Reflections on the Traditional Latin Mass

During the past ten years there has been a remarkable, an amazing revival of the traditional Latin Mass in this country. Over half of our dioceses now have regularly scheduled Latin Masses. And more are being added each year. The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is growing and cannot accept all the candidates who would like to join them in offering the traditional liturgy of the Latin Church.

In this issue we feature an article called “A New Look at the Old Mass” by a diocesan parish priest who each week offers both the English and the Latin Mass. His observations on the differences between the two are enlightening.

The dignity, solemnity, silence and sense of the sacred in the Latin Mass are obvious to anyone who has eyes to see. The author mentions, and I have had the same experience, how impressed and awed some Catholics are when they take part in the Latin Mass for the first time. For some men, I know, it has been the occasion for them to decide to study for the priesthood so they can celebrate that Mass. In the Latin Mass there are no “options” and therefore no need for a “liturgical committee.” Every move, down to the smallest detail, is prescribed by the rubrics or directions for offering the Mass. So there are no surprises for those attending this Mass, unless it happens in the sermon when the priest, like Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, touches their heart by a powerful presentation of the Gospel.

One aspect of the prayers of the traditional Latin Mass that impresses me is the number of references to sin, forgiveness, damnation and salvation. The traditional liturgy is very much aware of the weakness of human nature, man’s proneness to sin, and the fact that we all, with the exception of Jesus and his Mother, are sinners.

The introductory prayers at the foot of the altar are a cry for forgiveness and a statement of sorrow for sin. In the Kyrie Eleison we beg Father, Son and Holy Spirit to have mercy on us because of our sins. In the Hanc igitur before the consecration we ask to be “delivered from eternal damnation.” In the words of consecration of the wine Christ, through the words of the priest, says that his blood is shed for us “unto the remission of sins.” Also, the priest prays for himself and the clergy as sinners in the Nobis quoque peccatoribus towards the end of the Canon of the Mass.

The prayers before communion express several times the need for forgiveness and for the grace to save us from eternal damnation. Here we see that the traditional Mass takes the real possibility of our falling into mortal sin and going to hell for all eternity very seriously. In the “Our Father” we pray “deliver us from evil,” that is, from the devil, the evil one. Then we pray to be delivered “from all evils, past, present and to come” in the Libera nos. Again, in the Agnus Dei we plead with God to have mercy on us and to take away our sins.

The priest says three prayers before his communion. In each of them there is mention of sin and forgiveness. The second and third prayers ask never to be separated from the Lord, and the third one prays that through the body of Christ he might be spared judgment and condemnation.

Before the communion of the people the priest prays that God will have mercy on them and forgive them their sins ( Misereatur), and while making the sign of the cross says the same thing in different words ( Indulgentiam).

This is by no means a complete summary. The point is that the traditional liturgy is very aware of man’s sinfulness and begs over and over again for forgiveness and perseverance in the grace of God. The Latin Mass is permeated with the sense of the sacred. Those who attend it and know what is going on, love it and want to attend it as often as they can. In pointing out man’s sins and need for forgiveness the old Mass strikes home. Many people relate to it. That, I think, is one reason why it is coming back and attracting both young and old to worship God as the saints and our predecessors have for over 1500 years.

Kenneth Baker, S.J., Editor