It is commonly argued that the Mass in the vernacular allows for a greater degree of participation for the congregation. It is also argued that the orientation of the celebrant toward the congregation during the Eucharistic prayer supports the “priestliness” of the layman.
I disagree with both position on purely aesthetic grounds.
I will state at the outset my belief that the changes to liturgy around the time of VCII, were made for the noble purpose of making the Mass more “meaningful” for a changing congregation (society) not a changing Church doctrine. I will stipulate that there was some motivation which was not noble, but I believe it generally to be in the minority.
An argument as to poor aesthetics in both the language and orientation of the celebrant rests on the definition of “meaningful” which was offered as a motivation. The use of the vernacular suggest that meaning can only be archived through the language of common use while disallowing the possibility of more profound meaning made possible by a language reserved for the sacred, eg. “one in being with” vs. “consubstantial with” - even in the vernacular we sometimes resort to words closer to the Latin to preserve meaning. If the purpose is to encourage “meaningfulness” the use of a language in flux due to common usage, misses the mark.
As to the orientation of the celebrant, I can only speak from experience. During the week I attended Mass at my middle-high school where the celebrant said the Mass in front of the altar with his back to the congregation, on Sunday I attended Mass at my parish church where the celebrant was behind the altar facing the congregation. At Mass during the week I experienced a greater sense of participation as the orientation and proximity to the altar of my body and that of the celebrant were similar. On Sunday, the celebrant became Christ in Leonardo’s Last Supper, and I, not even an apostle, was left out of the frame, a casual observer to a remote and distant rite, left only to speculate on the beauty of the face of the girl in front of me suggested by her glorious blonde hair.
I believe that the Mass should be aesthetically more like the girls face; physically suggested, but revealed only in the observers heart and mind. I had no words to describe the beauty of the girl I front of me before she turned around and I was left with nothing but words and disappointment.
I have a broader view of VCII, that has to do with issues outside of the Mass. From my point of view, this is when a lot of infiltration of the Roman Catholic Church by the leftist took place. This was when in a lot of churches “liberation theology” and “social justice” replaced the Gospel, and “Christianity” and “Catholicism” became the window dressing. Some of the infiltrators were openly Marxist, such as the Berrigan brothers and that Pfleger creep from Chicago.
And then there are the so-called hymns of Marty Haugen. Aaaaaaack! BTW he’s not Catholic, he’s a member of United Church of Christ. Dead liberal, not Christian by any Biblical standard.