Having established a few preliminary points, I want to look at some of the specific practices adopted at Campion.

I should start by saying that I don’t regard the language of the liturgy as anything like the most important thing and neither does any traditionalist I know. However, it is perhaps the most obvious feature, so probably the best place to start.

As I noted, it’s popularly claimed that the Council abolished Latin from the liturgy – it didn’t. Sacrosanctam Concilium, the Concilia Decree on the liturgy said that some parts of the liturgy should be translated into the vernacular but it was equally clear that some use of Latin should be retained[1].

I’m going to shock some of my traditionalist friends by saying I think the Council was right to mandate the use of the vernacular in parts of the mass. The scripture readings, for example, with their instructional value are perhaps the clearest case of something which should be done in the language of the people. However, the mass, as it is currently said in most parishes, entirely in the vernacular is plainly contrary to what the Council ordered.

But why should we pray in a language we don’t normally speak? One reason is precisely because we don’t normally speak it. The very act of using, in worship, a language we don’t use in normal conversation helps to set apart the liturgy, to sacralise it.

Another good reason is that it speaks to the unity of the church. One of the great beauties of the Catholic Church is precisely that it is Catholic, universal. The use of a liturgical language by Catholics from around the world serves as a powerful symbol of this universality and the unity which Christ grants to men and women of “every tongue and tribe and nation.”[2]

I should note, that the use of a special liturgical language is not uniquely Catholic or even uniquely Christian. Hindus, Muslims, Jews and other groups have sacred tongues of their own. Perhaps the most interesting case is that of Reformed Judaism. A century ago, the typical reformed synagogue conducted worship entirely in the vernacular; however the twentieth century saw a return to the use of liturgical Hebrew to the point where most Reformed synagogues today use a balance of Hebrew and the vernacular; perhaps we Catholics can learn something from them.

Prior to the Council, it was common practice for the priest to say the majority of the mass facing the same direction as the people. As with Latin, it is common to hear the claim that the Council abolished this practice and instructed priests to say Mass facing towards the congregation. All I can say to this is, I can’t find the place were the Council said this and nobody has been able to show it to me.

Having said that, I agree that some of the changes in this matter have been good, the pre-Concilia practice of the scriptures being read facing away from the people makes little sense to me. I do believe, however, that the traditional practice of priest and people facing in the same direction should be restored.

It is worth noting, that this is the practice of those Eastern Churches who share the Catholic Church’s faith that the Eucharist is truly a sacrifice and not just a meal. It is also, as Monseigneur Gamber demonstrates,[3] the ancient practice of the church. I should stress that this is not simply a matter of aesthetics or personal preference but of symbolism. If, as the Catholic Church insists, the Mass is primarily a sacrifice, then it makes sense that priest and people should face the same direction, symbolising our joint offering of the sacrifice to God. The idea of a Eucharist with celebrant facing the people was originally introduced by the Protestant “Reformers” precisely to symbolise their belief that the Eucharist is a mere meal. The adoption of this practice by Catholics was, in my view, a mistake, one which is beginning to be corrected.

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As a completely unbiased person, I completely agree with all you say!

Fr John Fleming , March 13, 2009

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What you say appears to be quite simple and straight forward, yet has had and will continue to have a great influence on how we understand and participate in the Mass.

Jac , March 20, 2009

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