"I am absolutely incapable of saying mass in Latin, [...] and I would actually be ashamed to do so".Ashamed??!!!
Fr Phillips makes an apposite comment about the priorities of priestly ministry:
I’m assuming most priests aren’t born knowing how to play golf any more than they’re born knowing how to speak Latin. But if their presence on the golf courses is any indication, most priests are willing to put hours of practice into something they love to do.Ecce Agnus Dei also has this motivational poster which I found amusing - it works best with the American pronunciation of baroque:
7 comments:
At university, my Latin tutor was blind, nonetheless, his blindness didn't impede his love of the language - and he was Jewish, not Catholic, so the sense of the sacredness of the language probably wasn't there for him, as it might be for Catholics. He had learnt it all in Braille and used to teach us, read to us, out of texts - Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, Pliny etc - in Braille. Imagine that! And it is not that long ago in case anyone starts asking if this was in 1920! It was the 1990’s. Latin is still a requirement in legal training in some jurisdictions based on Roman law. My tutor definitely inspired me to study mine a little better. Perhaps we should send the priest in Ancona to him. On the other hand, once the Ancona-types move into the next world, they will be followed by an army of a new generation of priests trained by FSSP, SSPX, SSPV etc., who are well-schooled in Latin, including classical pronunciation.
The priest from Ancona's shame about celebrating Mass in Latin does not, I am convinced, emanate from shame for using the classical Roman rite but from embarrassment for being incapable of doing so by his lack of Latin. That is not his fault but the fault of the Church for allowing Latin to die. The majority of priests are now in this position and only a few survive who began their ordained life celebrating the extraordinary Roman Rite as a normal occurrence. After a certain age it is at best extremely difficult, at worst impossible, to learn a new language fluently enough to use it with ease. When it comes to the Mass, not only will few be able to celebrate in Latin daily, which would help to internalize the rite, but the strain involved would show in the manner of celebration. Badly, fumblingly celebrated classic Masses will do more to discourage people from attending than any other factor. Presumably this is why bishops will be invited to provide priests who are familiar with the rite to do so and will, I hope, enable houses of the FSSP and similar institutes to be widely established. I have enormous sympathy for priests who are not trained or qualified to carry out the prescriptions of the Motu Proprio and are honest enough to say so. It does not necessarily mean that they are opposed to it but demonstrates their integrity. It will takes decades for the effects of Summarum Pontificum to have a perceptible effect and I hope that strident groups of unpleasant people are not going to harass priests who are incapable of fulfilling their demands. It is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that is at issue, whether celebrated in the ordinary or extraordinary rites.
Perhaps a silly question but how do American readers pronounce baroque?
As a layman I feel so sorry for those priests who have been denied latin in seminary, and even sorrier for those priests who thinks they lack nothing thereby. They seem to think latin is just for Mass (magari!), do they never want to read anything, even if only to check up on phrase in Canon Law? Imagine only being able to read the daily paper (Guardian presumably?) in pidgin translation!
As for our poor priest who feels "ashamed", here is something for him to really feel ashamed about:
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=80840
Get a life, padre!
Dúnadan - for English people the "oque" in "baroque" rhymes with "flock". For (many?) Americans, it rhymes with "poke".
"care must be taken to ensure that the faithful may also be able to say or sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them"
For any Bishop or Priest to claim that his congregation do not have sufficient Latin to participate in a Latin Mass is to admit that he has neglected his obligations under Vatican II.
Thank you for the link Fr. Finigan. Sorry my little poster does not work well to those not used to the American pronunciation of the word Baroque, but you explained it nicely, Father.
As General Patton said of the British and Americans, that we are two nations "sperated by a comman language". :)
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