Latin in the Mass: Part 2

(My 1962 Missal opened to the "Gloria".)

Language preserves tradition. In the Latin Mass, I learned how to worship God with the adoration and respect the Church has always shown Him. Latin helps remind us to keep what is sacred as sacred. It doesn’t damage or diminish holiness and tradition by changing in meaning or structure. For example, in the Masses said in the vernacular, we used to say, “And also with you,” when the priest said, “Peace be with you.” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had that changed to the traditional and literal translation. So now we say, “And with your spirit.” In the Latin Mass community, I never had to wake up one day and find out I had been saying the wrong stuff in Mass my whole life. In Latin, it was always “And with your spirit” (Et cum spiritu tuo), and it always will be.

Just as in the non-Latin Masses, at the Latin Mass, missals are always available. The Latin missal has the Latin right beside the literal English translation of what is going on in the Mass. It can be a little tricky to follow along at first, but the more you expose yourself, the easier it will become. It took one of my friends just three visits to the Latin Mass to get the hang of it. Just a few months later, he was able to say many of the responses from memory. Sometimes I don’t even use a missal because I’ve been able to memorize the responses and the different parts of the Mass as well. Murmuring responses like, “Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis,” has become like second nature to me and to everyone else who has been introduced to the Latin Mass over the last few years.

I feel as though going to the Mass in Latin has helped me nurture a mature relationship with God and the saints. I feel as though I’ve developed a deep understanding of God’s Plan and my role as a lay Catholic in our troubled modern world. It has made the Sacrifice of the Mass come alive for me and reminds me that my life is something that belongs to God. When you go to your first Latin Mass allow yourself to be transported. Allow yourself to learn more about your God and your faith through mystery and tradition. Allow yourself to be taken up, to participate in the sacred, to experience unity and continuity, to worship God in the most respectful way we know how. “Commune with your God.” (1962 Missal) It won’t be long before you reach an understanding you never thought was possible.