At N.J. Parish, all Latin all the time

At New Jersey parish, all Latin all the time

Judging by its modest sanctuary, Mater Ecclesiae Roman Catholic church in Berlin, N.J., might be any Catholic parish.

But when its rector, the Rev. Robert Pasley, begins to say Mass, this little church reveals its special place in modern Catholicism.

"Introibo ad altare Dei," Father Pasley said last Sunday, early into a long, elaborate high Mass.

"Ad Deum qui laetificat, juventutem meum," replied the five altar servers.

Yes, it's Latin: the language of Catholic liturgies for centuries until the early 1960s, when the Second Vatican Council decreed that liturgies should be said in the prevailing language of the parish.

Latin is not all that makes Mater Ecclesiae unusual, however, as many dioceses - including the Archdiocese of Philadelphia - allow a Latin Mass for special occasions. Our Lady of Consolation parish in the Tacony section and St. Francis of Assisi parish in Norristown, Montgomery County, each say one Tridentine Latin Mass every Sunday.

Founded in October 2000, the 266-family Mater Ecclesiae, in the Diocese of Camden, is one of only about 16 Catholic parishes in the United States that says Latin Mass every day according to the old "Tridentine" rite. And it is attracting worshippers from more than 50 miles away.

Here, the priest says Mass with his back to the congregation. Communion is taken silently, kneeling, and on the tongue, as in bygone days.

Other Vatican reforms are absent as well: There is no handshaking or "kiss of peace." The choir sings Gregorian chant in Latin. And only men and boys are altar servers.

"I guess you could say I'm a bit conservative," Father Pasley, 46, said and laughed. "I always felt Vatican II went too far" with its reforms.

Mater Ecclesiae's two Sunday Masses, as well as all baptisms, weddings, funerals and weekday Masses, are not only said in Latin but are performed according to the all-but-abandoned liturgical rite prescribed by the Council of Trent (hence "Tridentine") in the mid-16th century.

"That's incredible," said Jean Peters, copublisher of Veritas Press in Santa Monica, Calif., which issues a national directory of Catholic parishes that say Latin Masses. Last year there were 192 parishes in the United States that said at least one Mass a month according to the old rite, Peters said. But completely Tridentine parishes are "extremely rare." What makes Mater Ecclesiae (it means "Mother Church") rare even among Tridentine parishes is that it is staffed by a diocesan priest rather than a member of a traditionalist religious order.

St. Mary's parish in Rock Island, Ill., is a diocesan Tridentine parish of 450 families, "but we say English Masses, too," its pastor, the Rev. Michael Driscoll, said last week.

"This has been a response to requests from the people," Msgr. James Checchio, moderator of the curia for the Camden Diocese, explained recently.

Unlike some bishops who barely tolerate the Tridentine rite, Camden's leader, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, plans to attend Mater Ecclesiae's Candlemas service Sunday as a gesture of support, according to Msgr. Checchio.

Last Sunday's high Mass, which started at 11:30 a.m., began with a procession up the center aisle followed by the aspergis, or sprinkling of holy water on the altar and congregation. "Asperges me, Domine, hyssopo, et mundabor," Father Pasley intoned.

It translates to "Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed."

Slow and solemn - even mysterious - and shrouded at times in clouds of fragrant incense that filled the sanctuary, the Mass ended around 1 p.m. with a Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the ceremonial exposition of a communion wafer for adoration.

Mater Ecclesiae has no geographical boundaries, and membership is open to any Catholic who wants to worship there.

"We do love it," said Diane McBride, 34, of Pottstown, Montgomery County, who travels 90 minutes each way with her husband, Michael, and their four children most Sundays.

"It's more reverent" than the contemporary Masses and liturgies that grew out of the Second Vatican Council, she said. "We feel it expresses the church's teachings in a more clear way."

Susan Fetta of Doylestown, Bucks County, met her husband, Guido, at a Tridentine Mass in Camden's Immaculate Conception Cathedral about four years ago. He was an altar server; she was singing in the choir.

"It's just a love for the reverence of this Mass," said Susan Fetta, 44, who sings Gregorian chant and Latin polyphony. Father Pasley married them three years ago in a Tridentine rite at the cathedral; like the McBrides, they belong now to Mater Ecclesiae and drive 90 minutes to Mass.

Michael Meier, 39, of Voorhees, Camden County, has only a 15-minute drive to Mass. "We like the reverence, the beauty of the liturgy, the silence," he said.

Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, has declined requests for more Latin Masses or the establishment of a Tridentine parish, according to the Rev. Thomas Mackle, director of the archdiocesan office for worship.

"We get petitions, but in our parish self-studies and cluster planning" during the 1990s "there were just not sufficient numbers" to justify it, Father Mackle said.

In 1990, Cardinal Bevilacqua granted an "indult," or special permission, for a Tridentine Mass to be said Sundays at St. John the Evangelist parish in Center City. Parking proved limited, however, so the archdiocese reassigned the Masses to the two more accessible parishes in Tacony and Norristown.

"It's a great opportunity to reach out to a portion of the Catholic community who might otherwise be disaffected," said the Rev. Dominick Finn, a hospital chaplain in residence at St. Francis of Assisi parish.

He has been saying Tridentine Masses there on Sundays since mid-1999.

"I couldn't believe how quickly it [the Latin] came back to me," said Father Finn, who was ordained in 1956. About 90 people typically attend the Masses there.

Although it functions autonomously, Mater Ecclesiae is a mission of St. Edward's parish in Pine Hill, Camden County. Its member families "are very generous with their support," said Father Pasley, who hopes Bishop DiMarzio will grant it full parish status soon.

Mater Ecclesiae's history parallels the troubled history of Latin Masses since the Second Vatican Council.

According to Father Pasley, the eight-acre site was farmland in 1970 when Joseph Natale bought it in hopes of creating an order of disabled Benedictine monks.

He raised a complex of buildings that now serves as Mater Ecclesiae's campus. Although Natale imported the Tridentine rite Masses and called himself "Brother," he was never ordained and operated his "Holy Family Monastery" without permission of the diocese.

Meanwhile, many traditionalist priests and laity around the world who resented the reforms of the Second Vatican Council had joined a schismatic church headed by French Archbishop Marcel LeFevre.

In 1988, Pope John Paul II acknowledged that a sizable number of Catholics still yearned for the old ways, and allowed diocesan bishops to accommodate them with "a wide and generous application" of Tridentine liturgies.

A messy dispute over ownership of the Berlin monastery erupted when Natale died in 1995. Worshipers who enjoyed the Tridentine Masses won.

With the permission of former Bishop John McHugh, a member of the traditionalist Fraternity of St. Peter began saying regular Masses there, but he left in 2000 when Bishop DiMarzio refused permission for him to establish his own religious order.

Last year, Bishop DiMarzio turned to Father Pasley, who has a special interest in traditional church music, and asked him to become rector of a mission to be known as Mater Ecclesiae.

"We're beginning to be known now," Father Pasley said last week. "People appreciate the music, the sense of awe. In a world of confusion, it's nice to pray in a quiet atmosphere."

It's amazing how many 'old fashioned' large Catholic familes go to this parish. The men and boys don't wear t-shirts or football jerseys. Instead of haltertops and hip-huggers, the women actually wear mantillas.

Yup. Not only do the women wear mantillas, but their skirts fall below the knees. Most of the children in the large families are homeschooled.

But there's more to this traditional congregation than Latin

I don't doubt this at all. You have a group of people who have an intense love of Jesus. And they've gathered together as a community that loves the Latin tradition. Nothing wrong with that, however the Latin is not the factor that will reinvigorate the entire Catholic church. If Latin were introduced into most run-of-the-mill parishes, attendance would drop like a rock. Latin has worked for your particular group of people.

There are other factors that bring a group of the faithful together. I used to attend Catholic charismatic masses. These were people brought together by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There was true love of Jesus at these masses. No t-shirts. No talking in the pews. Complete participation by all in attendance. And not a syllable of Latin. Would this work for the entire Catholic church? Most of the Charismatics thought so. But if Charismatic masses were introduced to the run-of-the-mill parishes, the length and participation would turn most Catholics away.

There are other masses that bring the faithful to a single community: healing masses are very popular with the elderly. Retreats can cater to type of people. Try taking a pilgrimage to Rome of Israel - the more adventurous Catholics attend these (but there is still a deep love of Jesus).

Latin works well for you. And I have the greatest respect for it. But there shouldn't be any implication that a lack of Latin is bad for the Cburch.

"I used to attend Catholic charismatic masses. These were people brought together by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There was true love of Jesus at these masses."

While I find the tradition, discipline and majesty of the Tridentine mass inspiring, invigorating, and spiritual in the extreme, I was uncomfortable with the clucking, screeching, and fainting at the charismatic masses. Not to disparage the charismatic movement, our religious experience is about the most subjective thing in our lives - but using charismatic "speaking in tongues" as a counter-example to the use of Latin - an actual language - doesn't register with me.

I stopped going to Charismatic masses because speaking in tongues was over-emphasized. It is not a gift that I have, but several thought that I should have it or something was wrong with me.

Listening to others speak in tongues or listening to others speak in Latin - I understand neither. Yes, Latin is a real language. But if I use that reasoning, then we should be asking for the Eucharist to be celebrated in Aramaic - which is the language that Jesus used to celebrate the Last Supper.

I am not trying to "counter" the Latin mass. If you and your parish find a greater love for Jesus by celebrating the Eucharist in Latin, then I truly think that the Latin mass should be provided for those who ask for it. I was trying to point out that its not for everybody (just like Charismatic masses aren't for you) and that the Latin mass should not be portrayed as the way to save the Catholic church from modern influences.

You missed the post where I said that I'm not a member of the traditional congregation mentioned in the article, just an occasional attendee - for now. My posts emphasized that attending a Tridentine mass and learning a bit about it would be a valuable experience for any Catholic who wants to expand his knowledge of the faith.

As for the language part, it's only one aspect of the traditional mass. You can't so readily dismiss that a considerable number of people do understand it and appreciate its beauty and place in the ritual. While Latin may not be the language of Christ, it's the language of the mother Church. To many Catholics, that still means something.

YMMV.

Not at all. The Latin-quality connection has been made in this thread. The first post included:

"Is the future of the Catholic Church to be found in its recent past, spurned by many for the past 40 years?"

And your post #72 was:

"You won't see t-shirts, cut off shorts, halter tops, sweat suits, lacsadaisical staring or rude disruptive lateness and cross talk at this mass. People actually behave as if they are in the presence of God." While true, it strongly implies that if I don't go to a Latin mass that I don't believe that I'm in the presence of God. There are many who attend traditional mass who have the same concerns as you (they all sit at the front of the church).

"While true, it strongly implies that if I don't go to a Latin mass that I don't believe that I'm in the presence of God. "

If you say so. What it was meant to imply is that there's more to the Catholic tradition than Latin. A lot more. Decorum and civility, for example. My regular parish is one of the most well heeled in the state, yet the tardiness, the cross-talk, the slovenly (remember that word?) dress, and the early leavers (those really tick me off!) turn the Sacrifice of the Mass into something that could be confused for a public high school assembly.

One of the most poignant memories I have from attending the Mater Dei church was seeing a young Catholic family, toting a troop of about seven beautiful, well behaved kids, with one in the oven, all dressed in clothes hand made by mom - all of the outfits were obviously cut from the same bolt of cloth. It was like a scene out of "The Sound of Music," where the von Trapp kids wore the play suits made from the mansion's old draperies. You don't get any more traditional, or down to earth than that. It ain't for everybody, but for some people, there ain't nothin' else that will do.

Nothing wrong with that, however the Latin is not the factor that will reinvigorate the entire Catholic church. If Latin were introduced into most run-of-the-mill parishes, attendance would drop like a rock. Latin has worked for your particular group of people.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't see anyone either in this article, or on this thread try to make that point. Here's the issue: Why won't some bishops in the US allow similar Latin rite parishes within their dioceses? In many dioceses, there are people positively begging their bishops to allow the Latin rite to be said. Why don't they give in? Why the hostility?

Just curious.

Not at all. The Latin-quality connection has been made in this thread. The first post included: "Is the future of the Catholic Church to be found in its recent past, spurned by many for the past 40 years?"

Come on, now that's a stretch. My rhetorical question was not meant to register an opinion on the issue. This really is a question yet-to-be-answered within the Church. You can't deny that the Tridentine rite is making a comeback. Whether it will just be a fad or have lasting significance remains to be seen.

"Why won't some bishops in the US allow similar Latin rite parishes within their dioceses?"

Good question. What would be the harm in a once a week service for those so inclined? After all, it's not like it's prohibited by Rome. Answer? First of all, the shortage of priests, especially learned, willing, and experienced ones, puts a definite crimp in the availability of the Tridentine mass. But the cynical answer, IMHO, is that such masses would attract in significant numbers exactly the kind of people described in my posts - conservatives - and their children would end up not receiving the liberal indoctrination and democrat party pep talks that seem to get squeezed into every Sunday homily. We just can't have that now, can we?

You can't deny that the Tridentine rite is making a comeback

No, I can't. I haven't met a person yet who has tried it and didn't like it, myself excluded. But I tend to have more conservative friends. Most of these friends have attended both Charismatic and Tridentine masses - I guess they prefer to worship with those who are serious about it.

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