Sunday, November 18, 2007

Latin in the Seminaries

Will the Latin Mass be taught in the seminaries? According to Rorate Caeli, the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" will soon publish an order addressed to seminaries "in which it is required that the celebration of the Latin Mass be taught to future priests." Share

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

It all comes full circle. The day after my marriage in 1961 to a Roman Catholic, I attended my first Catholic Mass which was totally in Latin. It seemed like half the congregation participated using their missal which had one page in Latin and the other page in English, but many just prayed the rosary and never looked at the missal. I found this fascinating compared to the Protestant church which I attended where the Congregation fully participated in all the prayers and sang all the hymns with great gusto. This is just an observation, not a criticism. I am now a Catholic and could never conceive of returning to a Protestant church.

elena maria vidal said...

I think the original intention of the council was to encourage people to pray the Mass, and to enter more deeply into it, united with their brothers and sisters in Christ. The Vatican Council documents say nothing about getting rid of Latin, merely introducing the use of vernacular to parts of the Mass.

Christine said...

I suppose it depends on what one means by "fully participated." The participation in the Traditional Latin Mass is supposed to be far deeper than mere singing or vocal prayer; it is supposed to be a mystical union in prayer with the priest towards Christ. This is why Pope St. Pius X asked that the faithful "pray the Mass." (Incidentally, praying the Rosary during Mass is not encouraged by the Church.) Some souls who don't say a word during Mass may be participating more fully and more spiritually than those who sing every hymn "with great gusto." It's impossible to judge from mere external observation.

elena maria vidal said...

Yes, Christine, so true! You get no argument from me.

Anonymous said...

I pray this is true. Latin prayers would unify our worship in a beautiful way. I would love to be able to travel anywhere and bring my missal and understand the Mass.

Anonymous said...

The Seminary of the Archdiocese of New York is already implementing the Motu Proprio. However, this should come as now surprise since Cardinal Egan has always been faithful to the Holy Father.

Sanctus Belle said...

This is very good news!!