Grunthor wrote:And another:
But what if I go to a mass, it’s all in some foreign language and I can’t understand what is being taught? Why would I stay?
dartuser wrote:Please jump in and help explain the enduring nature of the Latin Mass. Thanks!
Non-catholic here ...What exactly is a Latin Mass? Is everything spoken in Latin or just certain key parts?
“Please jump in and help explain the enduring nature of the Latin Mass. Thanks!”
Thank you for that, I am not looking to convert but I do love to learn.
Common Latin Mass questions here:
“Grunthor wrote:
But what if I go to a mass, it’s all in some foreign language and I can’t understand what is being taught? Why would I stay?
And another:
dartuser wrote:
Non-catholic here ...
What exactly is a Latin Mass? Is everything spoken in Latin or just certain key parts?”
Okay, let me try to tackle this - I am a boomer who bridged the Vatican II changes, which occurred when I was in high school.
The traditional Latin “Tridentine” Mass was divided into to main parts (as is the Novus Ordo “New” Mass):
The “Ordinary” of the Mass is comprised of the prayers that are the same in each Mass - these were said in Latin, with the exception of the Kyrie, which was said in Greek. The Ordinary includes the central focus of the Mass, the Consecration.
The “Proper” of the Mass is comprised of the parts that change from day to day: The Epistle, Psalms, Sequence, Gospel. Although these were said in Latin during medieval (and later) times when educated people actually knew enough Latin to understand them, in modern times, these were in the vernacular, as was the priest’s sermon.
To answer the question about going to a religious service in a foreign language, we all used Missals: the prayers were written in Latin on the lefthand page, and in English on the righthand page.
Thus, although the Altar Boy’s responses (given from memory, I might add) were in Latin, we in the congregation followed along in English and Latin, using our Missals. After a brief time, you didn’t need to consult the English, since you knew the gist of the Latin passages. I should add that the congregation made few responses: the Altar Boy represented us in the Mass.
It you went to Catholic School, you were taught enough Latin that you could likely translate much of the Ordinary of the Mass on sight. (Okay, some of us could translate it on sight.)
I should say that although in retrospect, it might seem quite impressive that a 7 or 8 year-old boy could recite every response in Latin from memory for an hour-long Mass, it was nothing special in those days!
The beauty of the Latin Mass was that one could go to Mass in a foreign country, and, except for the 10-15% in vernacular, you understood the entire thing. Since we Catholics travelled with our Missals when out of the country, we could read the appropriate “Proper” Old and New Testament passages in our own language while the priest was reading them in the langusge of the locality.
You did miss the sermon, but much of the time, that made little difference, since we could reflect silently on the readings.
So, in practice, the New Mass results in our understanding less, not more, when we attend services in a foreign land.
There is another aspect to the Latin Mass - it is very reverent, and the formulaic rubrics of the Mass have a beauty that is reminiscent of the stylized Japanese Kabuki. And, in my estimation, the simple, stark beauty of Gregorian Chant is the audible equivalent of the fragrance of incense rising to Heaven, carrying our petitions to God with them.
I hope this clarifies things somewhat.
The main benefit is that it is constant. Languages evolve and meanings of words change over time. Latin, a so-called dead language has stopped evolving.
The Latin Mass therefore remains a constant and a common unifying experience for all Catholics world wide, conveying a timeless message and uniting us not just with each other, but with all Catholics of all times.