THE
P RTAL
September 2016
Page 3
Portal Comment
Will Burton has been musing on ad orientem
Ithink it
was in his excellent book, “Heaven and Earth in Little Space” (Canterbury Press Norwich
2010; 978 1 84825 005 5) that Mgr Andrew Burnham compared the Anglican Eucharist with the Catholic
Mass. He said something like, the Anglican Eucharist uses the words spoken by Our Lord at the Last
Supper (“Do this ...) to take us to the Upper Room and the Memorial Meal: the Catholic Mass on the other
hand uses those same words to take us to the foot of the Cross and the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
I hope I do not do him an injustice. Whether it was
Fr Burnham or not, these words have been much on
my mind recently. We all know that the position of
the priest at the altar at mass has been under much
discussion. Facing east, or facing the people, that is
the question.
Visiting many different Catholic churches, as I
do, one notices that this sacrificial element is often
lacking with priest facing people. The mass easily
becomes the memorial meal, a jolly banquet for us
all. The sacrifice of the mass can as easily be lost.
How fortunate we are, then, to have
Divine Worship, which is celebrated ad
orientem. It was the celebration at our
Year of Mercy Pilgrimage at Walsingham
earlier this year that brought this home
to me. Of course, I could be wrong. I
am, after all, a mere layman. Perhaps our
readers will enlighten me.
Education Day
Elsewhere in this issue of The Portal,
you will find an interview that our
Co-Editors, Jackie Ottaway and Ronald
Crane, had with Paul Barber the Director
of the Catholic Education Service.
Education Sunday is on Sunday
11th September 2016. It is a golden
opportunity for us all to pray for our
Catholic schools, for they are precious.
We pray for the schools, the teachers
and students, and also the governors and
other staff. But, perhaps we could do a bit
more this year. There are lots of materials
for us to use at School, at Church, and at
home on the CES web site.
My observations, for what they are worth, are
from an humble layman of the Catholic Church;
a convert from the dear old CofE. Therefore, my
thoughts might not be entirely objective, but they are
informed, coming as they do from both sides of the
table so to speak.
It seems to me that ad orientem avoids the twin
problem of us worshiping each other as priest looks
at people, and we look at him; whilst at the same time
emphasising the sacrificial nature of the mass.
Just go to www.catholiceducation.org.uk and follow
the Education Sunday link.
The October Issue of The Portal
Next month we shall have
a fascinating account of
the origins of the Catholic
Education Service, CES, its
history and purpose.
This is not to be missed.