I don't know Latin

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I recently started attending a church which does parts of the liturgy in Latin. I’m not sure if it is 100% the extraordinary form, because I’m 24 and didn’t live pre-Vatican II. The priest does exercise the Liturgy of the Eucharist with his back to the congregation. This really is besides the point. I would love to participate in this celebration correctly but when the congregation’s responses are Latin, I have no idea how or what to say. I couldn’t find any literature at the parish, so I was hoping someone could point me to the Latin words, its pronunciation, and the English counterpart. Thank you in advance. =)
 
Just a suggestion; ask the priest after Mass which Form that he just celebrated. Then get the appropriate Missal. If its a NO Mass in latin, you can buy an Adoremus Hymnal for $14.00 or get an EF Missal from Tan books for $6.00 to $60.00 depending on paperback or hardcover. If its the EF Mass then the missal will have the latin on the left side and the english on the right side. Come to think of it, the Adoremus Hymnal has the same arrangement for the NO Mass.
The latin familiarity will come in time. Just be patient.
 
It doesn’t matter which form of the Mass you attended - the Mass is the Mass is the Mass.

In any event, I have been around long before the Novus Ordo Mass and would like to clarify something. Most Catholics before V2 did not understand Latin either. Our Missals (which everyone used) were Latin on one side of the page and English on the other. I would wager that most everyone read the English side of the page.

But, it is easy for you to get the Latin prayers and responses of the Mass online. I googled “Prayers of the Mass in Latin” and got many hits.

One that seemed easy was: www.memorare.com/latin/phrases

The responses are not difficult and you will pick them up in no time at all. If you have any opportunity to watch the Daily Mass on EWTN you will see that the Priests are using Latin more frequently during Mass.

I think you will find it very fulfilling if you are able to respond in Latin when you attend Mass. You might even be inclined to pray your Rosary in Latin starting out with just the Ave Maria and Pater Noster. :gopray2:

:blessyou:
 
Is the whole thing basically in Latin? If it is, then it is probably Extaordinary Form. If it is not, then it is definitely Ordinary Form. I can help more if you can figure that out. The most important and numerous response is this:

Priest: Dominus Vobiscum. (The Lord be with you.)
Congregation: Et cum spiritu tuo. (And with thy spirit.)

Also, the Glory Be is a famous prayer.
“Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.
Glory be to the Father and Son and Holy Spirit.”

The main prayers to look up are the Our Father, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. These are the main ones called the “Ordinary” of the Mass, because they never change. Just type in the name of each prayer in google. So look up like “Our Father Latin English” and it should come up on man websites. Try to memorize it, and it’ll make it a lot better. Give it a while, practice, and you’ll be speakin’ like a Roman in no time. God bless.
 
buffgbob, why don’t you hold off on buying a missal.

The new translation of the Mass has been approved by Rome and new missals will probably be published in 2011; I believe that is the date I heard on EWTN. Then we will all be buying new missals.

But, why not subscribe to the Magnificat. That is what I and hundreds of others do. It is a small, pocket-sized book and published monthly. It arrives in the mail about the middle of each month.

Many of the prayers and responses at the Mass are printed in both English and Latin and I am positive the new translation will be printed in our copies when they are available.

It is convenient to carry in pocket and/or hand bag and you have it in case you want to attend a daily Mass. It is not expensive - US $44.95 - and you get 14 issues because we have a special book for Holy Week and also at Christmas for Advent. I love my Magnificat. Not only that, the little book is of an excellent quality paper and has beautiful art on the cover and inside.

www.magnificat.com -

BTW, I don’t get a commission for this plug.

:blessyou:
 
mullenpm said:
It doesn’t matter which form of the Mass you attended - the Mass is the Mass is the Mass.

In any event, I have been around long before the Novus Ordo Mass and would like to clarify something. Most Catholics before V2 did not understand Latin either. Our Missals (which everyone used) were Latin on one side of the page and English on the other. I would wager that most everyone read the English side of the page.
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It’s not just the Latin to English that benefits those who have Missals. Text is just text and you can take most translations with a grain of salt. But most of those Missals also explain the Mass a little better. I think Catholics understood Latin and the Mass a lot better before V2.
 
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