Mind your language

Source: here

Some years ago I was buying provisions in a shop in the West Cork Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area).  I spoke in Irish with the shop keeper. For some reason I burst out in tears afterwards. The conversation had triggered a strong emotion. You see, my late father used to speak to me, on occasions, in Irish using his ‘Muscaraí’ dialect of Irish as spoken today by a small number of people in West Cork. He was not a native speaker and I was not brought up through Irish. However, the inflections, cadences, rhythm and turn of phrase was, for me, like walking back in time.  It was a delightful experience even if tinged by sadness at my loss.

Language is a strange thing. People go to war over language; it  touches on identity, connection, meaning and continuity.  In the Church some people go to war over language in the liturgy…

Latin is the ‘official’ language of the Roman Catholic Church.  For over 1,500 years it was the only or main language used in the Roman rites of the Western Church.  I heard Mass only in Latin for the first 10 years or so of my own life before the ‘vernacular’ became the norm in the mid- to late-1960s following the reforms ushered in by Vatican II.

A common misconception, nowadays, is that Vatican II ‘abolished’ the Latin Mass.  Vatican II had relatively little to say about the language of the Liturgy. In Sacrosanctum Concilium (1963) it did confirm that:

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

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.

In the immediate years following the Council, the Church began to introduce reforms to the liturgy. One important reform was the rather rapid introduction of the ‘vernacular’.  The reform proceeded, perhaps, more rapidly and further than had been expected or assumed at the very outset. It is important to distinguish between:

1. The language used in a given liturgical rite; and
2. The Rite itself – pre-1970 or post-1970 (the latter often referred to as the Novus Ordo or New Rite).

In my opinion, the reforms were overwhelmingly welcome. We are the better for being able to follow and participate in the Mass in our own mother tongue.  Yet, Latin retains a special place in the liturgy. Or, at least it should. Its continuity with tradition, its precision of language and its universality (it is not a living language spoken in any one country) set it apart.  I suggest that there is a place for Latin in at least two ways:

The use of Latin on some Sundays or special feast days when singing or reciting the Sanctus (Holy, Holy at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer), the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) or the Pater Noster (Our Father).

The use of Latin in a designated Cathedral or church or churches in each diocese as approved the local bishop and in response to popular demand and pastoral need.

This latter point can be trickly. Since the ‘reform of the reform’ ushered in by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007, It was not only possible, but encouraged in some cases, to celebrate Mass according to the old rite or ‘Tridentine Rite’ used up to the mid-1960s. In later years, Pope Francis curtailed this provision somewhat under his motu proprio Traditionis Custodes in 2021. He restricted the circumstances in which the older liturgy may be celebrated and, crucially, emphasised that attachment to the earlier rites must not involve rejection of the liturgical reform of Vatican II or the authority of the Church's magisterium – a point also underlined by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI before him.

Language and ritual can become badges of identity politics even within the Church.  Sometimes, there is more at stake than language alone.  Some call into question the interpretation of Vatican II and reject some of the necessary reforms and practices of renewal associated with that Council and subsequent development. This is why, in part, I believe that Pope Francis found it necessary to impose some new order on developments across the world in his 2021 motu proprio.

Here is what Pope Benedict XVI had to say in 2007 in Sacramentum Caritatis in the context of large-scale concelebrations (such as at Papal masses at international events, for example):

 I am thinking here particularly of celebrations at international gatherings, which nowadays are held with greater frequency. The most should be made of these occasions.  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, (182) that, with the exception of the readings, the homily and the prayer of the faithful, it is fitting that such liturgies be celebrated in Latin. Similarly, the better-known prayers (183) of the Church's tradition should be recited in Latin and, if possible, selections of Gregorian chant should be sung. Speaking more generally, 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. (184)

In his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum in the same year, Pope Benedict copper fastened the right of priests to celebrate the Mass in Latin according to the 1962 Missal privately, without needing permission from either the Holy See or his bishop and the rights of the lay faithful who desired the older form of the Mass were to be accommodated. (the 1962 Missal refers to the usus antiquior or ancient rite or what some have referred to as the ‘Tridentine Rite’).

Language is important. It can be emotive for all sorts of good reasons.  But, we ought not to fall out over it. Ultimately, God is worshiped and served by one language – the language of love.  As Pope Leo XVI wrote recently in Magnifica Humanitas:

 In order to build the civilization of love, we must engage in dialogue, for this is the primary means of coexistence between people and nations, and it is the alternative to open conflict.

Ar scáth a Chéile a mhaireann an pobal – we live in each other’s shadow

And all of us lives under the shadow of a God of infinite love who invites us to share in his banquet.

In the words of Psalm 117 which were originally written neither in English, Latin nor Gaeilge

Alleluia! Praise the Lord, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples! For great is his steadfast love towards us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.  Praise the Lord!

Alleluja. Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes; laudate eum, omnes populi. Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia ejus, et veritas Domini manet in æternum.” Psalmi 116:1-2

Alleluia. Molaigí an Tiarna, a chiníocha uile; moladh na náisiúin go léir é. Óir is daingean é go deimhin, a bhuanghrá dúinn; maireann a dhílseacht go brách.” Salm 117:1-2