The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-07-30

Christians used in the dark depths
of the catacombs; to recite the same
prayers and to chant the same hymns
that resounded in the simple churches
or in the great cathedrals of our fore
fathers!
But, it might be urged, why does
not the church use a language which
the people can understand?
Mass is Sacrifice.
The reasoning of those who in
sist that the Mass should be offered
in the vernacular is based on false
notion of the nature and object of
the Holy Mass. The Mass is not
sermon but sacrifice, which the
priest offers to God for himself and
the people. When the priest says
Mass, he is speaking not to the people
but to God, to whom all languages are
equally ineligible.
The congregation could not be ex-
pected to hear all that the priest
says even if he spoke in the venac-
ular, for his face is turned from them,
and the greater part of the Mass is
said in an undertone. We read in the
old Testament and in the first chapter
of st. Luke that this was the manner
ordained by God in the ancient dis
pensation-the priest offered sacrifice
and prayer for the people in the
sanctuary, while they prayed at dis
lance in the court.
Printed in the VernacuIar.
Moreover, at the time of Christ,
the language which the Jewish priest
used was the ancient Hebrew of the
Patriarchs, and not the Syro-C haldaic
which alone the people understood. It
should be noted, too, that even in the
Oriental rites mentioned above, the
language of the Liturgy is not the
vernacular but the ancient language
which is not understood by the people
but only by the learned.
Finally, it cannot be said that the
Catholic is held in ignorance of the
prayers offered by the priest, for all
the prayers at Mass are translated
tAIo IuO NOIhoSuldl, 1uut OfcIy CdIIl-
olic can and should follow the priest
by reading these prayers in his Missal
or his prayer-book.
Of All Chimes and \PeopIes. :.
The Catholic church embraces in
its fold the children of all climes and
nations and people and tongues. What
a wonderful o1 &C.
to have a common medium of COM
munication with the Latin as her of
fetal language. Scientists feel keenly
the need of common language
Forced to adopt the vernacular, so
limited and so variable, they, are
handicapped in securing the wide diff
fusion of technical knowledge essen
tial to scientific progress. More for
tunate were their predecessors of the
Middle Ages, for then Latin was the
language of the arts and sciences. Dip
lomats, too, have often failed to reach
basis of common understanding, be-
cause diplomacy has no universal Ian
guage. No such handicap is felt when
Mother Church calls her bishops to-
gether in council Though they come
from every part of the globe and
represent so many different nation
alities, they are enabled through the
medium Of the common language of
the church to communicate their
thoughts, to discuss questions, and
to hold debates.
Language Of Christian Culture.
Latin is finally the language of
Christian culture. The fathers of the
early church generally wrote in Latin,
which thus became the depository of
the treasures of sacred literature.
Latin is also the language of the
great theologians of the church.
A national church can adopt the
national language in it's Liturgy, be-
cause it is confined to people who
speak the same tongue. But Cath
Ole, or universal church, must have
universal language.