How far do you take Latin in your Catholic life?

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I would have to vote other. I am perfectly capable of saying a rosary in Latin but I would have to point out that even before Vatican II the rosary was said in the vernacular. Latin is used in corporate worship. It is unifying. I spent a month in Spain courtesy of Uncle Sam and had no problem going to Mass in Latin. Europe was a lot slower to adopt the NO in the vernacular than we were.

My cathedral parish gets a lot of French tourists. Not only do they stand during the Eucharistic Prayer, you can see they are “eyeballing” us like “What in God’s name are these people doing?” And we, in turn, are asking the same question. Forty-five years ago it wouldn’t have been a problem. One Mass, one language.
 
The better my Latin gets, the more I use it. Since I’m not able to get to daily Mass I use my '62 missal by praying all the propers for the day, and I try to do it all in Latin, only checking up on my understanding for the more difficult prayers. I’m slowly working on expanding my repertoire of rote prayer, as well.
 
I don’t know anything about Latin. When I pray, I pray in English, Vietnamese, or just silence. I like to attend non-Latin mass.
 
I don’t know Latin but I’m learning basic prayers (Pater Noster, Ave Maria, Gloria, Confiteor, Tantum Ergo, Credo, Salve Regina…). Once I know all the basic ones I might take it to another level. I sometimes use it when praying Our Father or Hail Mary or when saying Glory be. But it’s not like I pray in Latin. As far as Latin mass goes, I don’t attend one unless you count special occasions. It is very inconvenient for me. Maybe in a couple of years. And I end up going to a seminary, survive it and get ordained then I will try to say as many masses in Latin as possible - just for you! ;). Sometimes it’s hard with people who get rash when they hear Latin and you just have to consider them as well. But I think the times are changing. 👍
 
While I can say the Rosary in Latin I normally say it in English which after all these years has really become my language. Sometimes, I will say a decade of the Rosary in Latin. In Mass, I usually say the Confiteor, Gloria, Creed and Domine non sum Dignus in Latin as well as the responses. The rest I usually pray in English.
 
For those weeks when I’m fortunate enough to attend the Latin Mass and am not prevented by a visiting parent in a wheelchair who needs a more accessible church close to my house, or long-distance travels which take me mostly to English-language Mass parishes, or thruway closure due to road construction on Sunday morning … (only in Cleveland, eh?) …

Sorry for rambling, now I’ll answer the question. When I DO go to Latin Mass, I make sure to take with me the photocopied Propers for that day to read over later, and sometimes throughout the week, bits of Latin sung by the choir will come back to me as I go about my day.

I also like the Hail Mary in Latin.

Having visited Fatima, Portugal, and having heard Jesus referred to as “Senhor Jesus” which I think was Portuguese but sounds just like Spanish “Señor Jesús”, I’m likely to include this in praying sometimes, and have once called on Mary in the Portuguese version of her title of “Our Lady of Fatima” … “Nossa Senhora da Fátima”.

Having studied three years of Latin in high school, am sure Latin also helps at work, where as part of my job I proofread manuals in Italian, Spanish, French, German, and sometimes Polish, Hungarian, and Portuguese. Am decidedly better able to handle the Romance languages than German or Eastern European … Fortunately we work closely with a professional translation company.

~~ the phoenix
 
Voted “other.”

I’m comfortable with many prayers in both languages - which language I use depends on which language I learned the prayer in first.

I say most of my private prayers in English, but I’m more comfortable with the Mass (Pauline) in Latin since I learned it in that language first.

Oddly, when I was taught the Angelus at school they would have us say the Hail Mary’s in Latin- so I say them in Latin still when I pray it privately.
 
I don’t know a lot of the Latin pronunciations, but learning little by little. I probably cross myself in Latin and English equally often. Funny thing is I don’t know a single prayer in my mother tongue.
 
I sometimes do my Rosary in Latin. At Mass, since I am the head altar server for the TLM, and am always in the sanctuary,I make all the responses. When I say my private prayers, I often start with: In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen: in stead of In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
 
I pray the entire Rosary in Latin with the exception of the Pater Noster and the Apostle’s Creed. Once I get those down, I’ll probably pray the entire Rosary in Latin. I also pray the Angelus in Latin.
 
This non-theologian will venture a reply. I have no problem with saying the Rosary or other daily prayers in the vernacular. I do believe - that one of the main reasons for retaining Latin in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is to avoid mis-translations. As I recall during the early arguments about Novus Ordo changes to vernacular, one of the main disputes was that translation to English might change the meaning (“pro multis” - many? all? ) during the Consecration.

That’s my uneducated guess,
Conservative
 
God can understand me in whatever language I use. Otherwise He wouldn’t be God. Therefore I feel no pressure to learn Latin.
 
goofyjim said:
God can understand me in whatever language I use. Otherwise He wouldn’t be God. Therefore I feel no pressure to learn Latin.
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I agree with this, but the Church has stated that it is important for the faithful to be able to pray in Latin. I think it is a good practice, and a tradition that should be held on to. The Church is clearly also in agreement here. The Church doesn’t think you should have to pray in Latin all the time, but that you should be able to recite some basic prayers in Latin at Mass, and occasionally in private prayer too.
 
SemperFidelis said:
I agree with this, but the Church has stated that it is important for the faithful to be able to pray in Latin. I think it is a good practice, and a tradition that should be held on to. The Church is clearly also in agreement here. The Church doesn’t think you should have to pray in Latin all the time, but that you should be able to recite some basic prayers in Latin at Mass, and occasionally in private prayer too.
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Are they going to mandate we all learn Latin? What is their purpose in doing so? I will never be required to pray in any language but the one I naturally speak.
 
goofyjim said:
Are they going to mandate we all learn Latin? What is their purpose in doing so? I will never be required to pray in any language but the one I naturally speak.
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I think you’re approaching this the wrong way. The Church doesn’t mandate saying the Rosary, but it is highly recommended. Praying in Latin, can be looked at much the same way.
 
Other, between rarely and usually. Latin Mass Sundays and sometimes during the week; some months I sing English hymns when I’m by myself (“Holy, Holy Holy Lord God Almighty” etc) but some months I seem to forget them but remember the Latin ones (O Sanctissima, Salve Mater Misericordiae). Usually I pray the Rosary in English, sometimes a decade or two in Latin. About twice in a month I go to Compline in Latin, the usus antiquior (1960 edition, I believe) which some of my classmates chant most nights. It’s really beautiful, I just don’t always feel like going.
For prayers of thanksgiving after Holy Communion, when I was using the Scepter Press prayer-book (Opus Dei connected, my mom gave it to me, not that she is fond of them), that has facing page in Latin for many of the prayers so I would sometimes use some of the Latin thanksgiving prayers like the Prayer of St Bonaventure. Ironically enough my '58 Missal has many of the same prayers but only in English; so more often I end up saying them in English.
 
SemperFidelis said:
I agree with this, but the Church has stated that it is important for the faithful to be able to pray in Latin. I think it is a good practice, and a tradition that should be held on to. The Church is clearly also in agreement here. The Church doesn’t think you should have to pray in Latin all the time, but that you should be able to recite some basic prayers in Latin at Mass, and occasionally in private prayer too.
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I was raised in the pre-Vatican II Church, and while we learned to pray the Pater Noster and said responses in Latin at Mass, nobody ever told us to pray in Latin privately. All of our prayers in school were in English, we learned them in English, never Latin. Any Latin we learned was solely learned at Mass (unless you were studying Latin in high school). So I pray in English. But people pray in the manner they feel suits them best. God understands any language we pray in. Prayer is a matter of the heart.
 
My parish is OF, but we sang the Agnus Dei in Latin at the Sunday Vigil Mass this week. 🙂
 
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