How best to incorporate Latin into the Mass

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NewEnglandPriest said:
The English community is a bit older and some of them were receptive to it, the Spanish community on the other hand was nearly unanimous in having a negative reaction.
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Same thing at my local parish and it baffles me too, especially since the Spanish prayers seem to resemble the Latin much more than the English.
 
NewEnglandPriest said:
In theory its a great idea. In practice, not always. My parish is split pretty evenly between English and Spanish and there’s Masses in each language. I’ve floated the idea of using some Latin for the common parts (Gloria, Our Father, etc.) in the bi-lingual Masses on the few occasions we have them. The feedback was overwhelmingly negative. The English community is a bit older and some of them were receptive to it, the Spanish community on the other hand was nearly unanimous in having a negative reaction.
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I first learned the Latin OF Mass at a ‘split’ parish. It was my grandmother’s parish and we often took her to Mass on Sunday.

The parish was about half Hispanic and the rest was a mix of Irish and German. The Mass prior to Vat II was, of course, in Latin, and the pastor gave a mixed English\Spanish homily.

Everybody went to the same Masses.

After Vatican II, he simply switched to saying the ‘new’ Mass in Latin, with a mixed homily. And everybody continued to worship together.
 
Brendan said:
I first learned the Latin OF Mass at a ‘split’ parish. It was my grandmother’s parish and we often took her to Mass on Sunday.

The parish was about half Hispanic and the rest was a mix of Irish and German. The Mass prior to Vat II was, of course, in Latin, and the pastor gave a mixed English\Spanish homily.

Everybody went to the same Masses.

After Vatican II, he simply switched to saying the ‘new’ Mass in Latin, with a mixed homily. And everybody continued to worship together.
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If there is a tradition and history then its just “the way we’ve always done it.” Introducing it can be a bit pricklier…
 
ProVobis said:
Same thing at my local parish and it baffles me too, especially since the Spanish prayers seem to resemble the Latin much more than the English.
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I too was surprised by the negative reaction. A priest from Colombia told me that there’s still tension between the “native” Catholic traditions and “european” Catholic traditions in Latin America. Either way, I’m not about to tick off half my parish over this issue so we continue on with the regular “bi-lingual” Mass at the Easter Vigil.
 
NewEnglandPriest said:
I too was surprised by the negative reaction. A priest from Colombia told me that there’s still tension between the “native” Catholic traditions and “european” Catholic traditions in Latin America. Either way, I’m not about to tick off half my parish over this issue so we continue on with the regular “bi-lingual” Mass at the Easter Vigil.
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I don’t want to continue with this theme, but I really don’t see how Spanish is any less “European” than Latin. I would argue that it is more so, since it is an actively used language on the continent, whereas Latin hasn’t been used for over a thousand years. However, changing sentiments is difficult, no matter if they really make sense (I’m trying).
 
We are not a bilingual parish. However, our priest proposed doing these in Latin—Our Father, Creed, Agnus Dei, Sanctus. Sadly, the majority of our older parishioners and others fought him tooth and nail. Their main complaint—“We’re not going back.”

We ended up with a compromise—Agnus Dei, Sanctus in Latin only during Advent and Lent.

On occasion, we sing a Latin hymn. The complainers refuse to sing it.
 
The past 3 Lenten periods we have done the following:
Code: 
Entrance antiphon - Glory be - antiphon   >>   all in English
Kyrie -     Greek
Silent procession [no singing]
Sanctus - Latin
Amen  - ;)
Agnus Dei - Latin
Silent recession  [no singing]
We too had a few “not going back”, but more folks said…"brings back memories: with a fond look in their eyes.

One complained, “How would I know what is being said/sung?” Let’s see… hmmm … the mass is the mass, no matter what language. What follows what? Hmmm…

We also have done the English Chant mass during Advent.

While this may not seem like much of an improvement, it is a start. I may not live long enough for more Latin to be included here, but I can pray.
 
NewEnglandPriest said:
In theory its a great idea. In practice, not always. My parish is split pretty evenly between English and Spanish and there’s Masses in each language. I’ve floated the idea of using some Latin for the common parts (Gloria, Our Father, etc.) in the bi-lingual Masses on the few occasions we have them. The feedback was overwhelmingly negative. The English community is a bit older and some of them were receptive to it, the Spanish community on the other hand was nearly unanimous in having a negative reaction.
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People need to be reminded that the Church is not a democracy. This is a matter of obedience: First to our Holy Father in Rome, and also to our local Bishop and Pastor.

As others have pointed out: sensitivity is greatly needed in the reintroduction: Catechesis, Catechesis, Catechesis.

With the introduction of the new translation of the mass, the people and parishes where i have seen the worst reactions are those where the Catechesis that was required was minimal or absent. The same applies in the use of Latin.

As the GIRM says. The faithful should be familiar with the common responses and be able to say or sing them in Latin.
Those should therefore be the first place to start. For me: I started by learning the Angus Dei. and then the Our Father. the parish where I attend Sunday mass has most of the responses chanted in Latin to a traditional setting about once a month.
I also like the way the EWTN mass does things… they often use far more Latin than my parish does.
 
Disclaimer: this is just my reasoned opinion. I give my assent to the Church’s wisdom in all things.

Latin has pride of place and is praised as a beautiful language because, well, it has pride of place and is beautiful. It has been the Church’s mode of communication for centuries. It lends itself well to singing, I personally love to sing Latin in choir. There were good reasons for Latin attaining this pride of place many centuries ago. Those reasons may or may not be present any longer.

Given that the Church recognizes Latin in this special way, the current -practices- of the Church also have an inspired wisdom. There are good reasons the Mass, in actual practice, is said mostly in the vernacular. It is not simply a revolt against tradition as is so often suggested. What are those reasons? and what do they say about how we communicate with one another compared to centuries past? Are the same cultural factors in place as they were centuries ago? Since the Mass is Christ’s sacrifice for all people, isn’t there a wisdom in making that sacrifice more intelligible and approachable for a people that can read, write, print, speak, their own languages? So that they may be drawn to salvation?

In our parish, there are those who detest any traditional way of doing things. There are those who would like to go back. Our Spanish community has a cohesive identity they do not want to lose. Language is a big part of that for them. So, I personally would like Latin period, but I do not think it will be, ever, and I am not sure it would be a wise thing. So as the Church does, so I will accept.
 
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