Impressions on attending my first Traditional Latin Mass

  • Thread starter Thread starter RaphaelJ
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
R

RaphaelJ

Guest
Before the Mass, I was extremely excited to participate in it. However, I came away from the experience a bit confused.

The fact that it was in Latin was not an issue especially since I know many prayers such as the Gloria or Sanctus in Latin. The issue is that the priest simply is inaudible for 3/4 of the Mass. I know that participation does not necessarily mean responding or saying or singing aloud. I anticipated that. But the fact that the priest cannot be heard means that the people cannot even just mentally give assent to the prayer. I also noticed that many responses were only made by the servers which was odd for me.

I wonder if I went to the Mass with the wrong expectations or with the wrong state of mind. If so, I would be happy if the others could enlighten me.

But overall, my impressions were that Vatican II’s changes made sense in certain ways such as the people making more responses and most of all, for the priest and the people to say the prayers together. That was very disconcerting especially since the congregation sat in the middle of the Gloria as the priest did.

I do not wish to insult or to ‘diss’ the TLM in any way. Pope Benedict did say that what was once holy and great for previous generations is still so today and I agree with him. I just want to freely accept that perhaps an Ordinary Form done with solemnity would be a liturgy that would raise my mind higher to heaven.
 
I’ve never been to one, but… The priest was inaudible? Is that the case in most Traditional Latin Masses? If so, I don’t think I would enjoy it or get much out of it. Is there some advantage to the TLM that I’m not aware of?
 
I would suggest that you observe the traditional Mass more than just once or twice. It is very different. The low Mass is very silent. The rubrics for the priest require him to pray many of the prayers quietly. He is offering to God on behalf of the people.

Get yourself a missal and pray silently WITH the priest. I go to the TLM (EF) every Sunday and I have come to love this Mass.
 
At the TLM I attend, the priest wears a wireless microphone so we can hear his prayers. Obviously, this is a modern innovation. What you observed is exactly why there was an interest in liturgical renewal in the 1960’s.
 
RaphaelJ said:
But overall, my impressions were that Vatican II’s changes made sense in certain ways such as the people making more responses and most of all, for the priest and the people to say the prayers together. That was very disconcerting especially since the congregation sat in the middle of the Gloria as the priest did.
Click to expand...
The priest and the people can say the prayers together silently; they don’t have to be said aloud. The silence of the mass can help one to remember that the mass is about God and not about the people. The mass is a chance for us to meditate on Christ’s suffering for us. As you get to know the mass you’ll be able to pray right along, in sync with the priest if you prefer (although this is not essential). I also recommend getting a missal and following along with the prayers. The prayers of the mass are so beautiful! It will take time to get used to the flow of the mass, but it’ll likely surprise you how quickly you can catch on.

I know the Novus Ordo mass by heart after growing up with it. Eventually I will likely know the TLM by heart as well. If you regularly attend the TLM you will also get to know it so that you will no longer feel you cannot effectively pray the mass without hearing the priest. There are other cues throughout the TLM such as how and where the priest is standing, what the servers are doing, when the bells chime, etc, that help the people know where the priest is in his prayers. You learn these with time and attendance to the TLM as well.

As for the concern that the priest and people sat in the middle of the Gloria: the priest is the driver of the mass. Sometimes the priest and choir are not together because the priest can say the prayers faster than the choir can sing them. Since the priest completed the prayer, he sat and the congregation followed him. This often happens with the Gloria and the Credo. Once the choir finishes, the priest moves on.

Attend the mass a few times like corsair suggested. It can be an acquired taste, especially getting used to the silence of it. The silence during the consecration of the TLM gets me every week. It is the most piercing silence I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve grown to anxiously anticipate it each Sunday.
 
I used to attend the Tridentine Mass at Holy Rosary parish in Jersey City, and yes, it is very normal to not be able to hear the priest. I would follow along in my missal. Personally, I found that meditative silence very appealing, since I’m kind of an introvert. Now my wife and I live in a different part of the state and attend a large, modern, round church where there are lots of people, and rarely silence…I miss it. I have been to Ordinary Form masses that were very quiet, dignified and reverent though, so you can have a ‘happy medium’ between the old form and the new, which I personally think is what the Council fathers had in mind.

I tend to think of the ‘extraordinary form’ and the ‘ordinary form’ as the ‘introverted form’ and the ‘extroverted form.’
Just my .02…🙂
 
RaphaelJ said:
The issue is that the priest simply is inaudible for 3/4 of the Mass.
Click to expand...
I had attended several Latin Masses some years ago, but it was a small parish & we were encouraged to say the responses out loud. I rather liked that, even tho I’d get lost in the missal. A few years ago we attended a more “traditional” Mass. Before Mass, the priest announced that we were not to say the responses out loud. I was even more lost as I didn’t have the responses to help me find my place. It was a special Mass, too, a first Mass for a newly ordained priest, so it was quite different from the weekday Latin Masses.

It made me grateful for Mass in English & for being audible! 🙂
 
The reason for the silence:

From Council of Trent, Session XXII
CHAPTER V.
Click to expand...
On the solemn ceremonies of the Sacrifice of the Mass.
Click to expand...
And whereas such is the nature of man, that, without external helps, he cannot easily be raised to the meditation of divine things; therefore has holy Mother Church instituted certain rites, to wit that certain things be pronounced in the mass in a low, and others in a louder, tone. She has likewise employed ceremonies, such as mystic benedictions, lights, incense, vestments, and many other things of this kind, derived from an apostolical discipline and tradition, whereby both the majesty of so great a sacrifice might be recommended, and the minds of the faithful be excited, by those visible signs of religion and piety, to the contemplation of those most sublime things which are hidden in this sacrifice.
…
Click to expand...
Code: 
 CANON IX.--If any one saith, that the rite of the Roman Church, according to which a part of the canon and the words of consecration are pronounced in a low tone, is to be condemned; or, that the mass ought to be celebrated in the vulgar tongue only; or, that water ought not to be mixed with the wine that is to be offered in the chalice, for that it is contrary to the institution of Christ; let him be anathema.
Click to expand...
 
We can be thankful the anathemas of Trent are no longer in force. 🙂
 
Perhaps it is an acquired taste. I can see that there are certain cues such as the use of incense and gestures but I must have missed some of them while trying to rummage through the missal. However, it doesn’t make sense for the words of institution to be said quietly. Our faith teaches us that it is the time for the bread and wine to become the Body and Blood of Our Lord. We should hear that part, I think. Anyway, I think I have a renewed appreciation for both forms. The ‘happy medium’ I like I can experience during solemnities in my parish. The priest shows all the incense and the prayers such as the Gloria and Sanctus among others are sung in Latin.
 
Bonnie said:
We can be thankful the anathemas of Trent are no longer in force. 🙂
Click to expand...
Actually they are still very much in force, that’s why can’t force the Clergy to say aloud any of the quiet prayers(and yes there are inaudible prayers in the OF)of the OF and EF
 
RaphaelJ said:
Perhaps it is an acquired taste. I can see that there are certain cues such as the use of incense and gestures but I must have missed some of them while trying to rummage through the missal. However, it doesn’t make sense for the words of institution to be said quietly. Our faith teaches us that it is the time for the bread and wine to become the Body and Blood of Our Lord. We should hear that part, I think. Anyway, I think I have a renewed appreciation for both forms. The ‘happy medium’ I like I can experience during solemnities in my parish. The priest shows all the incense and the prayers such as the Gloria and Sanctus among others are sung in Latin.
Click to expand...
Was the Mass sung?
 
If at all possible, it sounds like you’d enjoy the OF in Latin. It is hard to find, but it has the advantage of being the “happy medium” and also in the Latin that you enjoy.
 
Try a High Mass. The priest and the choir will be in totally different places— but the atmosphere is tremendous. 🙂

I used to have an FSSP parish I’d attend in my old stomping-grounds. I still remember the priest telling us an anecdote, where a person once told him, “I can barely hear you!” And he said, “You can barely hear me?” And the next time he said Mass, he tried being even more quiet… 😛 I wish I could remember the explanation he gave for the purpose behind the quiet, but all that I remember is coming away with the understanding that it’s very deliberate.

I used to rather like going to Mass in one place, in a very small chapel owned by some Carmelites. If you didn’t get there early enough, you had to stand on the steps with the overflow crowd. I liked it, because there were speakers hooked up to his mic… but no speakers inside. So I could follow along better outside than inside. 😃
 
Psalitte said:
Actually they are still very much in force, that’s why can’t force the Clergy to say aloud any of the quiet prayers(and yes there are inaudible prayers in the OF)of the OF and EF
Click to expand...
I’ve noticed more and more that the Offertory prayers tend to be silent. Also at one parish I attend the entire EP1 is said very softly and without a microphone. As I sense a lot of discomfort from the congregation in these situations, I wish the priest would explain why he is doing this. Not everyone has read the Council of Trent documents.
 
The inaudible prayers by the priest is not unusual - this is pretty much the way it used to be in the old days. You had to follow along carefully in the missal by observing gestures and catching the prayers that were more audible.
 
captainrick said:
i’ve never been to one, but… The priest was inaudible? Is that the case in most traditional latin masses? If so, i don’t think i would enjoy it or get much out of it. Is there some advantage to the tlm that i’m not aware of?
Click to expand...
“enjoy” ?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top