“Look to the east.” This command made by the Prophet Baruch sets our attention upon the Lord’s coming. It is in the season of Advent that we dare to look east as we prepare our heart for the Lord’s coming. This mindset of looking east is not something which is new, but has always been important in the life of the Church. From the very beginning of Christian worship people would dare to look east. They would dare to join together with the priest in orienting their sight towards the coming of the Lord.
One ancient custom was for the bishop or priest to conclude his homily with the words: “Conversi ad Dominum!” which means in English: “Turn towards the Lord.” As Pope Benedict XVI would put into further context: “we must always turn away from false paths, onto which we stray so often in our thoughts and action. We must turn ever anew toward him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We must be converted ever anew, turning with our whole life toward the Lord.”
This explanation rings true with what we were told within the Gospel of Luke from the lips of Saint John the Baptist who was quoting from the words of the Prophet Isaiah. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. The winding roads shall be made straight.” This proclamation of the coming of the Messiah is an invitation for us to undergo conversion.
To turn towards the Lord means that we must be willing to let go of everything that holds us back from this path of conversion. We like to be placed at life’s center. We like everything to revolve around us. From the Prophet Jeremiah we are told: “For they have turned their back to me.” What ways have we turned our back to the Lord in order to place the focus upon ourself?
To turn East or to turn towards the Lord places our attention upon the proper path. In the liturgy the focus is not upon you or me, but is upon the Lord. The Mass is not about personal preference or a passing feeling, but it is about the Lord. If the Lord is not at the heart of our worship then we have lost our path. Notice upon the altar a cross which was placed here for a purpose. It is a reminder that we turn our attention not towards the priest or people, but towards the Lord. As the then Cardinal Ratzinger would remark concerning this cross: “Where a direct common turning toward the east is not possible, the cross can serve as the interior ‘east’ of faith. It should stand in the middle of the altar and be the common point of focus for both priest and praying community.”
During this season of Advent I invite you to be truthful with yourself. I invite you to pray upon the ways in which you have placed yourself and your wants before that of the Lord. As Saint John the Baptist states: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Yes, we must decrease if the Lord is to increase within us. We must let go of any hatred, division, pride, or whatever sin may be stirred up within us which keeps us from orienting our sight towards the Lord. Before you know it the Lord’s coming will be here: in the crib on Christmas morning, in judgement at the second coming, and with us today in the Eucharist when the Lord comes into our midst. May we set straight the paths of our life as we further prepare for the Lord’s coming.
Conversi ad Dominum!
Turn towards the Lord!
