recalls the eschatological dimension of worship. That is,\u00a0Christ is manifested and comes to us in multiple ways in the Mass and our lives, but\u00a0the kingdom of God is already and not yet here \u2013 Christ will also come (veniet<\/em>) at the Eschaton. Therefore, the practice fulfills conditions four, five, and six, as a logical step towards recognizing the multiple presences of Christ in the Mass according to SC 8, emphasizing the eschatological dimension of the Mass, and making the celebration accessible to visual communicators by allowing full visibility of liturgical actions and the use of sign language so they may better understand the sacraments they celebrate.<\/p>\n

    Last but not least, marks three and seven can be found in the tenacity of the practice, favored by the large majority of bishops, priests, and laity, the Vatican\u2019s most recent clarification note on Cardinal Sarah\u2019s speech, and \u2013 the starting point of these reflections \u2013 the witness of Deaf Catholics.<\/p>\n

    Preventing Audism in the Church<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Numerous opinion pieces have been penned in support of Sarah by many who share his concern that many Catholics have lost a sense of reverence for the Eucharistic mystery and made the Mass all about them. For them, as Sarah\u2019s speech indicates, returning \u201cas soon as possible to a common orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same direction – Eastwards or at least towards the apse – to the Lord who comes, in those parts of the liturgical rites when we are addressing God,\u201d is \u201ca very important step in ensuring that in our celebrations the Lord is truly at the center.\u201d<\/p>\n

    While the concern raised by Sarah and his supporters is a valid one, the proposed solution \u2013 a universal return to an ad orientem<\/em> posture \u2013 is not. To pray ad Christum <\/em>in an ad orientem <\/em>position inadvertently excludes many from worship. This is especially so when one considers what has been revealed by the Holy Spirit to the Church in the growing Deaf Catholic community worldwide since Vatican II.<\/p>\n

    Historically, and up until today, many Deaf are often isolated and discriminated against in a hearing world not because they are unable to communicate, but because of audism \u2013 <\/em>the notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear, speak, and behave in the manner of one who hears and speaks. In Church, audism<\/em> inadvertently perpetuates the idea that God communicates with humans only in spoken and written languages, causing the Deaf to think of God as irrelevant and shun the Church altogether.<\/p>\n

    \u201cTradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living,\u201d reminds Jaroslav Pelikan in his renowned lecture, \u201cThe Vindication of Tradition.\u201d<\/em> Indeed, a return to ad orientem<\/em> worship is hardly an option for Deaf people who \u201cspeak with their hands and hear with their eyes.\u201d An ad orientem <\/em>stance would also impact the Mass experience of people with invisible disabilities such as auditory processing deficits and various speech and language impairments who attend hearing churches but participate and learn visually. It would be to practice audism in the liturgy \u2013 a most unchristian thing to do. More significantly, it would be to reject the work and revelation of the Holy Spirit in enabling people who are visual communicators to\u00a0share their gifts with the people of God as priests, religious, and lay ministers of the church.<\/p>\n

    I respect the fact that many non-Latin Western rites, Eastern rites, and Latin rite communities who use the extraordinary form continue to only celebrate Mass ad orientem<\/em>. They see great value to keeping an old practice going as it can help us retain a living memory of it. But this should not be the universal norm when the Spirit has revealed otherwise. The Spirit\u2019s witness in our Deaf Catholic brothers and sisters urges us to pause, appreciate the oft-overlooked gift of multiple abilities and intelligences, receive the charism of hospitality from them, and obligate us to affirm worshipping ad Christum, <\/em>facing the people, as a normative for the Roman Catholic Church today and beyond.<\/p>\n

    Towards a Celebration of Mass ad Christum<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Thus, I propose that we begin immediately employing the term ad Christum <\/em>to refer to the direction one faces at Mass. Those who continue to celebrate Mass ad orientem<\/em> may describe themselves as celebrating Mass \u201cad Christum <\/em>in an ad orientem <\/em>stance\u201d as a clarification of their exceptional community. The use of this term will aid the faithful in centering their prayers on God even when they are facing each other, catechize them about the multiple presences of Christ in the Mass, quell the false dichotomy between versus populum <\/em>and ad orientem<\/em> worship, and allow the posture of celebrating Mass facing the people to remain normative. Most importantly, ad Christum <\/em>worship bears witness to a legitimate development of liturgical tradition and doctrine inspired by the Holy Spirit that celebrates that incorporates the different abilities and multiple intelligences of the people of God in our Eucharistic communion. Who\u2019s with me?<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

    Audrey Seah completed her MA in Theology with a focus in liturgy\u00a0 at Saint John\u2019s School of Theology and Seminary in 2012 and is a doctoral student in liturgy at the University of Notre Dame. She is grateful to the many priests in Deaf ministry and members of the Deaf Catholic community who inspired and provided feedback for this article.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I propose that ad Christum<\/I> replace the terms versus populum<\/I> and ad orientem<\/I> as it describes the doctrinal and liturgical principle that the Church has retained throughout history more accurately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mass"],"yoast_head":"\nAd Orientem Worship from the Deaf Perspective - Part II - Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2016\/08\/19\/ad-orientem-worship-from-the-deaf-perspective-part-ii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ad Orientem Worship from the Deaf Perspective - 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