First of all thank you to everyone who has pointed our readers in the direction of the unofficial English translations. I only want to publish the official translation if an when it comes out.
I'm sure my Brother Seminarians and Father Priests have been put under the same spotlight as I have today concerning my opinion of 'the Pope bringing back the Latin Mass'. And I am sure they gave the same answer as I did. The Pope has not 'brought back' the Latin Mass as it never went away to begin with, and I am completely on the Holy Father's side in this matter.
The most interesting thing I have found is that the only complaint my parishioners had is the use of Latin, there was no, 'Why does the priest have his back to the congregation?' or 'Why is it silent?' but simply, 'Why Latin?' And I explained that the Second Vatican Council stated Latin is to remain the language of the liturgy but the vernacular may be used for ease of the laity and that this means ordinary parish Masses should be in Latin - even in the New Rite - but weddings, funerals etc, which might be attended by non-Catholics should be in the vernacular so that the guests understand what is going on. I also pointed out that the most important parts of the Mass such as the Liturgy of the Word must be in the vernacular (I was especially interested to note that Pope Benedict has included this rule in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass) for the ease of the laity. Their reply to this every time was, 'Oh, I didn't know that.' They all thought the Council had banned Latin (as indeed I did once upon a time)! I even had this conversation at the table of a parishioner with the missionary priest saying our Masses today and they all - including the priest - gave the same reply.
A lot of catechesis is going to have to be provided in parishes concerning the Motu Proprio.
3 comments:
Thats interesting - over the weekend no-one in the Parish I work in mentioned it at all.
i expect so!
OC, I've only discovered your blog today, and have left a couple of comments on other (earlier) posts. I like what you are trying to do with this blog, but I really think you need to be a bit more accurate when you describe what the Pope (or the Church) actually teaches.
The Motu Proprio does not include any rule that the Liturgy of the Word "must" be in the vernacular. It says that that the readings "may be given" in the vernacular (Lectiones proclamari possunt etian lingua vernacula) [Art 6].
A Latin Rite priest in this or any other country can also licitly celebrate a Novus Ordo Mass, including the Readings, entirely in Latin. While there may be more compelling reasons to use the vernacular for the readings and other parts, there is no actual requirement. Check it out!
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