And, is there no point to be made that the Latin liturgy was largely incomprehensible to most people for over 1000 years?
I am not saying that there is nothing to be gained by vernacular. That would be silly. But the Church did get along just fine for a very long time with a liturgy that was mostly not understood aurally by the people.
I mean, really. If I could have a Latin ordinary every Sunday, I’d be in paradise. I’d shut up forever! =p
This is illogical, too. We are not those people.
People got along without toilets, antibiotics, tampons, canned food, electricity, computers, cell phones, cars, guns, etc. for 1000s of years, too. But I would NOT want to go back to those days! This is NOW, not THEN!
Nowadays, many people will not tolerate something that they don’t understand. Of course there are exceptions. There are always interesting people who love history, enjoy delving into history, re-enacting and/or re-creating history, going to historical inns and farms to experience life like it used to be, long for a return to the way things were in the past, etc.
But they are exceptions. Many people in this day and age have no interest in the past, and will simply walk away when they can’t understand something. That’s just the way modern people are. We aren’t the way people used to be. All of those modern innovations that I mentioned above have changed the way people are.
We have to deal with modern people differently than people in the past, not just make a general statement that people are the same as they have always been.
Obviously, we have the same need for God and the Church. I’m not saying that our spiritual requirements have changed. But the way we learn about and comprehend God has changed. What might have touched and inspired people in the past does not necessarily affect them positively today, because this is now, not then.
It’s easier for me to give an example from Protestantism. In the past (not so long ago–this happened 50 years ago when I was a child), an “altar call” with persuasive gospel music, pleading, and a line of deacons wrestling for the souls of the unsaved would have brought many people running forward in the church to “get saved.” Nowadays, most people would be completely offended and upset by an old-fashioned “altar call.” It simply doesn’t communicate the same message of hope to most people now. Instead, it communicates emotionalism, intolerance, and silliness to many people.
And as for giving people a translation to read while listening to a Mass in a foreign language–well, that would be useful to you and me, but keep in mind that many people in the developing countries are illiterate. In fact, even in the U.S., there is a fairly large population of people who are illiterate or who have difficulty reading anything past a sixth-grade level (e.g., a typical newspaper).
I hope this post makes sense to those reading this thread. I’m not condemning the Latin Mass for those who love it and find comfort and challenge in it. What I’m saying is that we can’t expect the Latin Mass to speak to all, just some.
