Post intelligent and civil comments. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the NLM
"Almost all world religions have a sacred language for worship. Muslims always read the Qu’ran in Arabic. Jews say all of their prayers in Hebrew. Hindus use Sanskrit or Pali, which no one speaks colloquially."
Yes, but isn’t Arabic the vernacular for most of the Muslim world?
shawn
this is excellent! Im printing thisd out and giving it to certain..ahem...colligues
Stefan
No.
I especially liked the comment about the vernacular actually resulting in a Balkanization of the liturgy. I recall once attending mass at Westminster Cathedral in London. I sat next to two fellows who were speaking French. Behind me was a woman who, based on her elaborate (and beautiful) headdress, may have been speaking in a language associated with an African culture. Our separateness, although rich culturally, separated us. However, when mass began, the separateness of our backgrounds disappeared and we all became one in worshipping God as Roman Catholics. It was a wonderful, unifying experience.
I sing in a schola cantorum, and we have memorized a number of latin hymns. I remember watching a live feed of the cardinals filing into the sistine chapel to elect our dear pontiff, and the choir was singing Veni Creator Spiritus. I was able to sing the whole song along with them, even though their primary language was probably Italian. We might not be able to hold a conversation in English or Italian, but we can worship our God as one. It was a very unifying experience for me, even though I wasn't there.
Stefan,
The countries with the most Muslims are Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, China and India.
None of which speak Arabic as their venacular.
Interestingly, there are probably as many Muslims in the United States as there are Muslims that speak Arabic as their everyday language.
Thanks Pes for all the information about Arabic.
lol
I'm sorry, I just didn't have the info close at hand!
Also- even the Arabic of the Qur'an is different than the Arabic which is used in everyday spoken situations. The Wikipedia article on the Arabic language even compares the relationship between Classical Arabic and the spoken dialects with the relationship between Latin and the Romance languages.
I remember the baccalaureate Mass at the second graduation at the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, New Hampshire: three priests from different parts of the world and with different mother tongues, concelebrating a Novus Ordo Latin Mass: Monsignor (now Bishop) Peter Eliot from Australia, the late Father Louis Bouyer from France, and Father Francis Xavier from Sri Lanka (Ceylon).
What a very interesting post.
What fascinating questions and answers !
I find myself giving the following answers :
Q. Didn't Vatican II abolish Latin ?A. No.
Q. Isn't Latin exclusive ? Doesn't it split us up into groups ?
A. No.
Q. How can I get anything out of the Mass if I can't understand every word ?
A. Understanding every word has nothing to do with it.
Q. Are there any advantages to usingboth Latin and English in the Mass ?
A. Yes.
Q. Is it wrong if I don't feel the same when parts of, or the whole of, the Mass are in Latin ?
A. No.
Q. How can I learn more about the Catholic faith and its rich liturgical heritage ?
A. By reading the right books.
Q. If you could recommend one book, which would it be ?
A. "The Spirit of The Liturgy" Josef Cardinal Ratzinger.
For those of you who may not know, Father Smith is a convert to Catholicism. Sometimes it takes someone not raised in the Faith to appreciate its riches. He is to be warmly commended. Tom
Father Christopher Smith is a Baptist convert and is responsible for much evangelization of both Catholics and non-Catholics in the diocese of Charleston (SC), especially in the Upstate of Greenville-Spartanburg-Easley corridor.
He is a true gift from God from everyone who knows him. He is still under 30 (I think). You will hear more from him (much more) in the years to come.
He is a true gift from God. My family and I are going to miss him greatly!
"Q. Is it wrong if I don't feel the same when parts of, or the whole of, the Mass are in Latin ?
A. No."
I have been trying to track down a quote that I think I read hear, but possibly somewhere else on the internet, in which a young priest who spoke of how he "felt" about various aspects of the Faith, was warned by a wise mentor not to "make a god of [his] feelings."
Anyone who recalls this or who can point me in the right direction?
And I so agree with the comments on Latin preventing the balkanization of our communities. Everyone who works with me is tired of my sighing in a snarkily disingenuous tone everytime planning, printing and programming for Spanish/English litrugies and services commences --"Ah, if only the Church in Her wisdom had thought to provide a common liturgical language that belongs to us all, equally..."
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