Customer Reviews

Turning Towards the Lord: Orientation in Liturgical Prayer

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The book of Mr Lang, recently translated into spanish, is an important contribution to the studies on liturgical orientation. The book is the result of some previous investigations, and in the book the author answers to the people who criticized him. Nevertheless, the book is not an apologia (like Gamber's), but a good presentation of many historical data, Biblical backgrounds and theological consequences of the East orientation in prayer. Definitively, an important book for everyone who is interested in the foundations of the Christian worship.

The historical discussion on ad orientem worship was fascinating, and after the first half of the book I became convinced that Catholics, priest and congregation, should if possible face true east when at prayer. However, once the author acknowledged that such is not always possible, suggested measures to cultivated an attitude of shared orientation were not connected with strict logic. The idea of "liturgical" east seemed particularly dubious and not rooted in the historical data. If we cannot all face true east during the mass, why is it still important for priest and people to face the same direction? Should competing liturgical considerations be weighed in determining whether priest and congregation should face the same direction? Unfortunately, these questions were not answered or addressed with satisfactory rigor.