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Prior to Vatican II did people (at home) pray in Latin or their own language?
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M-Dent
Guest
Up until the early 1970’s, my parents gathered us kids (large family) and prayed the Rosary every Friday night – in English.
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mVitus
Guest
I don’t have any official knowledge on this, but I’d imagine they prayed in their native language. If you don’t know a language, how could you ever pray in it? Maybe if they knew Latin they may have prayed in it, but it simply wouldn’t have been practical for the vast majority of people.
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Casilda
Guest
Spanish and English, I grew up bilingual, but did learn the Ave and Pater Noster in Latin.
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twf
Guest
Many, maybe most, would have known a couple prayers and hymns in Latin I’m sure. Even today many Catholics do. I love singing O Sanctissima alone and in private - in Latin. Though I don’t generally pray in Latin (nor am I generally able to).
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mVitus
Guest
They may have known a few Latin prayers (I myself may not know Latin, but I know Ave Maria) but I imagine it’d get old for most people to say the same exact prayer every time they prayed. So yeah I won’t deny there’s a decent likelihood that the did some prayer in Latin, but for the vast majority of the time, it most likely was in the native tongue.
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Corki
Guest
At home and in Catholic school, we said our prayers in English. We only used Latin at Mass.
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OraLabora
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Mostly vernacular. In my case that is French. Though I am fluently bilingual and can speak French or English without a trace of an accent (well, other than a native Canadian English accent and a native Québecois French accent), for the life of me I cannot recite any of the “standard prayers” in English. But I can rattle them off by heart in French and I can say the Pater in Latin, because I used Latin for the LOTH every day. I also know all the Marian antiphons by heart in Latin, and many of the antiphons of the Liturgy of the Hours as well, at least those from the normal (i.e. non-festive) Offices.
When I pray outside the liturgy though, I use French, and if I have to say an act of contrition, I say it in French.
When I pray outside the liturgy though, I use French, and if I have to say an act of contrition, I say it in French.
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katy
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Whatever language they chose. That’s the case now also.
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Don_Ruggero
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No. We did not pray in our homes in Latin. We prayed in our own vernacular.
We knew the Latin for different things…the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Angelus and the Regina Coeli…but our prayers at home were not in Latin. We might on occasion sing a hymn in Latin, such as the Regina Coeli or the Salve Regina.
The public novena devotions also were not in Latin, which is one of the reasons why they were so popular.
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twf
Guest
Its interesting that, to this day, public, parochial singing of the Divine Praises is popular and widespread in Eastern parishes, but is still struggling to catch on in the Latin Church. Centuries of the Office being strictly in Latin was probably a major factor here, no? In the Eastern tradition, the Divine Praises would often have been in the vernacular (as they continue to be today). Novenas and other popular devotions didn’t arise in Eastern communities…they simply celebrated the liturgy…
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Googler
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Is it convenient to recite the Rosary everyday?
Is it convenient to go to some daily Masses during the week?
Is it convenient to fast when we are not obliged?
On & on, etc…
Why Latin? Is it more efficacious?
Latin is the official language of the Church.
Latin is the most solemn language to address God and Our Lady.
Of course, God will still receive our prayers in vernacular.
And of course, these days, most will choose what is more convenient.
IMHO, we should make an effort to learn our prayers in Latin.
Is it convenient to go to some daily Masses during the week?
Is it convenient to fast when we are not obliged?
On & on, etc…
Why Latin? Is it more efficacious?
Latin is the official language of the Church.
Latin is the most solemn language to address God and Our Lady.
Of course, God will still receive our prayers in vernacular.
And of course, these days, most will choose what is more convenient.
IMHO, we should make an effort to learn our prayers in Latin.
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Windmill
Guest
Latin is the language of the Church’s liturgy, but a Catholic prayer life is more than just liturgical prayer. God doesn’t expect us to only talk to him with formal prayers. That would be a dismal form of religion.
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Phemie
Guest
As do I. I rarely have the opportunity to confess in French but my Act of Contrition is always in my mother tongue, the same prayer I learned 57 years ago.
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Don_Ruggero
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Latin is used in the liturgy of the Roman Rite but of course is not the liturgical language for the Eastern Catholic Churches.
As the Council Fathers reminded all Catholics at Vatican II, in Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Church holds each of the 23 Churches of the East in full communion with Rome as utterly equal in dignity…thus one cannot speak of Latin as a more solemn way to address God than Greek or Aramaic…which were languages He used in divine revelation…or the various other liturgical languages used by the sui juris Churches.
4. Lastly, in faithful obedience to tradition, the sacred Council declares that holy Mother Church holds all lawfully acknowledged rites to be of equal right and dignity; that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way.
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ProVobis
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You don’t have to know an entire language to pray along in it. The EF only has some 600 distinct words, many of them cognates of your English language.
Where I attend the EF, half of the people have Latin-Spanish missalettes and half have Latin-English missalettes and all our responses are made in Latin. It’s been in effect now for several years with no problems.
At home I pray in Latin for the most part. Why? Because I’m trying to keep a beautiful language alive.
A
awsiukiewicz
Guest
Not sure if there is one clear answer as there are obviously many variables. but of note…it’s my understanding that Pope Benedict XVI strongly suggested that all Catholics commit themselves to learning the basic (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be, Apostles Creed ) in Latin, which is the language of the Church. Contrary to some beliefs Latin is not a ‘dead language’… I served Holy Mass in the 60’s so had to memorize some Latin, which I did…as an adult now I have learned and pray the Rosary in Latin…it’s not the difficult and understanding what one is saying/praying will come. Latin is unambiguous. there is no question as to what is being prayed/Latin. All official Church documents are written in Latin. If you have an interest it can be done. and it is beautiful. Im sure and have respectively been reminded that our prayers prayed sincerely are heard in any language, obviously. But to repeat myself it is the language of the Church,. Pax Tecum
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OraLabora
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I do liturgically at least, for much the same reason (and musically, Latin is the language of the great patrimony of Gregorian chant, and chant tones don’t adapt so well to French though the choirmaster of our abbey has put together some that aren’t horrible).
However, outside the liturgy, as I said, my default is French, my mother tongue.
This is though, a personal aesthetic and as far as I’m concern doesn’t enhance the value of the prayer.
Mind you tonight for First Vespers of the Baptism of the Lord tonight, I recited “in secreto” in French. I am not fond of the music for this feast; in particular I hate mode VII psalms on the finale “d” and most if not all of the antiphons are in that mode. I can never make that mode sound better than strangling a chicken
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Don_Ruggero
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In all these long years, I have never heard attempts involving mode VII critiqued in that way. But your saying it also brings to mind, though, epic fails that I have witnessed “down through the ages.”/…/ in particular I hate mode VII psalms on the finale “d” and most if not all of the antiphons are in that mode. I can never make that mode sound better than strangling a chicken
Thank you for a hearty laugh at the end of this day.
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OraLabora
Guest
You’re welcome!
I actually do pretty well at VIIa, VIIc and VIIc2 and even find them very beautiful. But VIId -the strangled chicken mode- for the life of me I can’t get used to.
My all-time favourite though is mode II* (formerly known as mode IVA). It has Gallican origins and sounds so prayerful; it’s very common during Advent. It took a lot of practice to get it down pat though. I have a great recording of Psalm 22(23) by the Carthusian monks of Parkminster that I kept repeating and repeating until I got it right.
However it has 3 preparation syllables which can require some pretty fancy back-counting in some complex combinations of syllables… the reason God invented the cesura… to give the chorister time to count back three syllables from the accented one.
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