Advice : Restoration of The Latin Mass

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Our priests reintroduced the Latin mass last year by floating it’s time by 1 hour each week- so that no matter what mass you regularly went to, you would get the Latin mass once every 6 weeks. Everybody got a taste of it- and I heard many people remarking with surprise on how easy it is to learn the Latin with the help of the internet.

This year they switched it 11- our most attended mass, every week- no complaints!
 
I’d try to find a priest who knows enough Latin and has gotten some help from the FSSP. Or try to find an FSSP priest.
 
Reborn2013 said:
Not the lay man’s job to answer those questions. It is the role of the clergy. We don’t need to get into here all of the responsibilities that catholic priests have abdicated since V2. Figuring out how to get vestments and altar cards is not the role of the lay people.
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Unless the group is willing to spend and do the difficult stuff, they will not get their Latin Mass. That’s just the way it is.
 
willie_duggan said:
I am looking to get some advice from Traditionalists with regard to the restoration of the Latin Mass (TLM) in their parish church.
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Just for the record, some/many people are Traditionalists even if they don’t attend or request the TLM Mass.
Reborn2013 said:
Many of the faithful who live in rural areas or fly over country travel more than 40 miles to attend TLM. I think the “several dozen” of you should pick a date and just go. Maybe select a mass that coincides with a social event at the Latin mass parish, and attend that as well. The people there would welcome your group with open arms. It would be an awesome experience.

Keep going there as much as possible and get to know the priests, and let them know that your area is in need of a Latin mass parish. If he belongs to an order that is devoted to the Latin Mass they would work to get something in your town, if it makes sense, instead of rattling off the list of “gotcha questions” designed to squash your dreams, as listed by a prior member on this thread.
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That sounds like a great idea. I live near a major metro area and it takes around 30 minutes for me to get to a Latin Mass/TLM. In my area of the country, people drive quite a ways just to attend Mass, including 40 minutes each way or farther…every week, plus Obligations.
willie_duggan said:
For those in our parish who wish to attend TLM in the nearest parish involves an 80 mile round trip.
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How far do people drive to the movie? Grocery store? 3 gallons of gas=$10-$15, but car pooling could work. Also, what a great time to pray the Rosary before Mass! Granted, I am spoiled by having a Catholic parish every 10 minutes (non-Latin) or so, but I grew up without those options. While waiting for Confession last week, and it was an hour wait with 2 priests, I was thinking I should be willing to wait or make the trek even if it was a much longer wait; after all, who am I there for? I drive 20+ minutes for a weekday Mass that I enjoy attending, sometimes twice or more a week.
 
I’m thinking that you might run into some resistance from your parish priests, not because they’re “anti-TLM” or “modernists,” but because they don’t wish to lose parishioners.

If you can stay in your current parish and get a Latin Mass available to everyone in your parish, that would probably be the best for all and your priests would probably be much happier about that and perhaps more willing to work with you. I would try that approach. 🙂

But if you start talking about leaving to go a different parish where the Latin Mass is said–remember, you’re talking about 50 people leaving a parish! If your parish has several thousand people and it’s in a fairly well-off area, then that’s probably not going to hurt the parish much. But if you’re an average-sized parish (a few hundred faithful attendees), then 50 people leaving will hurt the parish, financially and otherwise. The priests may balk.

Just something to think about and be prepared for.
 
Cat said:
But if you start talking about leaving to go a different parish where the Latin Mass is said–remember, you’re talking about 50 people leaving a parish! If your parish has several thousand people and it’s in a fairly well-off area, then that’s probably not going to hurt the parish much. But if you’re an average-sized parish (a few hundred faithful attendees), then 50 people leaving will hurt the parish, financially and otherwise. The priests may balk.

Just something to think about and be prepared for.
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In my experience, many of those 50 will be back sooner or later, mostly because of the expenses and time involved in getting to a more distant parish every week. Not that they especially enjoy the closest parish but nevertheless the obligation is only for about an hour or so that they will put up with it. Just human nature.
 
ProVobis said:
In my experience, many of those 50 will be back sooner or later, mostly because of the expenses and time involved in getting to a more distant parish every week. Not that they especially enjoy the closest parish but nevertheless the obligation is only for about an hour or so that they will put up with it. Just human nature.
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I didn’t want to leave this as the last post on the thread. Please don’t get me wrong. I think if you can get 50 interested in witnessing an EF, that’s great. At least it’s planting seeds for the future. If you don’t try to do something, they’ll just assume no one is interested and the the EF will die of its own within your parish or diocese.
 
ProVobis said:
So you don’t think the early Christians held to some form of tradition or custom in their worship?
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If they did then it was Jewish tradition, if it wasn’t Jewish tradition that it was new and then became tradition.

One of the things, not the only one, that I like about the Mass in the vernacular is that one may hear something for the kazillionth time but hear it totally new in their heart since they understand the words.

I was an altar boy during the Latin Mass time and even tho I knew what to respond, I knew very little of what any of it meant, language wise.

To each his own but to me, it seems that the difference is between watching the Last Supper and participating in the Last Supper, Jesus did institute the Eucharist before He went to the cross.
 
Tom_Baum said:
If they did then it was Jewish tradition, if it wasn’t Jewish tradition that it was new and then became tradition.
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Well, the Romans and Greeks had pagan worships before Christ, so I imagine some of that ritual was carried over into the early Church. I have only my pastor as a source for this, though.
 
Tom_Baum said:
If they did then it was Jewish tradition, if it wasn’t Jewish tradition that it was new and then became tradition.

One of the things, not the only one, that I like about the Mass in the vernacular is that one may hear something for the kazillionth time but hear it totally new in their heart since they understand the words.

I was an altar boy during the Latin Mass time and even tho I knew what to respond, I knew very little of what any of it meant, language wise.

To each his own but to me, it seems that the difference is between watching the Last Supper and participating in the Last Supper, Jesus did institute the Eucharist before He went to the cross.
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It really depends on the person. Someone can grasp the emotion and feeling of something without fully knowing what it means, while another may not. In the same way, there’s also a tendency to get too caught up in the words when you understand them. It goes both ways.

and on the server thing. I actually like that the servers have a bigger role in the EF Mass. I feel like in the OF the servers don’t do much except hold/give stuff for/to the priest. Half the time it hardly even looks like they’re paying attention.
 
porthos11 said:
Also, the group must be prepared to do the spending and the legwork. They will need to be responsible for purchasing the EF-specific items, such as birettas, maniples, and the 1962 altar Missal. You will need to offer to buy the training DVD’s, take care of the altar servers’ training and organize a choir if you want High Masses.
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I’ve always thought that it was strange that those who ask for the TLM to be restored to a Diocese are supposedly expected to pay for all the items needed. I pose the questions…who took them in the first place? Were they sold…who got the money for them? Are many of these items stored somewhere? Who should know…the bishop? Obviously, the people did not take away the TLM and all that surrounded it. Who should be held accountable and who should pay for the restoration? I think the answer is obvious!!!
 
Silver_Thread said:
I’ve always thought that it was strange that those who ask for the TLM to be restored to a Diocese are supposedly expected to pay for all the items needed. I pose the questions…who took them in the first place? Were they sold…who got the money for them? Are many of these items stored somewhere? Who should know…the bishop? Obviously, the people did not take away the TLM and all that surrounded it. Who should be held accountable and who should pay for the restoration? I think the answer is obvious!!!
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Good questions, but let’s not forget that many churches (at least in the US) were built/rebuilt in the late 60s to present. These churches would have never celebrated the EF.
 
Obviously , one can tell the difference. I’m referring to so many that were dismantled , painted over so they would resemble protestant churches and maybe in time we’d become one big happy family. I’m addressing those that were all but torched and now we must once again restore the beauty that was lost. Our second collection last Sunday was for "Church Restoration: …:rolleyes:
 
Our local Latin Liturgy Assoc. has purchased the EF specific items for the Latin Rite Mass. They are available through the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. The monies were raised through various fund raisers; bake sales, 50/50, etc. We found that those who were truly interested in the Latin Mass restoration readily came forward for fund raising. One of our elementary schools is training students to be versed in the Latin Mass with the correct responses. We also have another priest in training for the Mass. We send out a Latin Liturgy Assoc. newsletter to keep all informed as well as networking to get the word out that a Trinitine Latin Mass is available. We have found that many young people are interested in the Latin Mass. Nurturing this interest is valuable in getting the word out.
Pax et Bonum
 
Silver_Thread said:
I’ve always thought that it was strange that those who ask for the TLM to be restored to a Diocese are supposedly expected to pay for all the items needed. I pose the questions…who took them in the first place? Were they sold…who got the money for them? Are many of these items stored somewhere? Who should know…the bishop? Obviously, the people did not take away the TLM and all that surrounded it. Who should be held accountable and who should pay for the restoration? I think the answer is obvious!!!
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I’m not making any arguments as to who and why. I’m just stating facts. If the group wants the Latin Mass, they will have to shell out the cash and the effort. That’s just the way it is. There is no shoulda and oughta. These questions, valid though they may be, are not going to be anything the priest cares about. They want their Latin Mass? Then they will have to work hard for it and make it as easy as possible for the priest to accommodate them. It doesn’t matter who you think “should” pay, even if the answer is “obvious.” The only fact of life is that the group who wants it will have to pay.
 
GangGreen said:
It really depends on the person. Someone can grasp the emotion and feeling of something without fully knowing what it means, while another may not. In the same way, there’s also a tendency to get too caught up in the words when you understand them. It goes both ways.

and on the server thing. I actually like that the servers have a bigger role in the EF Mass. I feel like in the OF the servers don’t do much except hold/give stuff for/to the priest. Half the time it hardly even looks like they’re paying attention.
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I agree with you, in the OF it appears the altar servers are not that participatory in the Mass. In the EF the altar servers were in action with the celebrants actions. And yes they had there responses down pat. I guess I never understood why people would say they didn’t understand the Latin. I remember using the old St. Joseph’s missal that had the Latin on one side of the page and the English on the other side. And even if the Gospel and Epistle were said in Latin, you had the English translation in the missal.

Pax et Bonum:bible1:
 
tawny said:
I agree with you, in the OF it appears the altar servers are not that participatory in the Mass. In the EF the altar servers were in action with the celebrants actions. And yes they had there responses down pat. I guess I never understood why people would say they didn’t understand the Latin. I remember using the old St. Joseph’s missal that had the Latin on one side of the page and the English on the other side. And even if the Gospel and Epistle were said in Latin, you had the English translation in the missal.

Pax et Bonum:bible1:
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The Gospel and Epistle were not said in Latin and neither was the Sermon.

I remember hearing the Gospel and Epistle being in English during the Latin Masses back then.

I was an altar boy and I had the “responses down pat”, doesn’t mean that I knew what these responses meant tho.

If you think that everyone had their “St. Joseph’s missal” and were following along, you have a nostalgia for something that was not quite as you think it might have been.
 
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