THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS: MORE THAN A FEELING

Call it my rediscovery of Catholic tradition;  I am still waxing over the Traditional Latin Mass that I witnessed Between the language, the music, and the rituals it becomes obvious that a great miracle is taking place. There is something sacred about our so-called "dead" Latin mass tradition.  A specialness happened on Saturday, Nov. 2, All Soul's Day at St. Hugo's Stone Chapel.   

The experience of that mass is so much more though, and quite indescribable than the regular masses I've been attending.  Everything about the Traditional Latin mass contributed to the profundity of my entire afternoon -- Mozart's Requiem, the language, the priests, the vestments, candles. Something so poignant that now I want more of  it -- of the deep feeling that I am still carrying with me.  And, I am learning, am not the only one. 

The Traditional Latin Mass feels, the key word,  so much more spiritual than the Norvus Ordo mass that is celebrated on Sundays.  At the Traditional Latin Mass, are the prayers so much more directed to and at God? I don't know. But I do know that I left that place a different woman. I had to concentrate more.  To think more. Did THAT make me feel more connected to God? I really don't know, but something did happen -- a spiritual awakening. 

Maybe it was the silence and deep respect that other's demonstrated compared to the noise of the "new" mass. Could have been the reverent procession to Holy Communion to receive the sacred host on my tongue?  Maybe it was the Latin. Even though I needed to be tutored in high school, Latin was so enjoyable - like a secret language. As an adult, I finally learned Latin by reading Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which nudged me to learn Latin  faster by making a comparison to other languages I knew, German and Italian. Something clicked and learning Latin became so much more fun. 

Today a dear friend of mine invited me to dinner at the Coney Island where we sometimes meet after work to chit chat and to catch up. In fact, she is the one who suggested that I join a Church, which I never did since I unwilling left my parent's home at age 28.  Lately, with my hectic schedule,  mass for me could be anywhere in Michigan. Often it is as the internet provides a convenient mass schedule listing.  I'm glad I joined the parish I did. Close to home. Different. Nice.

Yet, I looked forward to telling her about my feelings toward the Traditional Latin Mass. She totally agreed with me. "Yes, it is more reverent." 

Because of her gift to me, a subscription of the Michigan Catholic, I learned about the Tridentine Mass on Nov. 2 through an ad, which I clipped and then totally forgot about it. Somehow, on Facebook I friended the Oakland Country Traditional Latin Mass Association, and am so grateful that I did.  This has been a tough year for me. A business slump. Deaths. Dashed hopes. Something was missing in my life, and for quite a while. The awful experience of my dark night of the soul has finally passed on Nov. 2. I feel that something so truly amazing occurred that removed the loss of God in my life. Again, that incredible lightness of being! 

So, not that it is wrong, but the Mass I experience in my local parish, seems so totally different than the Solemn High Mass on Nov. 2.  Both are important. Again, a Traditional Latin Mass is not for everyone. But it is for me. This type of mass enriched my life.  It's more than a feeling.  So much more.