Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

To: Knitting A Conundrum
with fewer and fewer people around who could say the mass without having to learn Latin from scratch...

You never really needed to KNOW Latin to hear Mass. If you had an English/Latin Missal, you had the responses there in front of you, and most folks learned them phonetically at first, then they learned the translation by reading the English on the facing page. It will not be a huge burden to people, it will just be different.

The beauty of the Latin Mass is that no matter where you go in the world, Mass will sound the same.

Our daughter and I went to Japan to visit friends and the first weekend, attended Mass in a Parish that was Japanese language. Our daughter understood some Japanese, and related the fact that the Gospel reading, and the sermon was about the mustard seed. My friend asked if I got anything out of the Mass, not having understaood the language, and I told her that even though I didn't understand Japanese, I knew the Mass, so yes, I did get something out of it. It actually was kind of neat, not understanding the language, but knowing what was going on, anyway.

7 posted on 02/24/2007 1:21:08 AM PST by SuziQ
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies ]


To: SuziQ

It wasn't the hearing. It was the doing I was talking about, mostly - that we have priests who can actually say the mass in Latin well, which takes at least some understanding of the language and some practice. I find since I have gotten seriously interested in old Latin prayers and hymns that I am getting better and better at understanding Latin, and I bet most people would find that is true, also.

I have a wonderful little prayerbook from the '20s which among other things was a guidebook to hearing the mass in Latin devoutly. It has the words of the mass, and what they mean and prayers the hearer can say that dovetail right into the meaning of each piece. I keep it near hoping I might get to use it some day.


16 posted on 02/24/2007 6:40:02 AM PST by Knitting A Conundrum (Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies ]

To: SuziQ

Of course, when I attended an indult Mass for three years, most of the time I couldn't even hear what the priest was saying, so I did not learn most of the prayers. I had a missal and read the translation and if I was lucky, the priest and I were on the same page, but often we were not. And, of course, you can't "read" the Mass and watch what is going on at the altar at the same time. I finally stopped going to the Tridentine Mass because I was disappointed at not being able to do anything more than to watch and listen.

Much about the old Mass is beautiful and it has a certain mystery. But I think people's attachment to it is a matter of taste more than anything.


33 posted on 02/24/2007 12:14:31 PM PST by steadfastconservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson