Paix Liturgique Newsletter ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents of our letter 46 - 15 April 2014 LATIN AND ALL THAT GOES WITH IT THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM PILGRIMAGE TO WELCOME THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF JUVENTUTEM IN ROME! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LATIN AND ALL THAT GOES WITH IT “I ask that future priests, from their time in the seminary, receive the preparation needed to understand and to celebrate Mass in Latin, and also to use Latin texts and execute Gregorian chant; nor should we forget that the faithful can be taught to recite the more common prayers in Latin, and also to sing parts of the liturgy to Gregorian chant.” Benedict XVI, Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, 62 On 29 March 2014, the Italian steering committee of Summorum Pontificum organized a lecture presented in Verona by Don Roberto Spataro, professor of Ancient Christian Literature at the Salesian University in Rome. Its theme was “Summorum Pontificum and the Rediscovery of the Traditional Liturgy: the Reasons for Knowing and Loving the Tridentine Mass.” What interests us in this event is that Father Spataro (aged 48) is representative of those priests whose priestly life was affected by the 7 July 2007 Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. In fact, on the day after his lecture, Don Spataro celebrated the Mass of Laetare Sunday in the extraordinary from of the Roman rite, his first time in public. I – A MEETING WITH FATHER SPATARO (Besides the two last answers, which are exclusive to our Italian edition, the content of this interview and the work of collating the answers in it belong to Ilaria Pisa, for the site “Campari e de Maistre” ) 1) For the past fifty years the study of Latin in the Church, including in the seminaries, seems to have been lost. What do you think are the reasons for this drop in interest? Is it the result of an organic choice? Fr. Spataro: Rather than an organic and programmatic choice, I think that the lack of interest in Latin studies in the Church is the fruit of a cultural atmosphere that naively sought after res novae while looking down on tradition. The Church herself did not resist the disdain for studia humanitatis, which disdain spread decade after decade both in society at large and in the educational world. 2) Does the nearly complete abandonment of Latin in the liturgy since Paul VI’s reform of the Roman Missal correspond to the wishes that the Council Fathers expressed in the constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium? Fr. Spataro: The Roman Missal of Paul VI is in Latin! But above all we ought to remember that Sacrosanctum Concilium confirms the use of Latin in the liturgy, while encouraging a reasonable and fruitful use of the vernacular languages at certain moments. Many are those who clearly see that the liturgical reform that came in the wake of the Council did not respect its prescriptions. 3) Don’t you think that the “linguistic obstacle” of Latin in the liturgy today actually amounts to an encouragement to make the necessary mental effort that allows the faithful to detach themselves from daily life in order better to enter into the sacred mysteries? Fr. Spataro: Actually, a near-universal datum of religious phenomenology is that religion relies on the use of a sacred language distinct from everyday language. This allows for a better understanding that one is not in the “ordinary” register, but in another world, the world of what is sacred, divine. Now Latin, because of certain of its specific properties, is particularly well adapted to expressing the res sacrae. 4) Does the abandonment of Latin have only a cultural dimension? Isn’t there also a risk that it might lead, or perhaps already has led, to weakened unity and cohesion in the Catholic Church, to the extent that unity in language is a sign of unity in faith? Fr. Spataro: You are right. When Pope John XXIII promulgated the Apostolic Constitution Veterum Sapientia on the value of Latin, he strenuously underscored the need for such an international institution as the Church to rely on a transnational language. Latin, as an immortal language that belongs to no one people, perfectly corresponds to this demand. The loss of the active use of Latin has made communication between local episcopates and the Holy See more difficult. Furthermore, a firm knowledge of Latin allows, especially in the case of priests, entry into a sort of “diachronic” communion with the documents of the faith from ages past, documents which have formulated the Church’s faith, often the work of Saints and outstanding Doctors, the expression of the authentic sensus fidelium. Yes, without Latin, you could well say that there is a risk of a weak and fragmentary ecclesiology deprived of any link with tradition. 5) Most of the Church’s great theologians composed their works in Latin. Can the abandonment of Latin in theology have repercussions in doctrine, in the sense that reliance on improper and equivocal terms favors the use of faulty concepts and imprecise categories, which in turn can lead to a serious misunderstanding of the Church’s theological tradition? Fr. Spataro: I think that Latin is a very concise language and that it helps avoid wordiness. Now wordiness is a flaw that affects many contemporary theological publications. Furthermore, Latin forms the precise expression of one’s thought. Thanks to its sobriety and precision, Latin avoids many conflicts in the interpretation of texts. 6) On March 30, Laetare Sunday, you’ll be celebrating the extraordinary from of the Roman rite, which many people still call the “Latin Mass.” Would you tell us when you discovered it, and what has motivated you to celebrate it? Fr. Spataro: I’ve been intrigued by the history of the SSPX since my youth. I was struck by that community’s love for the ancient Mass. Following the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, I took an in-depth look at the subject and understood this rite’s doctrinal richness. In 2010, when I was living in Jerusalem, a religious community of women invited me to celebrate the Holy Mass of Saint Pius V. Ever since then I have joyfully celebrated with the Missal of 1962 every time the occasion presents itself. It is a treasure of authentic theology and deep spirituality. It helps me to become better—and God knows I need it! Also, and especially, it constitutes a very solid food to increase the action of grace in the life of the faithful. Isn’t this the fundamental pastoral action to which we are called? 7) As a Latin teacher and a priest who celebrates in utroque usu, what advice would you have for the priests and faithful who feel drawn to the traditional liturgy because of its greater sacrality and the centrality of the Eucharistic mystery, but who feel held back by their ignorance of Latin? Fr. Spataro: First of all, I’d like to emphasize that the use of Latin is one of the essential elements of the Tridentine rite. Indeed this rite accentuates the holiness of the liturgical action and brings out the value of a sacred language, as we were just saying. If I am to give any advice, I would distinguish the faithful from the priests. To the faithful who do not have the time to study Latin, I would recommend consistently using bilingual missals, which many people already do. Little by little, owing to the comparison of the Latin text with the translation in their own language and to a little liturgical catechesis, they’ll be in a position to appreciate the language of the Ordo Missae. On the other hand I would strongly urge priests to study Latin, not only in order to celebrate digne et competenter, but also better to immerse themselves in all of the theological and spiritual tradition expressed in the Latin tongue: the Tridentine Mass is a fruit of that tradition. With permission from their ordinaries, they might concentrate on studying Latin for a time of remedial studies: with the appropriate method and competent teachers six months are enough to produce more than satisfactory results. II – THE REFLECTIONS OF PAIX LITURGIQUE 1) Founded at the behest of John XXIII, the Pontifical Superior Institute of Latin where Father Spataro teaches is to the study of Latin a little like what the Biblicum is to the study of Scripture. For a professor from this university, who is also secretary of the Pontifical Academy Latinitas founded at the begest of Benedict XVI in 2012, to speak so freely about how much he values the traditional liturgy is proof that the fruits of Benedict’s Motu Proprio continue to show themselves year after year. 2) Does not Latin express that the Church is supranational? Recall what Benedict XVI said: “In order to express more clearly the unity and universality of the Church, I wish to endorse the proposal made by the Synod of Bishops, in harmony with the directives of the Second Vatican Council (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 36, 54) that, with the exception of the readings, the homily and the prayer of the faithful, it is fitting that such liturgies [viz. liturgies during international gatherings] be celebrated in Latin. Similarly, the better-known prayers of the Churchs tradition should be recited in Latin and, if possible, selections of Gregorian chant should be sung“ (Sacramentum caritatis 62). 3) This interview with Fr. Spataro does not skirt the issue that, for some priests as well as for some of the faithful, Latin can appear as an ‘obstacle.’ Already in our Letter 382 we echoed an answer to this question by translating a reflection published in the weekly of the Franciscans of the Immaculate (pray for them!): “One of the most frequent objections made to the spread of the liturgy in Latin is the low level of knowledge of the Latin language among the faithful and the clergy. Yet this objection easily falls if one understands that in the liturgy there is a communication that transcends language and appeals to the participants’ sense of the sacred. Indeed the liturgy is the locus of communication with the supernatural, of our encounter, through the Immaculate, with Christ suffering. It is a meeting with guardian angels and saints. A meeting in heaven. Rather than being a Latinist, what counts to participate in the traditional liturgy is our soul’s disposition to become sanctified.” We might add, with a grain of salt, that many young people the world over hum pop songs in English without understanding a word of them: at least at Mass the faithful can follow a translation in their missal! 4) Fr. Spataro often shares the fact that Latin attracts many students… in China! But this also applies in Germany and in the United States, where online classes have been on the increase.* Yet we know that in most Catholic countries the share of general education set aside for Latin is increasingly residual. It is important to be clear on this point: any liturgical restoration is going to face this formidable cultural problem. Many of the faithful and even a great number of priests, even with the best will in the world, are deprived of the very basics of the language of Virgil. For Latin once again to become what it actually is, the language of the Latin Church, its teaching in seminaries needs to be substantial enough to bring the level of future priests up to speed. Which, alas, is not currently the case. * Cf. The Academy of Classical languages, in which Latin instruction is given by a professor of the FSSP’s seminary in Denton, Nebraska. THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM PILGRIMAGE TO WELCOME THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF JUVENTUTEM IN ROME! On the occasion of the Populus Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage taking place in Rome from October 23-26, 2014, the Foederatio Internationalis Juventutem (the international organization of youth brought together by the Traditional Latin Mass) will celebrate its tenth birthday. All Juventutem members and friends are warmly welcomed to take a special part in this event. On Friday, October 24th, beginning at 11:00AM, under the guidance of Fr. de Malleray, FSSP, chaplain of Juventutem, special events for Juventutem delegates will be held at the Church of Trinità dei Pellegrini, the personal parish in Rome. As Juventutem has given its support to the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage since its founding in 2012, it is fitting on their tenth anniversary that they have a momentous place in this years program. Indeed, it was back in 2005, for the Cologne WYD, that for the first time in history young people attached to the Usus Antiquior gathered under the banner of Juventutem. It was also the first time, as a herald of Summorum Pontificum, that the Church welcomed a group of Latin Mass goers in one of its official celebrations. Hence, the Friday Solemn Mass of the Pilgrimage will be said with and for Juventutem members. All the pilgrims will join for what will surely be a thrilling moment of this years pilgrimage as it will show how the extraordinary form of the Mass has profoundly attracted the youth and inspires them to place their faith at the heart of their lives. The Juventutem Anniversary Mass is scheduled at 6.30pm on Friday, October 24th at the Trinità dei Pellegrini. Contact: cisp@mail populussummorumpontificum
Posted on: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 20:27:50 +0000
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