Mass in Another Language?

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cutiesmak

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Ok, I’m capitalizing properly here, and I’m not going to ask to get yelled at again. I’ve learned my lesson… 😉

I was just wondering how many of you have attended mass in a language that you didn’t speak? My DH and I talked about attending the Spanish mass at our church together because it’s a convenient time (late Sunday afternoon), but I’m a little nervous! Neither of us speaks Spanish. If you have attended a foreign-language mass, how well did you catch on? We live in a large Spanish-speaking community, and watch a lot of Spanish tv, so I’m thinking it shouldn’t be all that hard, but I’m worried that the homily will be way over our heads. Our missalete (sic) is bilingual, so that should be just fine… Thoughts?

I’m nervous, but pretty exciting. The Spanish-speaking priest is really young and interesting. If I could understand his homily, I bet it would be a good one!
 
I have attended Mass in a language I could not speak more than once, not even counting Latin. However, I cannot imagine doing this deliberately and regularly when a Mass in my native language was available. Yes, I’m sure you could manage it, but why? It sounds like a bad idea to me. The homily is there for a reason, and you can’t read that in your bilingual missal.

My experiences in other-language masses were either accidental, e.g. I happened to visit a shrine when a polish mass was scheduled, or when I was outside the U.S. When traveling to other countries I attended mass, which was naturally celebrated in the local language.

Perhaps what you want is to take Spanish classes.
 
If you go to a foreign language Mass enough, you start to catch on to the responses and all. Other than that, the Mass is the same, so you basically understand what is happenning. If I attend a Mass which is signifigantly in Spanish, I try to follow along with the readings in a misellette. Homilies can seem tedious as you have no idea what is being said.
 
The Spanish Mass is in the back of the Missal…so you would be able to follow along and give the proper repsonses…as to understanding the Homily…well that is another issue:)
 
I have been to Mass in Latin, Polish, Spanish and Arabic. When I went to the Masses in Polish I was struck by the Universality of the Mass. I could follow along and respond to some degree because I knew what was going on. Latin was a piece of cake. Arabic (Maronite rite) was the the most challenging as I know zero Arabic but I’m inspired to learn. Spanish was the most uncomfortable because I really didn’t know what I was getting into plus there was a quinceanera connected with it and it was obviously a big deal and I felt like an interloper. All of these are personal and not an indicator of how things would work for someone else.

It’s true the homily may not be in English (at the Maronite rite it would have been except the pastor was on vacation so the visiting priest was from Lebanon) but I listened really hard. I couldn’t understand the language but I could understand the Mass. And while I couldn’t understand the homily I knew exactly what was happening during the Rite of Institution and was able to receive the Body and Blood of our Lord with my brothers and sisters in the Catholic faith.

It’s not something I would want to do all the time ( I don’t think). Go to the Spanish Mass and see how it works for you. If you feel a sense of community, are edified in your faith over time it might be okay for you.
 
Chinese, Portuguese and German here.

Agreed, it’s easy enough to follow along. I would make all the responses, and pray the prayers in English in my head, since I’m familiar enough with them to do so.

And I’m the type who normally reads up on the Scriptures for Sunday Mass before I go, so at least I usually know what the readings are for that day.
 
French Mass on one occasion when I had to fulfil the obligation but couldn’t make the English one. I know barely any French of the Mass except for “Le Seigneur soit avec vous” but I could follow everything roughly from the actions of the priest and servers, and just read the collect, prayer over the gifts and readings in English from a missalette.
The only distraction the whole Mass was the insistence of some people right in front of me to show appaling manners and stand (and thereby block my view) and not make any reverences at the elevation.
 
cutiesmak said:
Ok? My DH and I talked about attending the Spanish mass at our church together because it’s a convenient time (late Sunday afternoon), but I’m a little nervous! Neither of us speaks Spanish.

Our missalete (sic) is bilingual, so that should be just fine… Thoughts?
!
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you have the missalette, so all you will miss is the homily, and maybe some of the hymns. I could follow along the hymns if they posted the number, but when they announce it they lose me, I don’t know my numbers very well.

when they say the prayers in Spanish, Gloria, Sanctus etc, just pray them quietly in English. when it is time for the sign of peace you can say “Paz de Cristo” if you want, or just Peace be with you, most of the people there will probably know English fairly well, too.
 
cutiesmak said:
I was just wondering how many of you have attended mass in a language that you didn’t speak?
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Latin (Tridentine Missal), Portugese (Pauline Missal), and Tagalog (Pauline Missal).
… how well did you catch on?
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The Mass is the Mass. It was actually pretty easy to follow along - I couldn’t say the responses, but I knew which prayers I was supposed to be praying in my head, and I knew whether I should be standing, sitting, or kneeling. 🙂
 
cutiesmak said:
Ok, I’m capitalizing properly here, and I’m not going to ask to get yelled at again. I’ve learned my lesson… 😉

I was just wondering how many of you have attended mass in a language that you didn’t speak? My DH and I talked about attending the Spanish mass at our church together because it’s a convenient time (late Sunday afternoon), but I’m a little nervous! Neither of us speaks Spanish. If you have attended a foreign-language mass, how well did you catch on? We live in a large Spanish-speaking community, and watch a lot of Spanish tv, so I’m thinking it shouldn’t be all that hard, but I’m worried that the homily will be way over our heads. Our missalete (sic) is bilingual, so that should be just fine… Thoughts?

I’m nervous, but pretty exciting. The Spanish-speaking priest is really young and interesting. If I could understand his homily, I bet it would be a good one!
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I have atended Mass in a few different countries and Mass was in the native language. Follow the priests movements and gestures and you will have no problem.
 
German (St. Al’s, the only one I know in existence in the Chicago area and US nowadays), Polish (too long, but it wasn’t the Polish), Italian (partially), and Spanish (first one at San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio).

It is a matter of knowing what is supposed to come when, watching the visual cues, and being flexible with oneself when one thinks one has a “mistake”.
 
Pax vobiscum!

I have attended Mass in Spanish (but I speak Spanish, so it wasn’t hard to follow), Italian (which is similar to Spanish, so that wasn’t all that hard either) and Latin (which, again, I can understand well enough). So I really haven’t been to a Mass where I didn’t speak the language at all. I’d say my first Tridentine Mass was a little hard to follow, just because I’d never been to one before. Now I have no problem following that Mass.

In Christ,
Rand
 
I’m Croatian, but I don’t speak the language. How dishonorable. Ashamed I am.

But, there’s a Croatian Chruch a couple of suburbs away, St. Nikola Tavelic Church.

I attend on occasion.
 
Haha, same here Nekic, apart from living near St Nikola Tavelic 😉 What a pair of rogues we are.

Haven’t been to a Croatian Mass in a good 12 or 15 years.
 
Pax vobiscum!

The Polish parish here in Portland, St. Stanislaw’s, does a Mass in Croatian once or twice a month (as well as Polish and English Masses).

In Christ,
Rand
 
At one time I had hoped to attend mass in Spanish on a regular basis. Although I didn’t understand the readings and especially the homilies very well, I knew that would improve with time. But what did annoy me was the inability to participate in the singing (lyrics weren’t printed), and I really got bored with the baptisms and similar events, which seemed to take place at the rate of 3-4 every week.

What I did find useful was to go through the readings ahead of time, and look up any words I didn’t know. I’m not sure if the Reina Valera is the translation still used by the Church, but it’s close enough:
ccel.org/ccel/bible/esrv.html

And here’s the schedule of readings:
usccb.org/nab/
 
LilyM said:
Haha, same here Nekic, apart from living near St Nikola Tavelic 😉 What a pair of rogues we are.

Haven’t been to a Croatian Mass in a good 12 or 15 years.
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OMG, your’e Cro too?
Wow…
You need to go. St Nikola’s is a good orthodox church. Nice stained glass windows.
 
Spanish (but I sort of speak it), German, Aramaic (Maronite), Latin, and whatever the language used in the Ruthenian Rite. And some English sounds pretty foreign, too 😉 .
The Mass is the Mass and it’s all about celebrating the death and resurrection of Our Savior, centered on the Real Presence of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist.
 
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