I am back and need help following the Trinitine Mass

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anthonygwarren

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HI,

I am back to the Catholic Church after a 40 or so year absence. I am a member of a parish that follows the Latin Mass. Our priests are members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. They are great.

My problem is that I am completely lost during a Sunday Mass. I forget how to use my Angelus Press, Roman Catholic Daily Missal 1962. I sort of get where the ribbons are supposed to go, but I literally am lost as the Priest starts up the aisle with his retenue of Deacon and Alter Boys. The choir sings a hymn and until the Gospel I am pretty much lost.

I need step by step help to get me back on track so I can enjoy our wonderful mass and the sacraments to their fullest.

Where can I go for some help on this?
 
Welcome Back!

Sancta Missa provides many explanations on the Tridentine (Extraordinary Form) Traditional Latin Mass. sanctamissa.org/en/

Asperges (Principal Sunday Mass Only)

The Celebrant sprinkles the altar, himself and all present with Holy Water.

Introit

While the choir is chanting the Introit (Entrance Antiphon), the Celebrant and ministers recite the prayers at the foot of the altar.

Kyrie

The altar is reverenced with a kiss (osculatur) and the cross, relics (if any) and altar are incensed. The celebrant is incensed and then proceeds to sign himself as he recites the Introit, Gloria Patri (ommitted during Requiem Masses and Passiontide) and the Kyrie.

Gloria

The celebrant intones the Gloria and recites it while the cantor(s) and/or choir sings it. After the recitation he may sit at the sedilia (bench for the sacred ministers).
When the Gloria is completed the celebrant returns to the altar, greets the people and chants the opening collect(s).
 
What better place to go to learn than to Holy Mass and your hand missal. 🙂

One thing, which really confused me the first time at high mass was that the choir is not singing in synch with the recited prayers of the priest. This is most evident in the creed where the priest will sit down after finishing his recitation well before the choir is done.

For using your missal, there are two principal parts that you will use. The first is the ordinary of the mass, which is mostly unchanging from mass to mass. The other part is the propers, which change day to day. For example, this coming Sunday is the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost. If you flip to the propers for the day in your missal, you will see the following:

Introit
Collect
Epistle
Gradual
Alleluia
Gospel
Offertory
Secret
Communion
Postcommunion

For the most part, you will be following the ordinary, the unchanging part, and you can flip to the propers as they come up. For example, the mass begins with the Introit, which you can look up among the propers. This is followed by the Kyrie and the Gloria, which you can follow in the ordinary. Then you will come to the Collects, which are propers, so you flip back to the propers. Then comes the Epistle so you stay in the propers and follow along (really, most of the first half is spent in the propers). Continue in this manner, following the ordinary and referencing the propers as they arise.

The missal may also have some “rubrics” (instructions) indicated that help you follow the actions of the priest. You can see some examples given by the previous poster. If you really want to know exactly what the priest is doing at any given time, you will have to follow his postures and movements. Just keep reading your missal and going to Holy Mass and you will grow in familiarity with it. The more you can memorize the better.

Sorry if you already knew all this.
 
Welcome back. I’m a convert (back in 1970) and have been attending the EF Mass for several years now. Depending on the priest, I may still get lost once in a while but I’ve learned that there are small “signal” spots in the Mass where I can catch up.

Sometimes I get so deep into the Mass that I forget where I am at. The EF Mass is an experience that I do not find in the other forms. Its an intellectual trip.
 
Welcome back. You might find it easier to use a small booklet missal. These only have the ordinary parts (those used at all Masses) so you do not need to worry about ribbons and flipping pages. There are sites online where each Sunday you can get the propers to print out on a separate page. Here is more information about the booklet missal:ecclesiadei.org/missals.htm
 
Thank all of you for your help. I attended Mass on Wednesday and only got lost once, that on the way to Church.

Cheers,

Tony
 
corsair said:
Welcome back. I’m a convert (back in 1970) and have been attending the EF Mass for several years now. Depending on the priest, I may still get lost once in a while but I’ve learned that there are small “signal” spots in the Mass where I can catch up.

Sometimes I get so deep into the Mass that I forget where I am at. The EF Mass is an experience that I do not find in the other forms. Its an intellectual trip.
Click to expand...
I have the other problem. I own a 1962 missle understand enough Latin to get by but have no EF anywhere close.
I wish I had your problem.
 
I am very fortunate in that respect. I was friends with Father Sumich before getting back to the latin mass. We are ski buddies, he is an incredibly good and fast skier and so we have a lot of fun.

I met him last Christmas Eve in a ski shop. He was looking at some skis and I struck up a conversation with him. I offered him a pair of skis that I was no longer using. He told me about the High Midnight Mass that evening at St. Anthony’s, so I went. That got me back on the path to both the church (my parish would not let me take the sacraments until my Protestant wife and I got married in the Church) and to the Latin Mass.

I’m sure you watch the mass on youtube from time to time, but I know I would not be as happy if I could not go to it at least once a week.

Thank you for all of your help. If you are ever in Calgary, AB come to mass.

Cheers,

Tony
 
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