Turning to the Lord

I recall speaking to someone once about Priests saying Mass ad orientem (i.e. facing the tabernacle when speaking to God, and the people when speaking to the people). He said to me that the only thing that would make him more nervous than being in front of a group of people and looking them in the eye, would be to be up in front of a group of people with your back turned to them. He said it was because it is a bit creepy to have a number of people staring at you from behind and not know what they are doing.

There is certainly truth in this statement; in fact it is a significant truth. When I criticize the confused nature of Priests saying Mass versus populum (i.e. turning their backs on God in the tabernacle and always facing the people regardless of to whom they are speaking), it is often this very issue that I point out. If the Priest faces the people the entire time, it creates a certain attitude in his heart; but it is not one that is good. It makes him feel more relaxed (and thus somewhat lazy) about what he is doing, and he starts to believe that the Mass is about him (since he is apparently the real center of attention).

When a Priest faces towards whomever he is speaking to (towards the altar when speaking to God, and towards the people when speaking to them), it also creates a certain attitude in his heart. It really is a bit unsettling to have numerous people behind you and not know what they are doing or saying; and that is a good thing. The Priest needs to be humble enough to recognize that the Mass is not about him, but about Christ, and facing towards the tabernacle when in prayer helps to facilitate that exact thing.

Yes, it is possible for a Priest saying Mass ad orientem to get messed up in his head and focus on himself in the Mass, but he will be doing it contrary to what the rules of the Mass are telling him. If the rules (and the common practice of versus populum) encourage self-focus, then the self-focused Priest is actually in accord with what he is being told to do (!). In the modern Novus Ordo, there are already too many aspects that quite openly encourage the priest to focus on himself; we do not need to add in anything to make it worse (and, in case you did not already know, the practice of versus populum is not in the rules for the Novus Ordo; it is a "grandfathered in" practice that Rome gave in to and allowed).

I try my best to avoid asking visitors to St. George if they "liked" the Mass, because that gives the impression that it actually matters. In principle it makes no difference if we like the Mass or not (Novus Ordo, Divine Worship, Traditional Latin Mass, or an Easter form), what matters is what the Mass is telling us and whether we are approaching it with the heart of humility that God demands of us. So whether laity or clergy, we are all required to keep our focus on God in the Mass (excepting, of course, uncontrollable distractions which do happen). As we are commanded throughout God's Holy Scriptures: "turn to the Lord".