Latin Rosary

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Neofight said:
Just out of curiosity, how many of the approved apparitions did the Blessed Virgin converse to witnesses in languages other than Latin? I’m guessing (admittedly a guess) that she spoke in the native tongues of those she appeared to, rather than Latin, because outside of Italy the only Latin even devout Catholic knew was the liturgy, and a few prayers.
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If we want to go this way, then we must admit we do not know what actual language was being spoken, for - as we read in Acts - the Apostles would speak Aramaic and yet people of all tongues would understand them perfectly (how this happens is a mystery, though some suggest that it was the task of angels to make the translation possible in each man’s ears).

The point is that Latin is a sacred language, and is the official language of the Church per omnia saecula saeculorum. For this reason it is a beautiful devotion to learn the prayers in Latin.
 
Razanir said:
R_C had it. However, I do enjoy your explanation, ProVobis.

Here’s how I see it: You know how some people learn the language of wherever their ancestors are from? Like someone whose ancestors are Polish might learn some Polish or someone who’s Czech might learn Czech. To me, Latin is that language for Catholics. It’s the language of our Catholic heritage, even if many people worship in the vernacular now.

Oh, and for context– I’m Post-V2
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we’ll have to disagree. latin is not my language, and won’t ever be. the language of my catholic ancestors is english. mouthing syllables in latin and thinking in english is not my idea of prayer: its an elevation of form over substance. if I grew up speaking it as a birth language, it would be different because I would think and understand in latin. but I don’t.

and whoever thought the vernacular is too common for worship hasn’t read shakespeare or the KJV or even your standard NAB, which uses a more formal style of language to covey a sense of it its importance.
 
Fairwinds said:
we’ll have to disagree. latin is not my language
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Latin is the language of Holy Mother Church, regardless of whether you and I love it or hate it. It is a sacred language, regardless of how we feel about it.
 
R_C said:
Latin is the language of Holy Mother Church, regardless of whether you and I love it or hate it. It is a sacred language, regardless of how we feel about it.
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And for our specific church the very name is Latin as in the Latin Church. 👍
 
Razanir said:
Oh, and for context– I’m Post-V2
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Me too. Like you I love Latin. I’m less fond of the Rosary. My preferred form of prayer is the liturgy of the hours, and I do at least Lauds and Vespers in Latin Gregorian chant every day. My formula is to chant the psalm in Latin, then read it silently in French (which is my first language, and because I’m associated to a Francophone abbey, my liturgical books are either in French or Latin; the abbey as well does Lauds and Vespers in Latin).

I guess my own reason is because Latin, and Chant, are part of the rich patrimony of the Church. There is such rich treasury of beautiful chant out there that I feel it’s imperative that it be preserved, and not just as “museum pieces” to be “performed” from time to time, but used daily as part of the daily living liturgy of the Church. Obviously not everyone in every place has to chant the LOTH or offer the Mass in Latin, but I am happy that monks in different places in the world have made it their vocation to keep this tradition alive and are also actively working to apply it to the post-Vatican II liturgy. In that regard much recent work has resulted in the ability now, to pray the entire day hours of the LOTH in Latin Gregorian chant for the entire liturgical year, including memorials, feasts and solemnities:

Les heures grégoriennes.
 
OraLabora said:
Me too. Like you I love Latin. I’m less fond of the Rosary. My preferred form of prayer is the liturgy of the hours, and I do at least Lauds and Vespers in Latin Gregorian chant every day. My formula is to chant the psalm in Latin, then read it silently in French (which is my first language, and because I’m associated to a Francophone abbey, my liturgical books are either in French or Latin; the abbey as well does Lauds and Vespers in Latin).

I guess my own reason is because Latin, and Chant, are part of the rich patrimony of the Church. There is such rich treasury of beautiful chant out there that I feel it’s imperative that it be preserved, and not just as “museum pieces” to be “performed” from time to time, but used daily as part of the daily living liturgy of the Church. Obviously not everyone in every place has to chant the LOTH or offer the Mass in Latin, but I am happy that monks in different places in the world have made it their vocation to keep this tradition alive and are also actively working to apply it to the post-Vatican II liturgy. In that regard much recent work has resulted in the ability now, to pray the entire day hours of the LOTH in Latin Gregorian chant for the entire liturgical year, including memorials, feasts and solemnities:

Les heures grégoriennes.
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Well said. These traditions and forms of liturgy are the glue that binds us to the Church. And daily use elevates our minds to God. This loss post Vatican II has had a detrimental effect on the unity of the Faithful, in my humble opinion. While I in no way suggest that conversing in the vernacular to God is unworthy or lacks merit, using Latin and Chant brings us out of the world and into a closer communion with the divine.
 
Pulvis said:
Well said. These traditions and forms of liturgy are the glue that binds us to the Church. And daily use elevates our minds to God. This loss post Vatican II has had a detrimental effect on the unity of the Faithful, in my humble opinion. While I in no way suggest that conversing in the vernacular to God is unworthy or lacks merit, using Latin and Chant brings us out of the world and into a closer communion with the divine.
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Interesting you mention “brings us out of the world”. That is precisely the effect I get when I chant Lauds and Vespers in Latin. As I mentioned I chant the psalm first in Latin then read it through silently and meditate it in my native language, French. The Latin chant serves precisely to do what you say, it pulls me from the profane world and puts me into a state of mind better able to receive the Word which I meditate in French to get the full comprehension. It’s a bit how a “mantra” works in Eastern cultures. Some do in fact use Eastern meditation techniques (mantras) for Catholic prayer but I find that the Church provides all we need. In fact in some ways the Paters and Aves of the Rosary are like a mantra again to pull us from the profane and put us into a frame of mind for meditation on the Word.

Some times we search far and wide and miss the most basic tools that the Church places right at our feet.
 
Neofight said:
God, Jesus, the Blessed Mother, the Saints, and the souls in Purgatory all speak the international language of love, so I don’t worry too much whether I’m bi-lingual or bi-illiterate!
I’ll stick to my native tongue, somehow I’m sure it will be heard.
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Your post was kind of pointless and irrelevant to the question don’t you think?
 
R_C said:
Because Latin is the perpetual language of Holy Church, and because ever since Our Lady gave us the Rosary some 8 centuries ago that is how the saints have prayed it.

Is it less good to pray in the vernacular? No, it is perfectly fine, and it is good to know the prayers in one’s mother tongue.

But Latin is, as Pope John XXIII states, "noble, majestic, and non-vernacular…truly catholic…consecrated through constant use by the Apostolic See, the mother and teacher of all Churches… esteemed “a treasure … of incomparable worth”.

You will understand more the fundamental importance of Latin by reading the Apostolic Constitution Veterum Sapientia of Blessed John XXIII (English translation) as well as the Apostolic Letter Latina Lingua of Pope Benedict XVI.
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Thanks for the links:thumbsup:
 
Latin is holy and historically important for the Church because we are the Roman Catholic Church. For quite a long time, the mass was only recited in Latin. And, prayer books even for the faithful laity were in Latin usually.

I’m just saying it is like Hebrew for Judaism because the Jewish people take Hebrew as a holy language given by G-d and pretty much the original language of the patriarchs. They still say their daily prayers like the Amidah and the Shema in Hebrew.
 
Razanir said:
R_C had it. However, I do enjoy your explanation, ProVobis.

Here’s how I see it: You know how some people learn the language of wherever their ancestors are from? Like someone whose ancestors are Polish might learn some Polish or someone who’s Czech might learn Czech. To me, Latin is that language for Catholics. It’s the language of our Catholic heritage, even if many people worship in the vernacular now.

Oh, and for context– I’m Post-V2
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Yes, for me Latin is now, what Hebrew was to me when I was Jewish.
 
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