My first Tridentine Mass

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I just attended my first ever Tridentine Mass this past Sunday. It was completely a new thing for me.

There is however one question I have. Was I supposed to hear what the priest was saying or not? Because the Mass I attended, I could not hear the priest except duirng the readings and the sermon. All I could do was to follow with the missal as best I could.

Anyway, I did like it and I wish to return next month. I think I will do this thing monthly. :gopray2:
 
Its always nice when you can hear the priest but its normal not to. I am glad you enjoyed it. Was it a High Mass or a Low Mass. High Mass’s are very beautiful. ~Tradcat
 
It sounds like it was a low Mass.

Some priests have booming voices and the church has good acoustics, then you could sit in the back and hear him bot others, especially if new to celebrating the TLM may be timid to speak up.

Parts of the Mass are said in silence and others not. I would recommend you sit way up front and pay attention to the gestures first which are probably outlined in the missal they probably gave you (a little red book). This explains what the priest is doing and when and allows you to pray the Mass with him - it gives the Latin on one side and the English on the other.

Few priests are “miked” because of the parts that are supposed to be silent or soto voce (soft voice and not heard) It would be a distraction for him to have to turn the mike off and on.
 
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CatholicSamurai:
Was I supposed to hear what the priest was saying or not? Because the Mass I attended, I could not hear the priest except duirng the readings and the sermon. . :gopray2:
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Most of the Mass is unheard by the majority of the congregation, however certain key words throughout the Mass are said loud enough to let the congregation know where they are in the Mass.

The funny complaint that most have regarding the Latin vs. the English is the obvious that they can’t understand The Latin but in reality we are not at Mass to listen to it. We are at Mass to pray .

If you are going to attend a Latin Mass, my advice to you is find yourself a missal, when Mass starts you start - Just start reading the prayers, when you have finished you have just prayed The Mass - chances are you will be finished before the priest, but in time you will start coordinating yourself with the priest and be able to recognize where he is at all times during the prayers.

BTW - I remember my first Latin Mass - I thought, this is really different, but I kind of like it, I think I will attend once a month. (It was a bit of a distance) I returned twice to my English speaking Mass and found I just couldn’t do it. I’ve been Latin ever since.
Deo gratias!
 
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deogratias:
It sounds like it was a low Mass.

Some priests have booming voices and the church has good acoustics, then you could sit in the back and hear him bot others, especially if new to celebrating the TLM may be timid to speak up.

Parts of the Mass are said in silence and others not. I would recommend you sit way up front and pay attention to the gestures first which are probably outlined in the missal they probably gave you (a little red book). This explains what the priest is doing and when and allows you to pray the Mass with him - it gives the Latin on one side and the English on the other.

Few priests are “miked” because of the parts that are supposed to be silent or soto voce (soft voice and not heard) It would be a distraction for him to have to turn the mike off and on.
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Yes, I did have a red book with me. I finally caught up to what was happening after the sermon. From then on I just followed along to the best of my abilities with the book. And yes, I do intend to sit a little closer to the front next time.
 
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Mandi:
Most of the Mass is unheard by the majority of the congregation, however certain key words throughout the Mass are said loud enough to let the congregation know where they are in the Mass.

The funny complaint that most have regarding the Latin vs. the English is the obvious that they can’t understand The Latin but in reality we are not at Mass to listen to it. We are at Mass to pray .

If you are going to attend a Latin Mass, my advice to you is find yourself a missal, when Mass starts you start - Just start reading the prayers, when you have finished you have just prayed The Mass - chances are you will be finished before the priest, but in time you will start coordinating yourself with the priest and be able to recognize where he is at all times during the prayers.

BTW - I remember my first Latin Mass - I thought, this is really different, but I kind of like it, I think I will attend once a month. (It was a bit of a distance) I returned twice to my English speaking Mass and found I just couldn’t do it. I’ve been Latin ever since.
Deo gratias!
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Yes, I intend to go monthly. It was high mass which I attended since I wake up a little later. Thanks for the advice. I did have with me that red book, the missal. 🙂

I also intend to attend the Missa Normative which is another Latin Mass. I think it’s the Novus Ordo in Latin.
 
I finally caught up to what was happening after the sermon
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Even though this was the Mass of my youth, when I began going again, I could easily get lost. I turned to watching the altar boys for a lot of my clues. For instance, I knew when were at the confetior because then bowed profoundly and they do that sway at the part that says through my fault, etc.

Next clue, the priest ascends the altar steps and kisses the altar.

Next clue is he moves to the epistle side (the right side) to read the introit.

This will be followed by the Kyrie and if you are close you probably can pick up on that because you will hear him saying something and the altar boys responding 5 times.

He then says the Gloria after which you can pick up another clue as to where we are because he will turn and face you and say Dominus vobiscum and the altar boys will respond with et cum spiritu tuo, the priest will then retrurn to the Epistle side.

When you see the altar boys move the missal to the left side of the altar, the Gospel side, you will know he is about to read the Gospel.

After that he will usually read one or both to you in English from the Ambo and give the sermon.

Initially I would watch for all the little clues given in the red missal about where you are rather than trying to pay any attention to the Latin. This will still allow you to pray (read) the Mass along with him and if you get a little ahead or behind, the actions shown in the margin of the red missal will help you find your place.

Practice makes perfect. .
 
The Priest says much of the Mass silently (most specifically the Canon and Consecration) because these are the times that the Priest is specifically interceding to God on behalf of the people. The Secreta (Secret) prayer, which is said between the “Orate fratres, etc.” and the Preface is said for specifically this purpose. This is the only proper prayer of the Mass (prayers/readings that change for each Mass) that is said in silent. Of course, the Mass as a whole is a re-presentation of the Sacrifice of Our Lord, but this is emphasized more at certain times. If you can, it is always better to go to the Missa Cantata (or if you are lucky Missa Solemnis with Deacon and Sub-deacon) if you can. The Mass should always be sung if possible. Low Mass should be the last option, unless you have to eat sometime, you could go to Low Mass if you plan to receive but cannot go from midnight without eating (or you could follow the one hour “fast” prescribed in NO, which makes no sense since the Mass itself is more than an hour… and if it is a “fast” is should be something where you are actually sacrificing something, rather than being 1/5 of the time in between an average meal…) The more you attend the Traditional Mass the better you become at understanding it and the less likely you are to continue to go to NO.
 
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deogratias:
For instance, I knew when were at the confetior because then bowed profoundly and they do that sway at the part that says through my fault, etc.
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They actually turn toward the Priest (“the sway”) at “et tibi Pater” (and to thee, Father) a few moments before “mea culpa, etc.” and again at the end of the Confiteor at the words “et te Pater” (and thee Father). God bless.
 
Thanks for the clarification. I love watching that and I think if no one knew what they were saying or why, there would be no missing the humility they were witnessing.

One of the most beautiful parts of the TLM is the function of the well trained Altar Boys and the discipline and respect they show the Eucharist.

While the Priests at the TLM I am currently attending are still in need of some training, the altar boys had excellent training and often help the neophyte priests when they err.
 
Low Mass should be the last option, unless you have to eat sometime, you could go to Low Mass if you plan to receive but cannot go from midnight without eating
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I am trying to follow this but I can’t get the connection between low Mass and fasting. Shouldn’t the fast be the same for both High and Low Mass?
 
I am lucky, because at the last High Mass I attended, the priest chanted the epistle and Gospel loud enough so everyone could hear him. He even said the consecration loud enough and he put alot of emphasis on it, I trembled when he said, “Hoc est enim Corpus meum.” The only thing that I was disappointed with was that he did not read the Last Gospel loud enough for everyone to hear. I do not know if it is the norm for the priest to silently read the Last Gospel; but I feel it has an important message and should be read so that it echos throughout the church.
 
I am lucky, because at the last High Mass I attended, the priest chanted the epistle and Gospel loud enough so everyone could hear him. He even said the consecration loud enough and he put alot of emphasis on it, I trembled when he said, “Hoc est enim Corpus meum.” The only thing that I was disappointed with was that he did not read the Last Gospel loud enough for everyone to hear. I do not know if it is the norm for the priest to silently read the Last Gospel; but I feel it has an important message and should be read so that it echos throughout the church.
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It’s stuff like this that turns off so many Traditionalists from the “Insult” Mass.

Traditionally, a Low Mass is audible only to priest and servers. The faithful follow along, silently, with their Missals or by other prayers.

Pius XII gave permission for the so-called “Dialogue Mass,” which was a Low Mass where the congregation said the responses.

At a High Mass, all the non-sung parts should only be audible to priests and servers.

The Epistle should never be chanted, except at a Solemn High Mass (one with deacon and subdeacon). At a High Mass (only priest and servers), the Epistle is read silently while the choir sings the Gradual.

The Canon should never be audible for the congregation. This is most offensive, and completely foreign to the mentality of the Traditional rite.

This just confirms what I’ve been writing in a previous thread. I’m glad you like what you’ve seen so far of the Tridentine rite, but I hope some day you get to see a* real * Tridentine Mass.
 
Acctually I find the Eastern Liturgies more beautiful then the Tridentine Mass. However the New Order is dry when it comes to beauty, even the indult. Hoard them in, hoard them out, BINGO’s on Tuesday, alleluia! The Gospel Book does add a nice very ancient touch though. We’re slowly making progress, but until then, I remain in my prefernce. (Did I mention the Chruch was small, I heard almost everything, but it was mumbled, up until the parts I mentioned.)
 
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