Latin: the universal language of the Catholic Church

Latin to return to the Mass...

"It was the will of the Eternal Father that one universal language be used along with, in comparison with, together with the language of the land. This universal language, Latin, befit and was chosen by the Eternal Father as a universal language for the universal Church, the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Paul VI, the successor of Peter....” – Our Lady of the Roses, April 10, 1976

www.washtimes.com More and more Catholics are longing for Latin, the language of scholars, Gregorian chant and the Mass.

Some say it's all part of the general trend back to the classics of Western civilization. All the Rev. Franklyn McAfee knows is that when he announced earlier this month he was starting up free Latin classes on Saturday mornings at St. John the Beloved Catholic Church in McLean, more than 70 parishioners packed the first session.

One parishioner, former federal Judge Robert Bork, a recent convert to Catholicism, got there early to ensure himself a seat in front of Marion Smedberg, a Latin instructor from Reston.

The others, fingering Latin binders with one hand and clutching coffee or a doughnut in the other, crammed their way into a small classroom to learn "Et cum spiritu tuo" ("And with your spirit") as a response to "Dominus vobiscum" ("The Lord be with you").

By the second Saturday, the class had moved to the parish hall for the more than 80 people who wanted to learn the ancient language. Their assignment: learn the basic prayers by March 1, the beginning of Lent. Starting March 5, the church's popular 10:45 a.m. Sunday Mass will be in Latin.

"I want to sell it," says Father McAfee, pastor of St. John's. "I want them to love it as [Pope Benedict XVI] has said they should because it's their tradition, their roots."

Fans of the rite, who include film star Mel Gibson, say the Latin Mass lifts the human spirit, evokes a sense of eternity and draws worshippers' attention to Christ.

The Latin Mass, whose use has only recently blossomed after two decades of being squelched by many church officials, was front and center last April during burial rites for Pope John Paul II.

"People who saw the funeral and installation [of Pope Benedict XVI] heard a language not in common usage today," says the Rev. Paul DeLadurantaye, who teaches an introductory Latin course for the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College in Alexandria. "They said it was different and unique.

"People want to connect with the richness of the tradition of the church. But many priests are not well-versed enough to celebrate a Mass in Latin, and it takes a lot of work to introduce Latin to people."

But it can be done, especially since the new pope enjoys chanting the Latin Mass and preaching in the language.

Language for the Eucharist first appeared in Greek, the earliest language of the church, but by the third century, North African Christians were using Latin in their liturgy. The Western church, comprising what would become Europe, adopted the Latin Mass.

In the 16th century, the Catholic Church established the Tridentine Mass, named after the Council of Trent, as the official version. It has since been set to music by Faure, Mozart, Bach, Schubert and Palestrina, and many of its terms ? such as "mea culpa," meaning "It's my fault" ? have become part of the fabric of Western culture.

This Mass remained the normative rite until after the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s, which allowed the Mass to be translated into the language of each country. The Tridentine Mass, although never forbidden by the Vatican, was squelched by many bishops until 1988, when Pope John Paul II ordered the rite revived.

Pope Benedict has said "great harm" came out of the speed in which the Mass went from one language to another in less than a decade, along with other changes in the rite.

"I am of the opinion, to be sure, that the old rite should be granted much more generously to all those who desire it," he said in his 1997 book "Salt of the Earth."

A newer Latin liturgy, the "Novus Ordo," also came out of the Vatican. That is the Mass St. John's parishioners are learning.

Father McAfee says one parishioner sent him a $10,000 check and another contributed $5,000 upon hearing Latin Masses are starting up.

"The younger people want to do it more than the older people," he says. "Converts are very open to it. Again, they want the whole thing. At St. Catherine's [his former parish in Great Falls], I converted two Jews because of that Mass."

St. John's will try the Latin Mass starting alternate Sundays. Other Latin Masses around the Arlington diocese include the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass at St. Catherine of Siena in Reston, first Sundays at St. Mary's in Alexandria, Wednesday nights at St. Andrew the Apostle in Clifton and first Fridays at St. Anthony mission in King George.

Moreover, first-graders and kindergarteners at two Catholic schools ? Our Lady of Hope in Potomac Falls and St. Veronica's in Herndon ? take mandatory Latin classes.

"When you worship God, you don't want to use something as common as street language, so you need to dress the language up," Father McAfee said. "It's like glossolalia ? speaking in tongues ? or it's like poetry and prose. The English Mass is prose, the Latin Mass is poetry. You need time to enter the words to understand their meaning.

"If a person's in love, and they have a choice between prose and a poem, they choose a poem. The liturgy is a love song between Christ and His church."

Now-deceased Arlington Bishop John R. Keating wrote a pastoral letter on reverence for the church that also encouraged the use of Latin, Father McAfee says.

"The younger priests are more apt to say it," he says. "They feel they've been cheated, and someone's taken away their heritage. But they're not teaching Latin in seminaries these days as much as they should be."

The awesome Bayside Prophecies... https://www.tldm.org/Bayside/default.htm
These prophecies came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995:

Latin To Remain As Universal Language...
"It was the will of the Eternal Father that one universal language be used along with, in comparison with, together with the language of the land. This universal language, Latin, befit and was chosen by the Eternal Father as a universal language for the universal Church, the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Paul VI, the successor of Peter.
    "Do you not understand, My children, that you were united in beauty, that you were united in understanding?
    "Because of the fall in Babylon, many new languages were given because of the sin of Babylon. Therefore, as a member of one country, My children, with a universal language, you carried with you your own country's translation, and were you to visit abroad, you could enter upon any foreign edifice, Church of My Son, and feel comfortable and in one with the man, the priest, the one chosen by My Son to represent Him in His House.
    "If you were, My child, to go from your United States to France, could you understand the words in French? But, My child, you would recognize the words in Latin and you would have your book with you to read in your American language, just as those in France could read in their French language, bringing upon the world a beautiful and common bond of language among all who have been given the grace to be called to the Roman Catholic Church of My Son.
    "Do not leave My Son's Church though, My children, because they have taken this language from among you. You must wait and persevere and weep with My Son for this defilement by man." - Our Lady, April 10, 1976

Directives from Heaven... https://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm

D1 - The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass PDF
D85 - Tradition PDF

Articles…

“Kneel before your God in the Eucharist”
https://www.tldm.org/News5/kneeling.htm

Vatican on kneeling for holy Communion
https://www.tldm.org/vatican%20letter.htm

The case for the Latin Mass
https://www.tldm.org/news5/latinmass.htm

Should women cover their heads in Church?
https://www.tldm.org/news6/veils.htm

Pope John Paul II recommends praying the St. Michael Exorcism
https://www.tldm.org/news6/exorcism.htm

Restore the high altar
https://www.tldm.org/news5/main%5Faltar.htm

"You cannot separate Tradition from your Faith"
https://www.tldm.org/news6/tradition1.htm

Vatican II, part 1: Infiltration of the Church
https://www.tldm.org/News6/VaticanII-1.htm

Vatican II, part 2: Dark clouds forming before Vatican II
https://www.tldm.org/News6/VaticanII-2.htm

Vatican II, part 3: the satanic revolution gains momentum at the Council
https://www.tldm.org/News6/VaticanII-3.htm

Links…

Why Latin? The Latin Mass Society of Ireland
http://indigo.ie/~colmgren/latsoc/template/latin_hist.htm

The Popes on the Latin language, Una Voce
http://www.unavoce.org/popes.htm

Pope John Paul II strongly encourages use of “immortal language”, Una Voce
http://www.unavoce.org/popelatin.htm

The Sacredness of Tradition, by Alice Von Hildebrand

Una Voce website
www.unavoce.org

We encourage everyone to print or email copies of this web page to all the Bishops and all the clergy. Also, email or send this web page to the news media and as many people as possible.

"My children, My little humble children, I appeal to you as your Mother, go forward on foot, knock on the doors; bring the light to your brothers and sisters. For those who have been given great grace, much is expected of them." - Our Lady of the Roses, May 26, 1976

"As disciples of the latter days, My children, much shall be asked of you, but I assure you: all that you give in faith and charity shall be returned to you threefold." - Jesus, June 1, 1978

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