Our Road to the Traditional Latin Mass

I was very blessed to have come back in communion with the Catholic Church in a Parish that showed a great deal of reverence for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  I can attribute my consciousness of my poor dress, attitude and respect for the Blessed Sacrament to my pastor, who always was so humble and modest (he wore a cassock 24/7), and showed the upmost respect and reverence for the Mass.  There were also many  in the parish, who also displayed these same qualities.  When the priest and the laypeople show reverence for the Mass, it will bring non believers to believe.  What I mean by this, is that those who may have lacked the faith to believe in the true presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist find it easier to believe.

The previous parish I had attended years before, in my opinion, did nothing to suggest that the Eucharist was the true presence of Christ himself.  Blessed are those who believe, of course, but sometimes miracles are hard to comprehend for us humans.  When Holy Communion is performed as something like an assembly line, where people receive and then walk out the doors to leave (I remember doing this as a kid), anyone can give Holy Communion (not just priests of deacons), very little time for prayer is given (someone is singing the entire time, and when they're done, the mass is over and people immediately leave) and the precious blood is given, but only the first two rows receive it;  how on Earth could someone who has some doubt about the true presence become a believer?  The entire Mass has lead up to this climax, only to have it rushed through and not taken seriously.  

Most Catholics do not know anything about the Mass before Vatican II.  I've heard some of those old enough to remember the Mass and when asked about they'll say, "Oh thank goodness we no longer are forced to wear tissue on our heads if we forget a head covering" or, "Now we can understand the Mass".   Yes, it was silly for women to pin tissue on their heads, but this displays a lack of knowledge for WHY these practices were done.  It seems like all these "inconveniences" gave more attention to one's comfort than to what is actually happening at Mass.  I admit that I was poorly catechized, but praise God I educated myself on the Holy Mass.

God is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.  This is a good explanation of the Eucharist in Scripture: The Eucharist in Scripture .  Because of this, we must not must show respect and reverence.  I am meeting the King of kings, seeing Him face to face, and actually consuming his flesh (yes Protestants, we eat His flesh).  Why would I show up to see the Lord wearing what I wore to bed, my beach attire, or wear something that distracts those around me from His Holy presence?  Why would I not fall on my knees, not just out of adoration, but in a feeling of unworthiness?  Once I really, truly believed and KNEW that it was really Him, and really understood the Mass, I wanted to bring my best for Him.  I wanted to know what he expected of me and I wanted to perform.  

My modesty in dress has come from a personal devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as from guidance from Catholic theologians and Saints...

Prophecy of St. Nilus (5th Century) 
"After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognizable…..People’s appearances will change, and it will be impossible to distinguish men from women due to their shamelessness in dress and style of hair."

Our Lady of Fatima-1917 
"Wars are a punishment from God for sin. … Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much. … More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason."

Padre Pio from the book "Prophet of the People" by Dorothy Gaudiose 
"Padre Pio wouldn’t tolerate low-necked dresses or short, tight skirts, and he forbade his spiritual daughters to wear transparent stockings. (nylons) Each year his severity increased. He stubbornly dismissed them from his confessional, even before they set foot inside, if he judged them to be improperly dressed…His brothers observed these drastic purges with uneasiness and…fasten(ed) a sign on the church door: ‘By Padre Pio’s explicit wish, women must enter his confessional wearing skirts at least eight inches below the knees. It is forbidden to borrow longer dresses in church and to wear them for the confessional.’ "

St. Matthew (5:27-28) 
Words of Our Lord "You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Thou shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that anyone who so much as looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

If I am going to meet our Lord at Mass, I really do not want to offend.  To me, this means that I cover my body and my head.  If my priest in AZ can wear his cassock all day in 115 degree Phoenix weather, I can suck it up for Mass.  If I suffer, I can offer it up in prayer.  Dress Code used to be enforced in parishes, but since there has been a lax of this enforcement, it seems like halter tops and shorts are permissible.  It is not.  It offends God.  "Times have changed" is not an acceptable excuse.  When your cleavage is distracting men at Mass, you are committing a sin by leading others into sin.

Once I started dressing more modestly at Mass, I noticed that I acted differently (no surprise, that's why uniforms in school work for discipline).  My veil and my dress reminded me of the purpose of being there; a submission to Him.  Once I understood this, I wanted to understand what else I could do that would please Him.  I noticed others kneeling for Holy Communion, or genuflecting.  I started to remember taking Communion on the tongue for my first Holy Communion as a child.  I started to want to know what I was "supposed" to be doing.  

I started researching Church teaching on this, as well as speaking to my parish priest.  I discovered that it began to be permissible to receive Holy Communion in the hand in the late 1960s, so this was a new thing.  There were many in the Church clergy who warned that allowing this would lead to a lack in reverence to the Holy Eucharist.  Of course they were right.  After this discovery, I started to realize that the way we approach the Eucharist today is not the norm, historically speaking.  Reading what St. Thomas Aquinas has said on this topic has only deepened my desire to receive on the tongue and to avoid "Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy Eucharist".    

"The dispensing of Christ's body belongs to the priest for three reasons. First, because . . . he consecrates in the person of Christ . . . Secondly, because the priest is the appointed intermediary between God and the people, hence as it belongs to him to offer the people's gifts to God, so it belongs to him to deliver the consecrated gifts to the people. Thirdly, because out of reverence toward this sacrament nothing touches it but what is consecrated, hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest's hands, for touching this sacrament. Hence it is not lawful for anyone else to touch it, except from necessity — for instance, if it were to fall upon the ground, or else in some other case of urgency" St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica (III, Q. 82, Art. 3).

Communion-in-the-hand.org  has some more information regarding receiving Holy Communion in the hand and reverence for the Blessed Sacrament.  

Once I started dressing modestly, veiling and receiving on the tongue, while kneeling, I started having a new problem.  I started to judge those who did not (I went to Confession several times for this... it was bad).  I started to get quite angry, and I even wept at Mass when I saw such disrespect for the Holy Eucharist.  They didn't even know better (hey, I probably did worse in the past), but it was a distraction. I never said a word to anyone about it, nor did I act in any way uncharitable toward them.  Also I had gone to neighboring parishes and got dirty looks a few times .  I also went to Mass at parish that didn't have kneelers, but I knelt anyway; no one else did (not even for consecration).  Christ was nailed to a cross for us, but we can't kneel for a few minutes?   This deeply offended me.  I came across a few priests who looked confused when I received Him on the tongue.  I met a fellow Catholic in my theology classes who was told once by a priest to "get up" when she knelt for Communion.  

I started to read about the Traditional Latin Mass.  This Mass embraced all these practices that I held close to my heart, and I wouldn't be distracted by others since they all did what I was doing.  I also knew the priests holding these Masses would also be supportive of the practices I believed to be of great importance.  When we moved back to Michigan (when I was pregnant with our 3rd), after bad experiences at the regular Mass, we started attending a Latin Mass downtown on Sundays.  My husband began to grow in love for the Latin Mass, and now it's the Mass he prefers to attend.

The first time that I attended Latin Mass felt awkward.  I went alone, since the noon time offered for Latin Mass is not a good time for the kids to attend (naps).  There is always Confession before Mass at our Parish and the line is long.  It's quiet, everyone is dressed well (men in slacks or suits, women in skirts and veils),  the priest faces the tabernacle, and you have NO idea what is going on (everything is in Latin, except the homily)!  There are only altar BOYS (no girls), and there was about 12 of them who were wonderfully choreographed to genuflect and move together.  There is also incense... lots and LOTS of incense.  I didn't know there was a missal to follow along, so I tried to follow along by watching everyone else.  There were large periods of silence where I had no clue what was happening.  Holy Communion was beautiful! Only the priest (or priests) distribute.  Everyone lines up on the altar on your knees and the priest goes down the line (you receive on the tongue).  You only receive the Precious Blood for special occasions like weddings, first Holy Communion, etc (like what used to be done, you don't need both species to receive the fullness of Christ).  

The second time I went I was more prepared.  I read more about the Mass ahead of time and I took the time of silence to be in a state of prayer.  I was so used to being entertained constantly (the Ordinary Mass is chaotic after going to a TLM), so it was hard to just relax and absorb it all in.  High Masses have chant (low mass does not, and it more quiet), and once you learn these chanted prayers, you can pray along silently (or even sing along if you aren't shy).  The prayers just feel so much more intense in Latin.  It flows so beautifully and feels as though I am continuing the traditions that Church had practiced for years (Latin in the liturgy began in the third century).  

I did notice right away that the way the TLM (Traditional Latin Mass) was orchestrated that there were many benefits...

1.  No matter where you went to Mass (in the world), you would understand.  If everyone prays in the same language for Mass, going to the TLM would be the same (except for the homily, which is in the vernacular).

2.  The center of the Mass is God.  The personality of the priest won't "make or break" a parish, because he is leading us in prayer to God, not facing us.

3.  Extreme reverence in the distribution of Holy Communion.   Only consecrated hands touch Communion, so there is no disrespect to God in this way.   Everyone also dresses modestly, following traditional forms of dress.

4.  The Mass is for God, not to entertain us.  Even though, I admit that I really love hearing our pastor give homilies, so I am very entertained in his aspect.  There isn't any contemporary music that will "move" us in a way of entertainment.  Yes, it's good to sing to God, but save this for outside of Mass.  This is a good article about bad liturgical music.

5.  It's tradition!  Isn't that what the Catholic Church is all about?

Now, I am not some sedevacantist (like the SSPX) who believes the Ordinary Mass should be abolished, or shouldn't have begun in the first place.  I have seen the Ordinary Mass be done with reverence and beauty.  I also claim to be Catholic, therefore I must follow what the Church teaches.  The Church permits both forms currently, therefore one is not above the other.  Unfortunately there are many parishes with the Ordinary Mass that contain a number of liturgical abuses, which lead their parishes away from the faith.  Hopefully, through education, especially in catechism classes, Catholics will be better prepared to attend Mass in the future.  As a catechism teacher, we always spend time in class discussing modesty and reverence at Mass.

Here is a great guide for those new to the TLM, which includes a directory of where the TLM is offered: Newcomers

Here is more information on the TLM, written by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest