"Angelus domini nuntiavit Mariae; et concepit de Spiritu Sancto, et verbim caro factum est."
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The Mass was celebrated in Latin, save the homily. A red-covered paperback book is provided so you can follow along and participate. Also, English translation is in a side column. (Thank you!).
It was High Mass, so we were sprinkled with holy water at the beginning, we inhaled incense and heard chant.
The priest kept his back to the parish as he recited Latin while consecrating the Host.
To receive Communion, you have to kneel at the kneelers at the front of the church. The Altar Server held a brass plate under your chin as you received the host.
The altar and ceiling were adorned in golden Fleurs de Lis, and a scrolled letter M.
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| Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto |
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| The Last Supper carved in the base of the Altar. |
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| Mantillas for modesty. |
Shrines of Mary and Joseph flanked the Altar.
The church was simple, elegant; the mood extremely reverent. It felt formal, and I felt a bit of a misfit. For one reason, I don't know Latin (yet), and another, I felt ill-prepared and ill-equpped. Rationally, I shouldn't have felt embarrassed by the fact that My Girls and I were not wearing mantillas, yet, I couldn't escape that feeling. Also, they all wore long skirts - very puritan-esque. I, of course, was in pants. My Eldest wore a skirt and My Little One wore a dress. The members of the church weren't shooting us judgmental looks and no one told us we were inappropriate, yet, I still felt so out-of-place!
Though I didn't get a photo of if, a balcony is at the back of the church. The choir sung from the balcony.
After Mass was over, The Girls had plenty to say about the experience.
Other random observations:
- The priest pronounced both letters t in such words like "written" (instead of 'swallowing' them lazily like most people do). This made me very happy. :)
- The phrase "Holy Ghost" instead of "Holy Spirit" was spoken.
- Having just completed a psychology class, I was particularly tickled to hear the phrase "Tabula Rasa" spoken in the homily. It was in the context of the Sacrament of Baptism as well as the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
- During the.whole.entire.Mass, one particular Altar Server - who couldn't have been more than 14 years old - stood with prayerfully folded hands.
- Randomly, My Little One announced that she wants to be cremated upon her death.
The homily was centered around temptation. The celebrant discussed how the acts of liberating our soul from Original Sin with Baptism was foretold in the Old Testament by Moses splitting the Red Sea (freeing slaves, liberating Israelites). Then he begged these question: What do we need? His answers: Baptism, Manna. What can we expect? Answers: trials & tribulations, temptation, consequences. What can we avoid? False peace. The priest stated 'even if one is fully devoted, he will still have temptation and trials because he is living in the militant church. Collectively, we are soldiers for the Glory of God. We we overcome, we uphold that Glory, vanquish sin, grow closer to the Kingdom. Trials are good for us.' He also reminded the flock (highlighting the words of St. Augustine) to keep God first and everything else subordinate to God. Tranquility will be ours and we will remain in a state of grace by keeping God first. Peace cannot be lost if God is at the top of the order. (Easier said than done, huh?! Oy!)
Although there's truth and value to using it at times, I'm not a fan of the militant usage of words, images for witnessing and evangelizing. My aversion to using such verbiage and means of living/growing my faith is attributable to my non-confrontational, peace-loving spirit (it must be a false peace, huh?). I don't do well with disharmony or 'fighting'. I'm equally avoidant of using The Devil in similar ways ("the devil is working on you", "the devil made me do it", "satan is at work", etc.). That being said, I didn't like most of the homily. This has to be one of the few times ever I left a homily not feeing uplifted. However, I had a very academic experience by hearing how Old Testament and New Testament "stories" tie together (i.e. parting of the Red Sea by Moses = liberation of Original Sin, worshipping of false idols = us thinking our turmoil will settle, Mary = the Arc of the Covenant).
Overall, this was an extremely solemn experience. I'd go back, but I don't think I could be a regular there without being more familiar with Latin. I felt pretty removed from the body of Christ, which is counter to what the Church teaches about attending Mass. It wasn't even rote since I'm not familiar with the language. However, I have immense respect for what transpired! The one consolation I had that helped me stay tied to my faith is knowing that world-wide, that day, no matter the language, we were all united by the same readings and love.
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"Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived of the Holy Spirit, and the word was made flesh"
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