Saturday, April 28, 2012
Can Latin Mass Make A Comeback?
Can the Latin Mass overtake and replace the modern English language Mass? Those who have boldly ventured into churches who practice both and have done a comparison may notice that the Latin Mass is much less participatory than the English Mass, and... is hard to understand if you don't know Latin.
Could help if Latin is taught widespread in schools again... Some still do...
But the priest is correct in that the pendulum has swung in the other direction for those who still go to church. Tradition will win the day. But if the Catholic Church reverted back to primarily Latin Masses, would this result in a shrinkage in the laity? And if so, would it be such a bad thing?
I would suggest that all Latin Masses would result in fewer converts from Protestantism simply because most of them would attempt to sit in on Masses with no knowledge of Latin whatsoever. And without an English-Latin Missal with which to refer, they would be even more confused than they are when attending the modern English Mass for the first time, jumping around in the Missal and getting lost.... as I did when I started. Honestly, they don't make things easy for the curious stranger to follow along.
However,... Those already in the Church who accept the Latin Mass will have a deeper and more accurate understanding of their faith as well as adherence to the Magisterium so lacking in many of today's so-called Catholic college campuses. It would be a smaller, yet stronger church. For how strong can a huge church be if it cannot control what is taught in its churches and universities? If the inmates are running the asylum, perhaps a smaller asylum is the remedy to regain control of the inmates... so to speak.
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I'm a cradle Catholic from before Vatican II. All I remember from Mass as a young child was not understanding what was being said because it was in Latin. It was like hearing it anew with the change to English. As an adult, I like to hear snippets of Latin because it's a beautiful language in its own right, but I'm becoming discouraged that the trend is one of returning to Masses done in complete Latin. I already have
ReplyDeleteproblems with staying focused when in Mass. I don't need anything else added that will present another reason to become unfocused.