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Promote Latin Mass
I WELCOME Pope Benedict XVI’s
decision to ease restrictions on the use of the Latin Mass. The
Vatican, in fact, has never called for the elimination of Latin.
The pope’s decision, therefore, is meant to foster a more
comprehensive and profound understanding of the church’s liturgy.
Latin is the official language of the Catholic church. It is a
“dead” language that prevents church liberals from translating
words into the vernacular using ambiguous terms that undermine
church doctrine such as the use of inclusive language.
Perhaps, the greatest advantage of the Latin Mass, then, is that
it is not open to the numerous abuses presently experienced on a
regular basis with the new Mass.
The universality of Latin makes it conducive to all believers
experiencing more fully the mystery of the Mass. It imbues a
heightened reverence and sense of the sacred. It compliments well
the Latin rites’ traditional Gregorian chant with its moving
meditative cadence that touches the depths of the soul.
The Tridentine Mass is also more uniform and consistently Catholic
in its theological and Christian-cultural aspects.
The pope has previously mentioned, for example, how in the new
Mass the “turning of the priest toward the people no longer opens
out on what lies ahead and above (but) has turned the community
into a self-enclosed circle”.
Both the priest and people should be facing the east.
The Eucharist is the all encompassing source and summit of
Christian life.
A wider implementation of the Latin Mass would no doubt be an
effective means of both preserving the church’s faith and
identity, while at the same time allowing it to carry out its
mission of evangelisation.
I hope the pope’ new directive will encourage bishops to actively
and aggressively promote the Latin Mass.
Paul Kokoski
Hamilton, Canada
 
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