Dear Readers,
Last May I traveled to Wichita, Kansas with my son and his family for a wedding. A friend of Andrew’s was getting married and he was part of the wedding party. Since Maggie was just two months old, I accompanied them to lend a helping hand.
We stayed in Old Town Wichita where I discovered St. Francis Church, three blocks from our hotel. It’s the oldest Catholic church in Wichita, built in 1902. I noticed a sign saying there was a Tridentine Latin Mass being celebrated on Sunday at 8 AM. It was a convenient time for me to slip away from the family to attend the mass.
Wasn’t sure what “Tridentine” meant but I did remember Latin Masses as a child. What would it be like to worship in Latin as an adult? I soon found out and was very disappointed. Excessive formality permeated the celebration. There was a lot of incense and bowing of the celebrant. The mass lasted 1-1/2 hours but the homily was extremely brief. Two male servers supported the arms of the priest every time he genuflected. Only the priest and servers recited the Confiteor in Latin in hushed voices. The celebrant faced the alter with his back to the congregation. Holy Communion was distributed at the communion rail and only placed on the tongue. There was no “kiss of peace” or handshake among the parishioners before Communion. Women wore long chapel veils covering their heads.
I felt lonely and uninvolved; kind of like a spectator during the ceremony instead of a participant. The prayers murmured in Latin seemed cold and distant. I wondered if God considered prayers in Latin to be superior to prayers in English. Connecting to my Creator under these circumstances was impossible for me. Hooray for Pope John XXIII who “threw open the windows of the Church” with his modernization of the mass. I sincerely hope the Church never goes back to worshipping in Latin exclusively. I don’t want to feel like a stranger in my own congregation!
Keep smilin’!
Alleluia, Mary! I totally agree with you. It’s like going backwards; Mass is more of a show rather than including the childen of God.
Thanks,
Marie