Please note in this before photo of the stunningly beautiful cathedral in Toledo, Ohio, that the sanctuary is clean, crisp and uncluttered. The altar, a symbol of Christ and his sacrifice along with the Baldachine, which is a symbol of the consummation of the sacrificial heavenly marriage of Christ the Bridegroom with His bride the Church, is spectacularly made clear:
Look what was done after Vatican II and the hot mess of clutter and jumbled, confused theology of the post-Vatican II period. Look what was done to the symbol of the marriage of Christ and the Church consummated by the Sacrifice of the Cross as a free standing altar replaces the old altar under the Baldachine. But look at the clutter:
And notice in the pre-wreckovation of the sanctuary and in an ad orientem Mass, even if this was the Novus Ordo, which it isn’t, how clear it is that the Body of Christ, the Church, is worshipping her Head, Jesus Christ. No one feels as though the prayers of the Mass are directed to them, but to Christ the High Priest. This is not “let us sing Kumbaya and hold hands” way of worship, where those worshipping within a closed circle as Pope Benedict XVI once described it. This direction of the Mass suppresses the banal, didactic expereiences of the Modern Mass, its confusion of focus and clutter, and tiresome banter and commentary by the celebrant at various points of the Mass, directed in a didactic way toward the congregation:
1 comment:
Indeed, the orientation of the altar is singularly important. So much so that in a choice between the Novus Ordo (celebrated in a traditional manner) ad orientem and the old Mass versus populum I would choose the new Mass; and I am no fan of the Novus Ordo.
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