When recovering our tradition, please think of every Mass this way: The Church Triumphant above, the Church militant in the middle and the Church Suffering (Purgatory) below. This is who participates in every Mass, many of whom only knew the EF Mass in Latin, but now enjoy the Heavenly Liturgy!
We take brick by brick literally!
As some of you may know, for the past two months we have implemented Latin responses to Dominus Vobiscu...Et cum spiritu tuo...sursum corda, etc. We began our normal custom of singing the Sanctus and Agnus Dei in Latin for Lent (and advent too, for the past five years).
For some in my parish this transition to the Church's official language for the Mass has been a bit jarring, but they are now singing and saying these responses with gusto and many now by heart, without our hymnal's assistance.
But I have two comments below from parishioners which you'll find interesting.
The first one is one who has had a change of heart about the Latin. The second recounts a conversation with a visitor after Mass:
I must admit that I was not enthused with the introduction of Latin (and Greek) for portions of the mass at St. Joseph. We are now forty years or so post Vatican II and very few individuals seem to miss the Latin mass. Also, very few students even study Latin anymore. Why bother to learn how to pronounce even a few phrases? After all, modern Catholics should be able to attend mass without the burden of trying to speak a language that is both dead and definitely irrelevant in an English-speaking country.
While attending the 9:30 am mass today, I had a complete change of heart. As Catholics we have inherited the history and traditions of a Christian Church that has grown and flourished since the 1st century after Christ's death and resurrection. What other Christian denomination can make such a claim? None. By incorporating a few of the Latin phrases that were spoken or sung by Catholics for centuries, we preserve a link to those followers of Christ that share an unchanging belief in the risen Lord that transcends time, culture, and, most definitely, language. In my opinion, instead of complaining about the addition of a few Latin words in the mass, we should strive to chant "et cum spiritu tuo" with the fervor of those who have spoken those same words for almost 2,000 years.
The Second Comment:
I met a couple in the parking lot who were visiting today from Ohio. They told me how much they enjoyed hearing the Latin and attending Mass.
Peace,
M.
4 comments:
True reformation! with a dash of enlightenment.
Father; I have been thinking how easy it would be to add a little more Latin to our OF Mass. The Sign of the Cross, the Dismissal, and the responses after the readings and Gospel should all be Latin phrases that are already known to most, and easily learned if not.
Food for thought.
Beauty
Father, where did you get this first picture? I am not sure but it looks strikingly like Anti-Pope Gregory from the false Palmarian Church. I have seen photos like this before. The telltale is that on the maximize feature you can see he has no eyes. This was true of the anti -Pope after a car accident. I could be wrong but it is uncanny and mislead me. Maybe it should be changed. "I'm just sayin"...On the point of the article I wish every Priest would follow your lead and provide Latin in the Mass. Many parishoners have a change of heart once they learn something and then exhibit pride in knowing and taking part in Mass in the language of the Church. Singing the Credo in Latin was the most beautiful experience for me the first time. And the whole congregation of 400 sung !! It was a Pontifical Mass in MYC last year. I was astounded. This is Catholics singing, not the mumbling or humming of On Eagles Wings.
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