I stumbled upon this blog post in our local newspaper today Schism or diversity in Catholic Church?. The part I want to address is the following...
In this Catholic diocese of Gaylord, there are two priests allowed to celebrate the Tridentine Mass, said in Latin. What is surprising to me is that there are a number of young Catholic families attracted to this ancient form. The appeal, apparently, is to the “mystery and sacredness” of the rite.
My youth was steeped in attending the Tridentine Mass, and, as an altar boy, I learned all the proper responses in Latin without a clue as to what they meant. Only after six years of courses in Latin, do I now understand the language, and prefer to read the Vulgate version of the New Testament in Latin (or a version in Greek) on my techie tablet privately, when not attending the vernacular liturgy. My concern is for those families who have little or no knowledge of the language used in the ancient rite.
While the author says "mystery and sacredness" is the reason, that's only part of it. There are many reasons my wife and I along with our young family attend the Latin Mass which I'll explain. I also want to clarify I do enjoy the Novus Ordo Mass and attend Mass in this form quite often.
One of the two priests mentioned above in the quote is the priest at Holy Rosary, a parish in the Diocese of Gaylord. We've had the privilege of learning the Tridentine Mass along with our priest (and the army of altar servers) as it was implemented in our diocese. Our priest has done a great job of explaining the differences between the Novus Ordo (Ordinary Form) and the Extraordinary Form of the Mass (Tridentine Mass or Latin Mass) and answering many questions from the faithful along the way.
I'll be the first to admit, I don't know much Latin. I've memorized some of the prayers and responses but frequently use the Latin/English guide to follow along. My kids have picked up the prayers/responses and recite some of them better than I do. Do they know what each prayer or word means. No, not yet. Do they know which each prayer or word means in English. No, not yet. So we're working on that. With the ability to follow along and to know and watch what the priests and servers are doing, the Tridentine Mass is beautiful to participate in. My oldest will be in 3rd grade next year and Latin will be part of her curriculum next year as she is introduced to the language.
Kneeling for Communion. This has become a big issue for me, as the more I learn and read about our Catholic Faith, the more I realize this is the way communion should be received. On the tongue while kneeling is the only way to receive Holy Communion at the Latin Mass. Our parish priest offers kneelers at all masses now, so that is really great. I didn't understand kneeling if there were no kneelers present, but I've prayed about it and now understand better. Pope Benedict XVI has said the proper way to receive communion is kneeling. The Holy Father's reasoning is simple: "We Christians kneel before the Blessed Sacrament because, therein, we know and believe to be the presence of the One True God." Read the article.
Music is another reason I prefer attending the Latin Mass. Our choir and organist spend many hours working on traditional songs and chant to provide music that helps you pray and to glorify the Lord. At our parish some of our choir members participate in the Latin and Novus Ordo choirs, so we generally have very traditional sacred music. Other parishes I've attended or been a member of the music can be a major distraction and you never know what kind of song is coming next.
Modesty in Dress. I've noticed in the years I've been attending the Latin Mass with my family that others who attend are dressed modestly and wearing their Sunday best. In my opinion, it's a big difference from the other masses that can usually consists of jeans, t-shirts, shorts, and other clothes more suited for the beach. I find myself less distracted at mass because of this and it gives my young children good examples of proper dress and modesty.
As far as the author's concern for the families attending the mass, many of the families are teaching their children Latin and are working hard and getting involved in the Mass being altar servers and/or choir members. Our parish priest has been teaching Latin to junior high/high school students and adults so they learn the language. I attended a class last week, as he does invite beginners, and I was very impressed at what the kids know.
I also like the consistency of the Latin Mass. I've seen it performed by at least a half dozen different priests over the last few years with very minor changes to the Mass itself. Now compare that to the Novus Ordo Masses and I think you can guess my answer. Now granted I know this wasn't always the case and there were many liturgical abuses before Vatican II happening with the Tridentine Mass, but I'm just telling you about my experience.
So in my opinion, the Latin Mass is good for the Catholic Church. Our parish has seen an increase in members as well as seminarians and religious vocations and I don't think it's a coincidence it's been since our parish has offered the Tridentine Mass.
26 users commented in " Why I like the Latin Mass "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI like your explanation of why you like the Traditional Mass. I've said the same thing to others on many occasions in regard to the music, the reverence, and the abundance of young families, but sadly many people do not get it. It makes me so glad to hear something like this, though, and it serves as a lot of encouragement to know that there ARE others with the same views.
I'll be visiting Holy Rosary in a few weeks as a guest organist for the Latin Mass, so perhaps you'll see me there. Who knows, you may already know who I am since I attend Mass there twice a year.
OrganVirtuoso
Thanks for reading and for the nice comments OrganVirtuoso. Maybe we'll you see you this summer!
Whenver you write about your parish, it makes me miss Michigan, and long for a parish life similar to yours.
Deo Gratias!
Thanks for reading Joe! We are thankful for the many blessings at our parish. I'll keep you and your family in my prayers.
Hey Jeremy!
I skimmed the article after reading the quote above. The first line of the blogger was ridiculous!!! There are 2 priests in the diocese ALLOWED (?) to celebrate the T-mass??? Someone hasn't been listening to our dear Holy Father! It has been made clear by him more than once that ANY priest who wishes is ALLOWED to celebrate the mass. I think it shows that this "educated" man may need to brush up on a few things catholic. Unfortunately this is the "catholic" view put forth in the local news paper. I encourage you to respond to the article through the paper. You are an excellent writer and your points are very good!
Very good points lovethetmass. Thanks for reading and I'll put a response together!
Lovethemass...You, like Jeremy, are not a canon lawyer, nor, I doubt, have you read Summorum Pontificum and the accompanying letter to bishops. It is arrogance calling my comments ridiculous.
Please read Art. 5. of Summorum: §.1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical
tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of
the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonises with the
ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392,
avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church."
Also, from Benedict's letter to bishops, note the following paragraph on page 22 of the link that follows: "In conclusion, dear brothers, I very much wish to stress that these new norms do not in any way lessen
your own authority and responsibility, either for the liturgy or for the pastoral care of your faithful. Each
bishop, in fact, is the moderator of the liturgy in his own diocese.
"Nothing is taken away, then, from the authority of the bishop, whose role remains that of being
watchful that all is done in peace and serenity...." Check http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/bclnewsletterjune07.pdf.
It's comments from people like you that create division and display your ignorance.
Jeremy...It's interesting to me that Scripture advises that wives should be submissive to their husbands. From the group you belong to, it seems the reverse is true. The wives seem to make most of the decisions when it comes to dress, where to worship, and what school or not to attend. That you find "lovethemass" reply as containing "very good points" makes me wonder what you really know about the Catholic Church, except a very narrow traditionalist viewpoint. I don't doubt your sincerity, but you really do a better job at blogging about sports.
The good points I referred to was the "allowed" (which I think we've settled on your post on the RE) and the fact that I should reply. I don't see how that questions what I know about the Catholic Church.
What is this group I belong to? I am in a Fatima Family Apostolate (http://www.fatimafamily.org) that meets once a month to pray a holy hour. Other than that, not sure what you mean. If there is a group that is traditional, conservative, and Catholic, well yes, I'm in that one. My life sounds nothing like the group you're talking about.
I do respect your education Mr. Hahnenberg, but I also disagree with some of your opinions about Catholic Education, Homeschooling, and obviously the Latin Mass.
Thanks for reading my sports blog!
I read the back and forth between you and the other blogger on the Record Eagle website. I think he needs to learn not to judge people who wear long skirts or veils and realize that there are people under them. Why does it bother people to see women wearing skirts? I find it much more disturbing to see men wear them :o)!
I wonder if Ed Hahnenberg is aware of Universae Ecclesiae, in which priests are given full permission to say the Traditional Latin Mass without asking permission of their bishops? I think the clarification was partially meant for those bishops who were still abusing their authority in actively trying to prevent the TLM, even after Summorum Pontificum.
Ed, I've never read any of your writings beside what has been shown here, but from the little I have seen, I think I'm pretty safe in saying that you don't have a clue what you're talking about. And yes, I've worked in various Catholic churches, so I'm not an ordinary "ignorant" layman!
Lovethemass...Your quote "I think he needs to learn to judge people, etc." might just apply to your unkind remarks about my RE blog, calling my first line "ridiculous" and taking a shot at my "education." For your info, I have a BA in philosophy, an MA in Scripture, another in education, and an Ed.S. in educational administration. I have published 12 books http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=edward+j+hahnenberg&x=14&y=19 available at Amazon...11 of which are on Church history or theology. I have been a teacher and administrator in both Catholic and public schools. I have taught religion to or been principal of many of Jeremy's friends, so I have some idea of the local social and religious clique they belong to.
I have no idea what you are referring to in your last line with smiley face attached...no, you wouldn't be referring to those men and boys who wear the alb....
Jeremy wants to be a force for good in Catholicism. I respect that. However, he needs either to take some courses in contemporary Catholic theology, or better yet, a BA in theology, and get out of the pre-Vatican II mentality that infects some of his associates.
OrganVirtuoso...Not a clue? Read above. I have also been an organist for 25 years, learning my trade at Baltimore's St. Mary of the Assumption's Basilica. I have more training (six years) in Gregorian chant than you'll ever have. I have written a hymnal, "Songs of Joy." If you only have a cursory knowledge of what you are talking about yourself, you wouldn't be judging me...how many courses in Canon Law have you taken? Can you read any directive from the Vatican in Latin as I do? Your "holier than thou" attitude is partly what irritates me. I lived through Vatican II, was a seminarian for 8, and see a minor schism taking place in the church you will be playing for.
Jeremy...Tell your friend OrganVirtuoso to go to the link I gave you in the RE post....As to the issue of priests not needing a bishop's permission to celebrate the TM, go to http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/b... and read question no. 3 and its answer. You did not read what I wrote above ...."with congregation." So, as long as the Mass is not celebrated with a congregation, a priest who is qualified, may do so...and members of the faithful may attend. However, if the Mass is advertised in a way as to invite the general congregation or parish, then the priest must be suitably qualified for and not prohibited by any
impediments to the celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Missale Romanum. This means he must have
the minimum knowledge and ability required for a legitimate use of the extraordinary form. That is determined by the local bishop or his designee. In that sense the local bishop has the authority to allow or disallow the TM to be celebrated as a public event.
As for your apparent ignoring canon law on the education of your children (canon 798), I take it you know better than the discipline of the Church.
Maybe Ed should read what Dr. Ed Peters, Canon Lawyer, has written on Canon Law and homeschooling here: http://www.canonlaw.info/a_homeschooling.htm
Thanks for your concern Mr. Hahnenberg. I am studying and reading often about the Catholic Faith and while I might not end up with a BA in Theology (I'm more of a computer guy), I don't take lightly my job of raising my family to be great saints.
As far as ignoring Canon Law in regards to education, I'll share this link from a father who home schools and also happens to be a Canon Lawyer - http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/education/ed0224.html
As far as having a pre-Vatican II mentality, I attend both forms of the Mass regularly, attend adoration when I can, read about the great saints in our church history, and teach my kids the Catholic faith. I've always thought of myself as a Roman Catholic who wants to be a Soldier of Christ.
I found another one by a Canon Lawyer who homeschooled. http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/education/ed0224.html
"I offer this argument as an assurance to Catholic home-schooling parents, and other honest seekers, that the decision to home school is fully in line with Church teaching and with canon law. "
Jeremy...I realize theologians, priests, and even bishops have given their blessing to homeschooling and the link you provided is typical of theological opinion. Canon 798 allows for many exceptions, such as financial inability to pay tuition, travel distance, inadequate or questionable religion teachers, etc.
My concern is that those parents who homeschool are not trained teachers, either in the faith or in the multiple subjects offered in secondary schools.
What is sad is that you have a K-12 Catholic school virtually in your backyard and dozens of children with whom you associate are being deprived of a Church-suggested path to follow.
The army of altar servers at your parish may turn into priests, but I wonder how they will relate with those in the world, so narrow is their educational experience.
I will end this discussion, proud of all 8 of my children spending 27 years in our local Catholic school...strong Catholics all.
Mr. Hahnenberg,
Re-read all your posts here and I think you'll find out who really is posting in an arrogant tone. You do not know my level of education, so it's not safe to assume anything. I know a priest who bragged to me about his twelve years of seminary and used that to back up something he was saying that was clearly heretical. It's not the years in training, but how one was trained and how one puts it to use.
Speaking of education, perhaps you've been lucky to actually have a decent Catholic school, but where I am from, the Catholic schools turns out a bunch of nice little Protestants. The faith is something that is needed so much more than being taught by "trained teachers" and children do not get that at schools around here, hence the need for homeschooling.
‘...If you want them (your kids) to lose their Faith send them to a Catholic School.’
-Archbishop Fulton Sheen
"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 18:3-4. There are so many great saints without ever having gone to school, Catherine of Sienna or Bernadette, I don't think could even read. They are teaching so much to the whole church. I thank the Good God for their wonderful examples. I am glad that you don't need a fancy degree to be Catholic and I appreciate your blog Jeremy. Stay humble!
Ed It is a very sad day when someone with so much education is so against change. to me just reading all the blogs it seems to me that you are what is wrong with many of you cafeteria Catholics you are afraid of change and of those how are trying there best to live there faith. And many good and bad people have published books that doesn't make you a authority on the teachings of the catholic church, so do use all a favor keep studying the stars and leave the worship of God to use "crazy" Catholics. And by the way if you would ever come to the local Latin mass you would see all the next generation of good and holy priest that don't forget, it's the priests that bring you Jesus. I will pray for you and may God bless you all
My fear is that those who are trained teachers are the ones teaching my children about the faith and as you can see by Ed comments that is very scary.
Concerned Dad, lovethemass, OrganVirtuoso, Jules 5 .... and all you wonderfully gentle souls who pounce on mainline Catholics like myself....
To all of you I say "Have a great day." As for me and those ordinary Catholics who support Catholic schools, are enlightened by the teachings of Vatican II, who read Canon 979 for what it means, who are life-long learners and read current theology...go your way and pray for unity. It isn't happening with the vitriol I have read above...which proves my point of the original RE blog.
I bow out of this discussion and leave you to the guidance of the St. Pius X society and its notorious founder.
I don't understand the lumping together of responses. I don't see where Jules said anything about the Latin mass, just homeschooling. It is really unfair to lump all people who don't agree with you into a "group" and label them as a schism.
lovethemass...Instead of "skimming" what Jeremy posted, read the ENTIRE BLOG I wrote for the Record Eagle. Remember, you were the first to pounce on me about priests & the TM. After reading Jeremy's comments, we are in agreement about that issue. My blog spent a lot of time explaining the splits occurring within the Anglican Church before I got into what I fear is causing a split in the Catholic. Here's the entire blog that Jeremy found a scab to pick at:
Schism or diversity in Catholic Church?
Posted on June 5, 2011 by Ed Hahnenberg
We see it happening in various Christian denominations — the faithful not only questioning the faith traditions they were brought up in, or shopping around for different pastoral leadership, or even abandoning attendance at Church services altogether.
Overall church membership in the U.S. dropped by 1 percent last year, settling at 145.8 million. Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, and Presbyterian congregations saw their memberships fall by more than 1 percent. The nation’s largest Protestant group, the Southern Baptists, experienced a 0.42 percent decline.
However, in this post, I would like to focus on two branches of Christianity, more alike than not, and examine some of the issues involving evolving views of their traditions. I refer to the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican (or Episcopalian) Church.
The split in the Anglican Church has been a long time in the coming, but it has now become irrevocable. The turning point was a decision this July to support the ordination of women bishops. The issue, like the acceptance of gay priests, has been too much for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to handle.
Five bishops left the Anglican Church to become Roman Catholics. They are taking with them an unknown number of congregants, probably so far only in the hundreds. But whole parishes are likely to convert, bringing into question ownership of property, including church buildings and vicarages. Pope Benedict XVI had set up a mechanism known as an Ordinariate to receive them, which allows married men to be Catholic priests. The five Anglican bishops were ordained Catholic priests recently.
Enthusiasts are claiming that the Protestant Reformation is reversing, and Catholicism will undo the work of Henry VIII and reclaim its status as the church in England. The Episcopal Church shows a continued drop in the church’s membership, attendance and offerings indicative of the continuing downward slide that the church has been on for decades.
In the U.S., Roman Catholics, the nation’s largest Christian denomination, grew 1.49 percent to 68 million members, but in Germany, native country of Pope Benedict XVI, 2010 saw a jump in the number of walkouts. German authorities easily track the numbers, because members pay a church tax, unless they formally leave the congregation.
Official numbers from the seven archbishoprics and 20 dioceses have not yet been released, but data acquired by AP show an increase in dropouts ranging from 19 per cent in Magdeburg, to more than 60 per cent in diocese of Passau and Wuerzburg in the pope’s homeland.
What is causing all of this? Let’s take the Anglican situation first.
Last August, in London, 15 Anglican bishops belonging to Forward in Faith, the largest Anglo-Catholic group in the Church of England, admitted that the Anglo-Catholic faction of the church could not decide collectively what course of action to take.
They said members faced a range of options in response to the mid-July vote by the General Synod, the church’s national assembly, to create women bishops by 2014 without meeting demands of objectors.
Describing themselves as bishops “united in our belief that the Church of England is mistaken in its actions” they wrote to more than 1,300 Anglo-Catholic priests and deacons who, in June 2008, registered their opposition to women bishops in an open letter to Anglican leaders.
In the U.S., representatives of formerly Episcopalian parishes met in 2009 to unify as a new national church: the Anglican Church in North America. The group adopted laws that will exclude women and homosexuals as bishops. It elected and installed former Episcopal Bishop of Pittsburgh Robert Duncan as archbishop.
I am going to take a moment here to explain what might be confusing to some — what the difference is between an Anglican and an Episcopalian. In order to really get this, you first have to know a bit about the history behind the church.
In the sixth century the Catholic Church arrived in England through missionaries from Rome and Ireland. This church grew and spread and was an integral part of the wider Catholic (“universal”) Church communion. In the sixteenth century during the Reformation, the church in England declared itself independent from Rome under Henry VIII and then in 1570 Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I. The church in England then became “The Church of England,” an entirely separate church from Rome, and later was referred to simply as the “Anglican Church” (from the word “Anglo”).
Anglicans settled in many countries throughout the world and were among the first to settle in North America shortly after the Puritans arrived. However, when the Revolutionary War occurred in North America, the U.S. declared its independence from England and American Anglicans quickly changed their name to “Episcopalians” in order to avoid persecution and obvious ties to England. “Episcopal” simply means “to have bishops” but Episcopalians remained and still are Anglicans today.
Another point of confusion is that Anglicans are not always classified as “Protestant.” Instead, they are sometimes referred to as Anglican Catholics. Many people are confused by the similarities they see between Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Obviously these similarities are due to their common roots and heritage (since they used to be the same church), but Anglicanism was heavily influenced by the Protestant Reformation and this accounts for some significant differences in theology and approach.
An Anglican worship service or “mass” is almost identical to a Roman Catholic service except for a few minor differences. The most obvious difference is the fact that most Episcopalians ordain women to the Diaconate, Episcopate, and Priesthood, unlike the Roman Catholic Church.
But many other differences exist between Roman Catholics and Anglicans as well. For example, all Anglicans allow their clergy to marry and celibacy is never mandated for clergy unless they are under Religious vows as a monk or nun. Many Episcopal Dioceses (not all) ordain homosexuals and bless homosexual unions. While Anglicans respect the Papacy, they are not under Papal authority and take a more democratic approach.
The upshot of all of this is that there is schism occurring in the Anglo branch of Christianity. However, the Roman Catholic Church is not immune to present movements that make one wonder if there is something of a schism occurring in the Church of Rome.
Germany has long been a cradle of religious thought and agitation for reform, stemming from Martin Luther in the 1500s up to today’s outspoken Swiss-born Vatican critic, Hans Küng. The pope himself, before moving to Rome, taught theology at German universities. It is interesting to note that Benedict XVI was a colleague of Fr. Hans Küng. At Küng’s instigation, the Catholic faculty at Tübingen appointed the future pope as professor of dogmatics.
While in the seminary during Vatican II, I heard Küng speak in Baltimore in 1963. I distinctly remember his use of the word “unfreedom” with which he characterized the theological atmosphere in the Catholic Church prior to the Council. Considered something of a hero by my fellow seminarians, in 1962 he was appointed “peritus” (skilled) by Pope John XXIII, thus serving as an expert theological adviser to members of Vatican II until its conclusion in 1965.
However, in the late 1960s, Küng became the first major Roman Catholic theologian to reject papal infallibility. Consequently, in 1979, he was stripped of his missio canonica, his licence to teach as a Roman Catholic theologian, but his priestly functions remained intact and is still a priest “in good standing.” His former colleague, Benedict, had a discussion with him in 2005 about Catholic theology over dinner surprising some observers.
However, in April 2010, he published in several newspapers an open letter to all Catholic bishops. In the letter he criticized Pope Benedict’s handling of liturgical, collegial and inter-religious issues and also the sexual abuse scandals that have engulfed the Catholic Church. In the letter, he called on bishops to consider six proposals, ranging from speaking up and working on regional solutions to calling for another Vatican council.
Many German theologians apparently agree with Küng. They and others have aired their discontent in a series of petitions to church leaders demanding changes to include more transparency, ending priestly celibacy and allowing women’s ordination.
Margit Becker, who lives on the outskirts of Augsburg with her husband and two children, is one of thousands of German Catholics who feels disconnected from and disillusioned by the church. Becker, in her early 50s, said her generation followed the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s — in which the pope, then Joseph Ratzinger, took part. The council changed everything from the role of lay people to the direction priests face while celebrating Mass and inspired a young generation with hope for a more open church. Yet Benedict has revived some traditions and prayers that had been largely abandoned since Vatican II, disappointing many in his homeland.
One of the revisions to an age past has been Benedict’s decision to allow the reinstatement of the Tridentine Mass. The format of the ancient Mass came from Pius V after the Council of Trent in 1570. The form of the Mass was updated in 1962 by Pope Paul VI and the Tridentine Mass was abrogated.
This led to a true schism — called the Traditionalist Movement — led by Archbishop LaFebre, a soft-spoken, stubborn Frenchman, who was excommunicated in June 1988 for consecrating four bishops to help carry on his battle to return to a Latin Mass and to preserve other practices rejected in the wake of the ecumenical council Vatican II.
In this Catholic diocese of Gaylord, there are two priests allowed to celebrate the Tridentine Mass, said in Latin. What is surprising to me is that there are a number of young Catholic families attracted to this ancient form. The appeal, apparently, is to the “mystery and sacredness” of the rite.
My youth was steeped in attending the Tridentine Mass, and, as an altar boy, I learned all the proper responses in Latin without a clue as to what they meant. Only after six years of courses in Latin, do I now understand the language, and prefer to read the Vulgate version of the New Testament in Latin (or a version in Greek) on my techie tablet privately, when not attending the vernacular liturgy. My concern is for those families who have little or no knowledge of the language used in the ancient rite.
I do not know where this is all leading in the Catholic tradition. This Advent, the Catholic Church in the U.S. will begin implementation of a new Roman Missal. Texts used at Mass, such as the Gloria, Creed, and Holy Holy, will have revised English translations from those presently used. Will this create splinter groups? I trust and hope not.
Meanwhile, the Tridentine Mass in Latin will also be available for those who desire the older rite. Diversity can be a blessing, but as groups of Catholics or Anglicans coalesce around this or that developing tradition, it can make it all the more difficult for Christ’s prayer of unity at the Last Supper to become reality “.. that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:21
I'm closing comments on this post. Thanks for sharing opinions and links, I hope everyone learns something from it.