OU PROBABLY HAVE HEARD people said that “Latin is a dead language”. Some people would even apply that “theory” to the Traditional Latin Mass and say that “the Latin Mass is dead”. Do you think that is true? I think it is true in a sense, but not fully. The Latin Mass nowadays (this wasn’t the case before the Council) is very lively. One can easily find young and big families in the pews, and people participating fully and actively. However, it is also true in a sense that the Latin Mass is “dead”.
The “growth”, rubrical growth, of the Extraordinary Form stopped in 1962. Please correct me if I am wrong. But the rubrics, the missal and the liturgical calendar haven’t been developing since 1962. It is dead and we don’t have to worry about people editing and changing it. The recent change on the Mandatum Rite is a good example, the rite in the 1962 Missal is remaining unchanged. Likewise, other changes made to the Ordinary Form Mass will not affect the Extraordinary Form rubrically. This is one of the reasons why I like the Latin Mass.
The Ordinary Form of the Mass has been around for almost fifty years now, and it is still being changed every few years. Some of these changes are good and some are not so helpful. I don’t know about you, but I think making changes to the Liturgy constantly is kind of distracting and confusing, especially when the changes are not always good. In the future, the two Forms might become one and that may be the birth of a better Liturgy, but that would be another topic. For now, I found the Old Mass being very prayerful and it definitely help me to focusing on worshiping God and become holier.
HY DID I MENTIONED all that? Because I realize that many people are disappointed with some decisions that were made by our Holy Father recently. I want to point out that the Vetus Ordo is a possible solution if people find it hard to stay focused on God during the Liturgy. It is very important that we are able to pray the Mass. The Mass, both the Old and the New, is the ultimate sacrifice, the Sacrifice of Love.
God desires mercy rather than sacrifices (Hos 6:6; Mt 12:7). And one of the greatest commandments that our Lord gave us is to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mt 22:39). No matter what Form of the Mass we would preferred, love is always the greatest commandment. Therefore, we all need to be charitable to one another, even when we have disagreements. Let us not forget about love, which is what happen at every Mass. If rubrics is all we care about, what is the difference between the pharisees and us? Rather than criticizing the Holy Father, we can pray for him. Maybe we can spend some time with the Blessed Sacrament instead of arguing with a fellow brother or sister in Christ. No matter what happens, we need to pray constantly, and receive God’s grace through the Sacraments. That is how we can grow in holiness. And that is the way to become more like Christ.
Holy Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us!
