Sunday, December 10, 2006
The Best Way to Assist the Holy Mass is to Pray the Mass
By Fr. Arthur Tonne
Reprinted from Talks on the Mass, 1950
A common complaint among the modernists is that the Mass has to be changed from the Latin into the vernacular because few people have a working understanding of Latin. When Mass is said in the vernacular, they say, there will be no doubt about the words the priest is saying.
Reprinted from Talks on the Mass, 1950
A common complaint among the modernists is that the Mass has to be changed from the Latin into the vernacular because few people have a working understanding of Latin. When Mass is said in the vernacular, they say, there will be no doubt about the words the priest is saying.
However, this comment is begging the question. There is a presumption throughout all this that a majority of the Catholic faithful are imbeciles and that they sit, starry-eyed, on the edges of their pews without even a clue as to what is happening at the altar.
Blanket assumptions like this come from shallow hearts and weak minds. I do not wish to jump to the conclusion that the learned men who propose liturgical novelties do so out of a spirit of malice, purposely distorting the facts so that radical changes can be made in the Mass that will satisfy their aims.
These modern teachers of liturgical practice miss the point. Hundreds of times each day, throughout our land and the entire world, the Catholic faithful are taught by their pastors, and good, devoted religious men and women how it is they should attend Mass. Young children are taught by the venerable Sisters before their first Holy Communion how to assist at Holy Mass. These young minds cannot comprehend all the Latin that the priest says, to be sure, but if anyone should approach such a child at Holy Mass after he has been instructed by the nuns, and there ask the child what Father is doing a the altar, I dare say that even this young child can tell the inquisitor with accuracy comparable to the child's age what it is that Father is doing at Mass. It is not the fault, then, of the Church for keeping the faithful from understanding the Mass because it is said in Latin. No, it is through the lack of devout instruction of the faithful and/or the wilful ignorance of indevout Catholics that so many of the faithful claim that they do not know what they are doing at Holy Mass and that the Latin Mass has no meaning to them.
In order to derive the greatest blessing from Holy Mass, we must attempt to gain a deeper devotion and understanding of this sublime Sacrifice.
Praying with the understanding is the aim and ambition of Holy Mother Church for all her children, especially with regard to the Mass. It is impossible for every parish in the world to have the good Sisters conducting instructions for all the faithful. But, it is possible to strive for the day when every Catholic able to read will have a Missal at Mass and will follow with understanding what is going on and what is being said at the altar.
Unquestionably, the best method of assisting at Holy Mass is with a Missal, that is, a book which gives the English translation of what the priest is saying at the altar. More and more Catholics are using this intelligent method of assisting at the Holy Sacrifice.
While all people do not have what are known as "Daily Missals", many have a shortened form of the large Missal which the priest uses at the altar. It gives the Masses for the Sundays and the principle feasts. Some of these have been so simplified and easily arranged that any Catholic with average intelligence and reading ability can easily follow the prayers. Whether a daily missal or a Sunday missal is used, the end result will be the same: those attending Mass will do so with devotion and understanding. This is the prayer expressed by Pope St. Pius X, who said: You must not only pray at Mass, you must pray the Mass."
The various prayers and ceremonies indicate that it is the parental desire of Holy Mother Church that the faithful cooperate actively with the priest in the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries. Mass is not the exclusive task or function of the priest; it is the united sacrifice of priest and people. It is true that only the priest has the power of consecration and the power of officially offering sacrifice. Nevertheless, in that offering, he is assisted by the faithful. The best way for all of us to appreciate this is by the use of the missal.
When a missal is not used, a lot is missed. While the priest will read the Epistle and Gospel before the sermon at Sunday Mass, the many beautiful Scripture passages quoted during the Mass will be missed. The whole theme of the Church for a particular Sunday is found by a prayerful reading of these words. Without a missal one cannot find the treasure of graces found in the many prayers of the Mass.
As strongly as the urging is to assist at Holy Mass with a missal, the use of the missal is not by any means mandatory. There are many other methods of assisting at Holy Mass that can provide the soul with a large share of graces, yet they are not the same as praying the Mass with a missal in hand. A good number of people have some favorite prayers or devotions which they have used since childhood. Unless they use these, they do not feel they have been to Mass. Others are to be found fingering Rosary beads. This, too, is a Eucharistic devotion. The Creed is the part of the Mass as well as the Our Father. Both of these prayers are to be found in the Holy Rosary. If the recitation of the Rosary during Mass leads the faithful to have more devotion and attention during Mass, then, with God's blessing, pray these prayers and recite those devotions each time the Holy Sacrifice is offered.
Regardless of the method used in assisting at Holy Mass, the most important thing is that we all come to Mass fully prepared. Coming to Mass just because we must will wither the heart and quench the flame of charity. The human mind can all to quickly wander, so when we come to assist at mass we will need some assitance to keep our minds at their proper attention.
Liturgical modernists are doing all they can to convice us that the Latin Mass will be the downfall of the Catholic Church in our modern age. We must be willing to show them that the answer to increased devotion and attention at Mass is not through the introduction of novel ideas. Rather, it comes from personal efforts to derive all possible fruit fomr our attendance at Mass.
This article first appeared in the December 1995 issue of The Catholic Voice.
Labels: Liturgy, Traditionalism
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