I am submitting this as A LAYMAN'spoint of view, not LAYMEN's mind you as there are bound to bemultiple discordant voices, in support of a priest's point of view onthe Latin Mass as put forth in GOANET # 360.As may be conjectured Iam a “saudosista” ( a Portuguese word with no equivalence in thedepth of its feeling in any other language, ' deep nostalgia' beingperhaps the closest English equivalent.) for the Church Triumphant ofyore when we sang CHRISTUS VINCIT, CHRISTUS REGNAT, CHRISTUS CHRISTUSIMPERAT in the good old days of PIUS XI and PIUS XIIIn my young days, on NEW YEAR's eve wesang TE DEUM LAUDAMUS in thanksgiving for the spiritual and materialgifts received during that year and, at mid-night, ushered is the newyearr with VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS seeking the intercession of the HolyGhost for a happy new year On GOOD FRIDAY, at the veneration of theCross, with heavy hearts we listened to the plaintive POPULE MEUS,QUID FECI TIBI? AUT QUID CONTRISTAVIT ANIMAM MEAM? RESPONDE MIHI!”(Oh my people what have I done to you and why have you afflicted myheart? Please answer me).Those days are gone now consigned tothe dustbins of history by the eggregious “ aggiornamento”engendered by a disastrous Council convened by probably the mostdisastrous Pontiff of the past two hundred years ( sainthoodproclamation notwithstanding).LATIN was the unifying cement of ourChurch, the distinctive badge that made us 'C atholic' i.e. membersof a truly Universal Church. It was the glue that bonded ustogether, irrespective of colour, or race, whether in TIMBUCTOO, CONJEEVERAM or HOKKAIDO. When at the Adoration of the Blessed Sacramentwe sang O SALUTARIS HOSTIA and TANTUM ERGO we knew voices wererising with the same strains at the VATICAN, or in ENTEBBE or GEELONGholding us all in a wide loving embrace. In CARACAS one day, after ahectic morning at the beach down from the mountain where I was, Iwent out for a pre-dinner stroll from the hotel. Some distance away Iwent past a small Church. I thought I heard a familiar sound comingfrom there, retraced my steps and climbed up to the Church. I wasright. It was the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the singingwas in LATIIN!! It gave me such a feeling of calm and joy after thehectic morning. Because of my knowledge of Spanish it might not havemade a difference had they been using that language but what ifinstead they had been using Haitian Creole?Unfortunately, the Council'Protestanized' us, isolating each Church into water tightcompartments in an unconscious recreation of Babel. True many peopledid not understand LATIN. But already in those days there wereMissals with Latin and English side by side to facilitateparticipation in the Mass.“ Vernacularisation' has meant thatin this age of frequent travel and ovrseas vacations, one is loath togo to Church on Sundays in a foreign country because of unfamiliarity with the language.From very young it was always myaspiration to pray at the European Gothic cathedrals like RHEIMS,COLOGNE , DUOMO and NOTRE DAME DE PARIS ( not to forget Westminstaerand St. PETER's). Some years back, on a tour of Europe, I had theopportunity of praying at all of them and attend Sunday Mass atCOLOGNE, officiated by Cardinal Frings. It lasted two and a halfhours, in German,a veritable penance despite the valiant efforts ofthe BOYS' CHOIR ( a pale imitation of the famed VIENNESE BOYS' CHOIR)to provide relief.Never in my life have I participated in such aboring and painful MassOn the other hand, when I startedworking as a Medical Representative covering a vast tract of land, Iarrived one Sunday, after an overnight train journey, in a militarytown that had lost its British military contingent after WW II endand so the facility of evening Mass. I felt extremely despondent, 'oppressed by a feeling of emptiness, of having missed something mostessential. Fortunately for me, due to my love of music, I used tocarry with me my MURPHY radio ( yes, the big one of those days!).After lunch at the hotel, went back to the room and started fiddlingwith the SW Bandof the radio when a word caught my attention. I finetuned and Lo and Behold: it was the Mass being broadcast in LATINby HAPPY STATION RADIO HOLLAND to the Dutch troops in the Dutch EastIndies ( Indonesia had yet to be born).. I was able to follow thewhole Mass ( except the sermon in Dutch) and felt an overpoweingsense of joy and peace.Imagine if the Mass had instead been broadcastin Dutch!!To this day I consider this thegreatest miracle of my lifeThe excuse for getting rid of Latinwas that when they unerstood better, through their language ,evenmore people would go for Mass. The record after the Council isabsolutely dismal on this score. It could possbly be described as 'The Great Fiasco' of Church History. Instead of perking up,attendance has fallen dramatically; Prior to the Cou8ncil attendeanceat Sunday Mass in the USA oscillated around 85%. Post Council it nowhovers around 26%!. Europe is of course totally heathertoday. On the other hand, those that did not have the misfortune ofan “ aggiornamento are doing fine: the GREEK Orthodox Church hasnot seen much of a decline while the fastest, exploding growingreligion is Mahomedanism which has not only failed to 'liberalize'but on the contrary has gone back to its harsh original roots. I willtry to illustrate below how lan guage is not the prime mover behindpeople going to Church.When we were in \B RAZIL, one of the TVChannels had a Sunday show called “ PORTA da ESPERANCA” ( DOOR ofHOPE). It was a programme where mostly poorer people came to ask forhelp in the form of a tool, medical assistance, etc. ( one young ladyhad the audacity of asking for an engagement diamond ring, And shegot it!!!)One day there came a 55 yrs oldAfrican, illiterate, a domestic maid. She was in need of a pair ofdentures. After the ususal questions the anchor normally asked, hequeried her what she liked to do as a hobby. She replied she likedto sing. Surprised at the answer, the anchor said. Then singsomething. And the singer started with PANISANGELICUS!! She sang it to perfection, not stumbling at any of theLatin words, not letting go any falsetto ( common in this hymn). Itwas a pefect rendition. Speechless, staring at the singer in apparentamazement, the anchor, a Jew ( though familiar with things andpractices Catholic because of an audience deliberately restricted toChristian, mainly Catholic, females), soon recovered his composureand exclaimed “ That Was BEA.....TIFUL. I had not heard it before”He knew no Latin of course but the emotion of the tune went to hisheart. And it is the Heart that is involved in the Mass, notlanguage,Mind you, the singer must have been around 16 yrs when theCouncil sidelined the rich heritage of hymns in Latin It is amusingthat in the USA, a nation that shook off the British yoke, the tuneof the British national anthem (music) is common as a hymn whereassuch gems as Newma's LEAD KINDLY LIGHT and the treasure trov e ofLatin hymns are confined to ob livion. How can strumming guitars ( orsitar?) be a substitute for the majesty of Gregorian chant and organ?I was very fortunate that as a boy, I had the great opportunity oflistening every EASTER Sunday to the “HALLELUJAH” chorus ofHANDEL's MESSIAH”, executed by the choir of my small town in GOA,which nurtured my love for classical music. Which choir can sing itto-day? In BRAZIL, PANIS ANGELICUS and Gounod's AVE MARIA have beenturned into fashion pieces at Society weddings!!This story could go on endlessly buttime is short.. So we have to leave it at that.
