- A church can be beautiful.
- Ad Orientem makes a lot of sense.
- I still appreciate the vernacular.
- Why did we get rid of communion rails?
(My only two experiences of a Latin Mass were pretty atypical. In the first I was standing on a Vatican roof worshiping with the Pope, and in the second I was with a small handful of people in the crypt underneath St. Peter's Basilica. So I think should hold off on forming an opinion until I attend a more "normal" Latin Mass.)
What do you think? What are the pros and cons of celebrating the traditional Mass in Latin?
8 comments:
For your info, Brandon, and I just found this out yesterday, All Souls in Sanford, Fl offers a Latin Mass at 5 p.m Sunday in their old Church, now chapel, in the old part of town.
I think I might dig out my old Missal and make a visit for auld lange sine one Sunday soon.
Pete: Thanks for the heads-up. I actually heard that, too, but was a little intimidated to go without any background or catechesis in the Latin mass. On the other hand, I've heard they provide missals to help beginners, so maybe I should suck it up and go.
You should totally go. I don't know any Latin, and my grasp of the Mass parts is superficial. I just follow along in the little missals they provide, which are very helpful.
I love the Latin Mass. Why? (in a very very brief nutshell) Because it never fails to jolt me out of my comfort zone. If it is a low Mass, the silence very much affects you. If it is either a sung Mass or a High Mass, the choirs are usually good, and the music beautiful.
Plus the order and organization of the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite appeals to me and my Marine sense of attention to detail.
Do I go to one every Sunday? If it were available and within 30 minutes of my home I would! If not? The Mass is the Mass! Ordinary or Extraordinary, it is all Christ.
Let Deb know when you want to go and I'll xerox that mass for you, I think I can get the old calendar off the Internet
I started with the ordinary form as well. The first time I went to the extraordinary form, I was brought to tears by the beauty of everything. Starting from the solemn procession to the altar at the beginning of Mass, it just keeps going. It brought up a lot of questions in my mind regarding the Mass and what it truly is- and that was ok because in my attempt to answer those questions, I delved deeper into the faith.
Another point: I felt a new connection to grandparents, deceased relatives and the entire communion of saints. This is the form of Mass that planted and nourished the faith in them. The Mass that St. Padre Pio offered every single day. There’s a lot of debate regarding all of this and the polemics can make people doubt the legitimacy of one form or the other. But the fact is that the older form of Mass served the church for generations and nurtured thousands of saints. It can’t be a bad thing. Pope Benedict stated in his letter that accompanied the Motu Propio “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.” I think that sums it up perfectly.
Go with an open heart. Don't try to understand every little thing that is happening. That leads to frustration. It will likely take several weeks of going continuously to feel completely comfortable with it, but trust me, it is worth it. It's true that the missal will provide you with the entire text of the Mass but you will be surprised at how much you will understand/recognize from the Ordinary form of the Mass. All of the ordinary parts (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Agnus Dei) are identical and things basically happen in the same sequence that you’re used to. But at some point you will get tired of following along- put the missal down and allow everything to seep in. The sounds, music (or silence), the sights, the smells, everything is for God. Just allow yourself to meditate on the fact that the ultimate sacrifice is being offered right in front of you.
That was maybe the best argument for the Extraordinary Form of the Mass that I've yet read--it now has me yearning to experience it.
I think I'm going to try to go sometime in the next few weeks, and if I remember I'll post some reflections.
Thanks!
Your four points are interesting. I do miss the altar rails, but I think they would be too time consuming in the modern church. Our church serves about 4000 people in 5 masses every Sunday. I think Altar rails slow things down considerably.
I REALLY like the vernacular, but I know there are a lot of Catholic's who appreciate the beauty and mystery of the Latin mass. I have been Catholic for 4 years now, and am in my 60's. I could not have made the leap to the Catholic Church (after a life time as a protestant) if I had to learn another language, too. I fear the Latin might be a barrier to all our separated brothers and sisters who might want to come home some day. It would have been a barrier to me. And didn't Paul actually make a point about making the mass understandable, as in one understandable word being more valuable to the unbeliever than lots of words in another language?
I guess Ad Orientem can be good, but so can the priest facing the people. If I couldn't hear the priest while he faced away from me, my already much too distract-able mind would be a lost cause!
Yes the Mass can be, and usually is, beautiful. Thank God for it.
Dawn: Thanks for the wonderful comment! I never thought of the Latin Mass being a turnoff to possible Protestant converts, but as a convert myself, I can see where you're coming from.
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