Somebody told me that the second Vatican Council prohibited the use of Latin at Mass and prohibited priests saying Mass facing the wall.  I went to a church the other day that claimed to be Catholic but the priest was mumbling in Latin and all I could see was his back.  My friend told me that it must be one of those renegade splinter groups and aren't really Catholic.

Signed, 

Fritz Feuerstein

Your friend sounds about as deep as a puddle and must have learned most of his/her theology on the Discovery Channel.  Let me explain.

The Vatican Council changed nothing. If you find one verse in the documents of Vatican II that forbid Mass “ad orientem” (a Latin phrase meaning toward the east, which implies face to the altar, back to the congregation during certain parts of the Mass) I will give you fifty bucks. That should get you reading the documents.

All those changes were initiated by the so called  “Liturgical Movement.” 

The goal at the time, and I was there, was to simplify the Roman Liturgy, or Latin rite as it is called, by removing the things that had been added over the centuries, (such as two confessions of sin, when one would do). 

Homegrown liturgists took over the changes and went to town, creating a sort of “roll your own, smoke your own” liturgy that the council fathers never intended.  For me, the low point in the liturgical movement was the “clown Mass”­— no I’m not making this up — in which the celebrant and everyone else involved would dress like clowns to create a festive circus Mass that was particularly interesting to children.

The Mass is the unbloody re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary.  In short, the attitude we should have at Mass is exactly the same as that which we have at Calvary.  At Mass we are witnessing the self-giving sacrifice of God made for love of you and me.  We should have a sense of awe and sorrow for sin and profound joy. When you go to Mass you are going to Calvary to renew you love for the Lord, as He renews his love for you.

So let’s put it another way: a Clown Calvary?!?  I don’t think so.

I hate it when someone says I didn't get anything out of Mass.  Who told you that you were supposed to get something out of Mass?  It’s the sacrifice of the Mass, not the Calvary Variety and Fashion Show.  You go to Mass to give your life to Christ one more time.  If you give your heart and soul to Him in the receiving of communion, I promise you, you will get something out of Mass.

You probably saw a Tridentine Mass, that is a Mass offered in the style of the Council of Trent, really in the style that goes back to the first centuries of Roman Christianity.  It is beautiful if one understands it.  Unfortunately, most modern Americans only understand the instructions on the shampoo bottle, “Lather, Rinse, Repeat.”  We are raised on cereal commercials and the theme from Gilligan’s Island.

What we have now is called the Novus Ordo Mass (That’s Latin for new order Mass) the council insisted that Latin and Gregorian chants were to be retained in the Mass.  Well, that ship has sailed.  Personally, I like the Novus Ordo.  It has a simplicity, reverence and dignity when it is done properly, and face it we aren't going to bother to learn much Latin.

Unfortunately, the Novus Ordo Mass only works for a very holy priest and a holy congregation who aren't distracted by external appearance.  When the priest faces the people, it becomes very easy for him to think that he is responsible for the show.

And, Fritz, it ain't a show!

Sincerely,

Rev. Know-It-All