This small little church in North Carolina will ring big in our hearts for a long time.
How often have you attended Holy Mass Ad Orientem in a Roman Catholic Church? With Communion rail and gate separating the altar from the people?
Well, here at Sacred Heart, you get just that. They celebrate traditional Latin rite Mass each Sunday and on the feast days as well. We attended an English Mass with a few dozen people, most women traditionally veiled. When we left, waiting outside were twice the number for the following tradition Latin High Mass.
“Ad orientem” is Latin for “toward the East.” It refers to the direction that the priest faces during particular moments in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. During those portions of the Mass that are addressed to the people, the priest faces the people. However, because the Eucharistic prayer is addressed to God the Father, the normal posture of the priest has always been to face withthe people toward the Lord. The “ad orientem” celebration allows the priest and people to enter more deeply into the prayer of the Mass and to focus more intently on the mystery of Christ’s Real Presence – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity – in the Most Holy Eucharist. I’m not distracted by the priest, I can focus more on the event of Mass.
While there isn’t much to look at in Sacred Heart Catholic Church, the ‘Ad Orientem’ Mass, Communion rail and community make it a place to visit for Mass.
