The last weekend – the first Sunday of Advent – we began something new (to us) in the central region of our parish family: the singing of the ‘Our Father’ in Latin. While we will be doing this throughout Advent and concluding at Christmas, the use of Latin in the Mass is something that we have been working into all of our communities across Parish Family 49. During Lent of last year, many of our parishes used the Latin for the parts of the Ordinary of the Mass. At all of our parishes, myself, Father Gali, and Father Ed have been working to introduce – or reintroduce – Latin as a regular part of our liturgical practice, especially during the holy seasons of the liturgical year (Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter).

It is probably fair to say that Latin is not the conversational language of, well, anyone in modern times. Across our parish family, the two dominant languages are English and Spanish, though we have strong representation of Tagalog  and Mam from Filipino and Guatamalan communities, respectively. Undoubtedly there are also other languages spoken in the homes of various members of our parishes.

When we consider changes – especially liturgical changes – within our parish family, it is helpful to remember the values that inform what we do. You may recall that in August of last year, I wrote briefly about the four-fold heirarchy of values that inform my discernment & decisions around liturgy. Though it makes the list, preferences (mine and those of others!) are rightly at the bottom of the list of values. There is room for preferences to inform our decisions – indeed, folks are quick indeed to make known their preferences (solicited or not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)!  But we do not start with what we prefer, but rather, with the values at the top of the list – in this case, the principles given to us by the Church Herself.

I start here because it likely needs to be said very plainly: our use of Latin in the Mass is not about what we (both clergy and laity alike) do or don’t prefer. Our liturgy commissions absolutely consider what is likely to be well-received or enjoyed by our communities – but that can’t be our first consideration. We’ll circle back to that consideration later on in this post, but for now I hope it suffices to say that we are not using Latin in the Mass simply because some members of the community like it; there are higher values that call us to this practice than simple preference.

Bold words, I know, so let’s get into the thick of it. What values inform the decision to use Latin in the Mass? In short, all of them – principles (liturgical law & Church teaching, in particular), policies, practicalities, and yes, preferences as well.

One of the most visible – or audible, I suppose – changes made by the Second Vatican Council was the liberalization of the vernacular (the local language) in liturgical celebrations. There is a whole document (Liturgiam Authenticam) on the use of vernacular languages in the publication of the books of the Roman liturgy. I can’t do it justice here, but if you’re interested in getting a better idea of the mind of the Church in this matter, it is well worth your time and not terribly long (maybe 40 pages or so). It was commissioned as a result of the article 36 of the first document of the Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium. And this is where we things get interesting, because there is clear instruction given about both Latin and the vernacular:

Sacrosanctum Concilium, #36

1. Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites [emphasis added].

2. But since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the Mass, the administration of the sacraments, or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended. This will apply in the first place to the readings and directives, and to some of the prayers and chants, according to the regulations on this matter to be laid down separately in subsequent chapters.

3. These norms being observed, it is for the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned in Art. 22, 2, to decide whether, and to what extent, the vernacular language is to be used; their decrees are to be approved, that is, confirmed, by the Apostolic See. And, whenever it seems to be called for, this authority is to consult with bishops of neighboring regions which have the same language.

4. Translations from the Latin text into the mother tongue intended for use in the liturgy must be approved by the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned above.

Did you notice the first point of that article? The preservation of the Latin language in our rites is not simply suggested but in fact mandated for Catholics! Though the document on the use of the vernacular (Liturgiam Authenticam) rightly spends most of its time establishing guidelines for such translations, it takes pains to echo the importance of Latin in our liturgical celebrations:

Liturgiam Authenticam, #28

The Sacred Liturgy engages not only man’s intellect, but the whole person, who is the “subject” of full and conscious participation in the liturgical celebration. Translators should therefore allow the signs and images of the texts, as well as the ritual actions, to speak for themselves; they should not attempt to render too explicit that which is implicit in the original texts. For the same reason, the addition of explanatory texts not contained in the editio typica is to be prudently avoided. Consideration should also be given to including in the vernacular editions at least some texts in the Latin language [emphasis added], especially those from the priceless treasury of Gregorian chant, which the Church recognizes as proper to the Roman Liturgy, and which, all other things being equal, is to be given pride of place in liturgical celebrations.Such chant, indeed, has a great power to lift the human spirit to heavenly realities.

The Church does not place this responsibility solely on the lay faithful. Among the many responsibilities that a pastor is charged with, the Church also includes some that are specific to the liturgy. In the document Musicam Sacram – also a fruit of the Second Vatican Council – the Church not only repeats Her teaching around the vernacular and Latin in the Mass, but offers a particular mandate to pastors:

Musicam Sacram, #47

The According to the Constitution on the Liturgy, “the use of the Latin language, with due respect to particular law, is to be preserved in the Latin rites.”

However, since “the use of the vernacular may frequently be of great advantage to the people” “it is for the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority to decide whether, and to what extent, the vernacular language is to be used. Its decrees have to be approved, that is, confirmed by the Apostolic See.”

In observing these norms exactly, one will therefore employ that form of participation which best matches the capabilities of each congregation.

Pastors of souls should take care that besides the vernacular “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.” [emphasis added]

Keen-eyed readers of the document will notice a footnote after that emphasized section – one reference to Sacrosanctum Concilium (#54) from which Musicam Sacram takes its language. The other refers to a document issued while the Second Vatican Council was in session, Inter Oecumenici (#59), which adds to this language a helpful point:

Inter Oecumenici, #59

Pastors shall carefully see to it that the Christian faithful, especially members of lay religious institutes, also know how to recite or sing together in Latin, mainly with simple melodies [emphasis added], the parts of the Ordinary of the Mass proper to them. 

Personally, I find this particular note to be a consoling one: the Church is aware of the challenge of Latin! While She does not compromise Her conviction that our use of Latin is important, the human element matters: we focus on what we can do within the realm of the average person in the pew.

Finally, I would point to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal – the teaching of the Church on the specifics of how to celebrate the Mass. In the section on singing, the General Instruction has this to say:

General Instruction of the Roman Missal, #41

The main place should be given, all things being equal, to Gregorian chant, as being proper to the Roman Liturgy. Other kinds of sacred music, in particular polyphony, are in no way excluded, provided that they correspond to the spirit of the liturgical action and that they foster the participation of all the faithful.

Since the faithful from different countries come together ever more frequently, it is desirable that they know how to sing together at least some parts of the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin, especially the Profession of Faith and the Lord’s Prayer [emphasis added], according to the simpler settings. 

There is a clear wisdom to the Church’s teaching here. It seems unavoidable that there will be areas even within the tightest of community where we are unavoidable divided by differing languages and culture. How good it is that at least in those prayers where we are expressing our common faith and the prayer that the Lord Himself gave us, we would speak with one voice, using the same words.

Before we talk about our parish family policies, I should acknowledge the upper levels of policy – that of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and our archdiocese. In searching the USCCB website, I have only found a guidelines document titled Guidelines for a Multilingual Celebration of Mass. This brief document holds no weight of law and limits itself to simple repetition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal on the matter of the use of Latin in the Mass (see section C ‘Norms for Music’, number 2). In the archdiocesan policy on the Mass (Many Gifts, One Spirit: Eucharist), the question of languages in Mass is not referenced at all, leaving the matter to what already exists in universal law.

While there hasn’t been much written policy for our parish family (what little I have written has been related to faith formation practices and Mass intentions), we – that is to say, myself in consultation with our liturgy commissions and parochial vicars – have begun moving towards a policy with regards to Latin in the Mass. I have made several specific points that inform how we proceed with Latin in the Mass. The first is fairly simple: that we actually use Latin in the Mass regularly, especially during the holy seasons of the year (Advent & Christmas, Lent & Easter). This is not entirely foreign to us – or most parishes in the archdiocese: it has been the practice of many parishes to use the simple Latin Mass setting each Lent. In many of our parishes last year, we did just this…..but I have directed our choirs to change this practice for what I hope is a fairly understandable reason: we don’t want Latin to be exclusively a penitential practice! There are many joyful compositions in Latin (Veni, Veni Emmanuel [O Come, O Come, Emmanuel], Adeste Fideles [O Come, All Ye Faithful], Adoro Te Devote [a Eucharistic hymn], among others) – what a shame if we came to only associate Latin with sacrifice and suffering.

The second policy is that our use of Latin ought to be proportional. While there is no mathematical formula to this calculation, the basic idea is that we ought to avoid unduly burdening folks in the process of learning both new words and new music. In a recent conversation about Mass settings, the question of introducing the very beautiful Missa de Angelis as our Mass setting for one of the holy seasons. For those of us who are familiar with the more commonly sung Ordinary of the Mass in Latin, this isn’t much of a stretch (and, I might add, is a lot of fun, musically speaking!) – but we came to the rather quick realization that this would be too much of a stretch until we are all more familiar with the more basic Latin forms of the Ordinary of the Mass. 

This policy extends to how we incorporate Latin into our chants and hymnody. For example, many Catholics – including myself, until fairly recently – are not aware of how many variations exist of common chants. The O Salutaris that is sung during exposition of the Blessed Sacrament before adoration has many (many!) different musical variations, but most Catholics are understandably only familiar with one of the simpler compositions of the piece. If we were to introduce a different composition of this, a fairly major effort would need to be made in both teaching and learning – something we would only do with significant advance planning (if at all).

Another policy – though not exclusive to the use of Latin itself – is that of consistent practice within each of our regions and, where possible, across our parish family. Our geography and the variations of ability among our priests & liturgical leaders mean that imposing a practice for the entire parish family is done very carefully – and quite rarely when it comes to things like music. What is easily accomplished in one parish might be barely attainable or altogether impossible in another. For things musical, I have directed our vicars & liturgical leaders to primarily focus on consistency within each region (Saint Anne & Saint Thomas the Apostle or the west region, Queen of Angels & Saint Joseph or the central region, and Saint Mary Star of the Sea or the east region). In short, there should be consistency at least within each region – though major deviations between regions within our parish family are to be avoided unless truly necessary. This helps the average parishioners – and we priests who are serving regularly within a given region – to rest assured that whatever Masses they might attend within a given region will be more or less similar to the other Masses within that region.

The fourth policy is that our use of Latin be balanced against practicalities and preferences – which is a welcome segue into the next level down in our heirarchy of values.

To my mind, this is the easiest – and probably least controversial – of values to tackle. In our conversations about Latin in the Mass, a major consideration that is always relevant is ‘how hard is this going to be?’. And I would hasten to highlight that I sympathize with this! A friend of mine – herself classically trained in liturgical music – once gently teased me that my Latin has a very strong Spanish/Mexican accent to it. I find that when I am doing anything in Latin, I struggle to avoid slipping into Spanish – and when it is time to switch back to English, I find myself easily confused about where I am or what I am supposed to say next. And I’m the guy who is supposed to be spearheading all of this!

This consideration is doubly important when we are evaluating the inclusion of Latin chant. The Church is pretty big on singing the Mass – you’ll find within the documents I’ve referenced above a great number of exhortations for both clergy & laity to sing within the Mass pretty much as often as possible, especially in the form of Gregorian chant. We are not meant to simply say the prayers of the Mass, we are meant to joyfully join the choirs of angels and saints in singing God’s praises! ….but that’s easier said than, well, than sung. All the more so when the words of what is being sung are new to us. Our liturgy commissions – especially the choir leaders – spend a good amount of time weighing whether or not we’re ready to tackle something new, refine something familiar, or simply stick with what we’ve got in a given situation.

The other major practicality has to do with the diversity that exists in our communities. At one of our townhall meetings over the last year or so, I was floored at the fervor with which one of our Spanish-speaking communities expressed their desire to have more Latin in the Mass. This wasn’t born of an agenda but struck me more in the sense of a plea: they deeply felt the division between themselves and those who did not speak their native language of Spanish. The fact of the matter is that many of our Spanish-speakers can’t always – sometimes not even often – get to a Spanish-speaking Mass. The reverse is only rarely true: most English speakers have their pick of several English Masses each weekend. Establishing common ground, particularly in the prayers we say together, is a major practical priority in all five of our locations.

This lower value (practicality) ties in rather beautifully with the higher value (principles) in the teaching of the Church through the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. The focus on the ‘Our Father’ and the Profession of Faith (ie, the Creed) is a natural jumping-off point for building common prayers in Latin that can form a shared repertoire of prayer across all of the languages & cultures within our parishes! Even as we continue to embrace the venacular in our prayer & worship, there is a very practical genius in the Church’s insistence that we retain and foster Latin.

At long last, we reach the last value – and I daresay, the least important (though not un-important) – within the fourfold heirarchy. Here on the Olympic Peninsula, we have an interesting mix of progressive and traditionally minded Catholics. There is a strong contingent of folks who have come to (or choose to continue to live in) our rural region specifically to preserve and be among those who value what is traditional in civil & religious society. Others have moved to the region not because of cultural reasons but due to the beauty of the area – often themselves coming from fairly progressive regions & cultures. Still others land somewhere in between. But pretty much everyone has strong opinions about what they like!

I am extraordinarily grateful that we are not a Church run by democracy. Winston Churchill is credited with saying “Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”. While I am grateful for the role of democracy in civil society, it is a great grace that our Church has Christ as Her head, the pope as His vicar, and an established heirarchy to authoritatively guide and moderate our personal impulses.

…..but we are also human! And where one might delight in Latin, another might find Latin distasteful. Neither, I would assert, is more right or wrong for having their preference. While the Church clearly teaches that Latin is a necessary part of our faith, She gives us flexibility in how we incorporate that necessity. And so we use that freedom to try to allow for varying preferences to take priority at different times. For example, the choice to pray the ‘Our Father’ in Latin is not a perpetual one. For those that so prefer it, Christmas will bring with in a shift to the vernacular, which will likely continue through the (brief!) period of Ordinary Time to follow. As we continue through each season, we work to balance the various preferences we discern within our communities, attempting as best we can to offer something that will speak to the desires and delights of all.

By now, I hope it is apparent that our use of Latin in the Mass is well-rooted in a wide diversity of values – values that span Church teaching, understandable policies, practical necessities, and taking into consideration personal preferences. There is undoubtedly more to say about all of this, but I am hopeful that this helps break open some of what goes into not just decisions about Latin in the Mass, but how decisions are generally made.

You’ll have noticed that I have avoided focusing on what I like or want around Latin in the Mass – and there’s a reason for that! I suspect that I am not alone in bearing a deep skepticism towards even a hint of leadership that bears the scent of leading by fiat. If the will being done isn’t the Lord’s will, it will be flawed to the very core – and cause no small suffering in those who are subject to it. I hope that my efforts here and throughout our parish family reflect true discernment of the Lord’s will and the teaching of His Church!

I would add a final pastoral note – a warning of how all-too-easy is can be to allow distaste for something we don’t prefer to turn into distaste for the people who happen to prefer that very thing…..or for we who enjoy something to resent those who don’t share our enjoyment. A friend of mine once shared that she didn’t like chocolate – something that I genuinely can’t understand! When I voiced something to that effect, she responded ‘what threat does it pose to you – it means more chocolate for those of you who DO like it!’ I’ve never forgotten her point – especially while enjoying some chocolate!

If you enjoy Latin, use your enthusiasm to patiently assist those who might struggle with it, with empathy for the struggle and the person. If you struggle with Latin, be consoled that you are not alone in your struggle while allowing for the joy of others in something you do not enjoy. In short, remember that while the spoken language of the Roman Catholic Church is Latin, the truly universal language of all is that of Christ’s love for us and we for Him & each other. 

References

• Building up liturgical celebrations in our parish family, https://fathermaurer.com/2024/08/09/building-up-liturgical-celebrations-in-our-parish-family/
• General Instruction of the Roman Missal, https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal
• Guidelines for a Multilingual Celebration of Mass, https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/frequently-asked-questions/guidelines-for-a-multilingual-celebration-of-mass
• Inter Oecumenici (Instruction on Implementing Liturgical Norms), https://adoremus.org/1964/09/inter-oecumenici/
• Liturgiam authenticam (“On the Use of Vernacular Languages in the Publication of the Books of the Roman Liturgy”) https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20010507_liturgiam-authenticam_en.html
• Many Gifts, One Spirit: Eucharist, https://archseattle.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Eucharist.pdf
• Musicam Sacram (“Instruction on Music in the Liturgy”), https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_instr_19670305_musicam-sacram_en.html
• Sacrosanctum Concilium (“Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy”), https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html