Even my Prebyterian hubby was enthralled by the Aramaic!
Ukrainian Cardinal Lubomyr Husar (L), Lebanese Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir (C), and Syrian Cardinal Ignace Moussa I Daoud attend a mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City April 14, 2005.
The Eastern Catholic Churches assembled to celebrate their Novendiales Mass on April 14, 2005. The chief celebrant was Mar Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir, Patriarch of the Maronite Church. For those of us who attend the Maronite Divine Liturgy, to watch it 'LIVE' from the Vatican, was awesome. In keeping with post VCII norms, the liturgy was celebrated in the vernacular ... in this instance, the vernacular was Arabic. However, the Trisagion, Institution Narrative (Consecration) and Epiclesis retained the original Aramaic text - the words spoken by our Lord, in His native tongue, at the Last Supper. The Maronite choir was flown in from Lebanon, equipped with authentic Middle Eastern instruments. You may have noticed that the choir was composed of religious - seminarians and those already ordained.
Here in the US, the same liturgy is chanted in English with those same sacred elements in Aramaic. If you are ever afforded the opportunity to attend a Maronite Divine Liturgy (or any other Eastern Catholic liturgy), take full advantage of it. The Maronite liturgy is one of the oldest in the Catholic Church, dating back to when St. Peter first brought the good news to Antioch. Many of the oldest Maronite Churches are built over the foundations of Jewish synagogues and to this day, the contemporary churches retain certain elements of the ancient synagogue designs in their construction.
In the Maronite liturgy, communion is by intinction and on the tongue. ONLY the priest or bishop, dips the consecrated host into the Precious Blood and places it on the tongue of the communicant with the words "The Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is given to you for the remission of sin and eternal salvation". There are NO Eucharistic Ministers or communion in the hand in the Maronite liturgy. A Roman Catholic may attend an Eastern Catholic liturgy and satisfy their Sunday obligation.
Check your local community at the following link and look into attending an Eastern Catholic Liturgy (not to be confused with the Orthodox Church).
Eastern Catholic Churches in the U.S.
The Eastern Catholic Rites retain the rich heritage of our church, without the "novelties" introduced into the Novus Ordo liturgy. Incense is used throughout.