I totally agree! My pastor is young, monastic and humble. When he says the Prayer of Elevation, his eyes focus upwards and our eyes are drawn as well. He is totally immersed in the worship.
Latin is the language of the Catholic Church
Correction: Latin is the official language of the Latin Church.
Although it is not widely known in our Western world, the Catholic Church is actually a communion of Churches. According to the Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, the Catholic Church is understood to be "a corporate body of Churches," united with the Pope of Rome, who serves as the guardian of unity (LG, no. 23). At present there are 22 Churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, uses the phrase "autonomous ritual Churches" to describe these various Churches (canon 112). Each Church has its own hierarchy, spirituality, and theological perspective. Because of the particularities of history, there is only one Western Catholic Church, while there are 21 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Western Church, known officially as the Latin Church, is the largest of the Catholic Churches. It is immediately subject to the Roman Pontiff as Patriarch of the West. The Eastern Catholic Churches are each led by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, or Metropolitan, who governs their Church together with a synod of bishops. Through the Congregation for Oriental Churches, the Roman Pontiff works to assure the health and well-being of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
While this diversity within the one Catholic Church can appear confusing at first, it in no way compromises the Church's unity. In a certain sense, it is a reflection of the mystery of the Trinity. Just as God is three Persons, yet one God, so the Church is 22 Churches, yet one Church.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this nicely:
"From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them... Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions. The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity" (CCC no. 814).
Although there are 22 Churches, there are only eight "Rites" that are used among them. A Rite is a "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony," (Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 28). "Rite" best refers to the liturgical and disciplinary traditions used in celebrating the sacraments. Many Eastern Catholic Churches use the same Rite, although they are distinct autonomous Churches. For example, the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Melkite Catholic Church are distinct Churches with their own hierarchies. Yet they both use the Byzantine Rite.
To learn more about the "two lungs" of the Catholic Church, visit this link:
Aramaic, the language of Jesus, Mary and the Apostles, is the official liturgical language of the Maronite Catholic Church.
Its Patriarch, Bechara Boutros Cardinal Rai is a voting member of the conclave.
Also present as a voting member of the conclave is
Mor Baselios Cardinal Cleemis of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, that also retains Aramaic for the Consecration. Both were elevated at the "surprise" November consistory. When Cardinal Cleemis received the Vatican notification of his elevation to cardinal, here is how he responded.
On receiving the letter I straight away went to St. Peters Basilica, to Peters tomb and I knelt down and prayed. And then I spent an hour at the tomb of Blessed John Paul II, who in fact appointed me as bishop in 2001, at the age of 42. Then after praying the rosary there I went to St. Mary Major, this is a place that gives me a lot of consolation, strength and confidence where I can pray unnoticed by anyone.
The presence of both these cardinals in the conclave is a critical component in reminding the Latin Rite cardinals that the Catholic Church breathes with 2 lungs. They will no doubt raise their voices with regard to the catastrophic decimation of christians in the Holy Lands and Middle East. The Catholic Church is universal.
Your Maronite Liturgy sounds wonderful. I wish one of those Maronite Churches was close to me, but unfortunately there are only a few "English vernacular Mass" Churches near where I live now, and a couple of them might even be closed soon. On my own path into the Catholic faith, for a while I attended an Orthodox Church (not aligned with the Catholic Church). Their celebration of the "Divine Liturgy" proceeds with a lot of very beautiful and reverent music and chanting, and I think it was based on the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. The only place I saw the "Traditional Latin Mass" was on TV (EWTN) a while ago.
(By the way, I wish you could have my old house recognized as an historic landmark, and successfully write a couple grants for me for $500,000!) ☺
After Dr. Taylor Marshall wrote this original article, he got some feedback expressing a couple objections to his prediction, and he responded to those objections here: Dr. Taylor Marshall answers objections to his bold prediction.
He may or may not be right in his prediction, but it is at least interesting to read his take on it!
Thanks again, NYer, and thanks for all the posts-n-pings you do. They are sincerely appreciated.