A Living Faith Needs A Dead Language

 The Latin language has gotten a bad reputation from Modernists. I studied Latin for two years in high school, and during college. Fr. DePauw also helped me. I can read, write and speak Latin, but not as an expert. I can understand many of the propers at Mass. I wish I knew it more and understood it better. It has helped me greatly in building my vocabulary in my professional life, and has brought me much joy in my spiritual life. (I also wince when other lawyers butcher the Latin pronunciations of legal phrases, but I let that slide!). The Vatican II sect has done all it can to extirpate Latin. It is derided as a "dead language" and "out of touch with the people." It doesn't "meet the needs of modern times." All of these alleged reasons obfuscate the real rationale for eliminating Latin; it is a weapon of orthodoxy against the sectarian spirit.

False Accusations Against Latin By The Modernists

 1) Christ and the Apostles spoke the language of the "common people."

In the words of the great liturgist Fr. Gueranger, "It is completely false to claim that the Liturgy was celebrated in the vulgar or spoken tongues of the peoples to whom the Faith was initially proclaimed in the time of Christ...the Liturgy was celebrated in the three languages which were nailed to the cross of the Savior, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and for over one thousand years it was only celebrated in those three tongues or dialects of them...up to the fourth century it was only in these three languages and not even in their dialects." (See Liturgical Institutions, "The Anti-Liturgical Heresy"; Emphasis mine) 

 In the True Mass we have words of Hebrew (Alleluia, Amen), Greek (Kyrie and Christe eleison), but mostly Latin. The True Mass is linked to Calvary as it is the unbloody Sacrifice of the Cross. The Novus Bogus is humanity's celebration of itself, entertaining itself, and having a "happy meal" in the vernacular. 

2) The Church has approved the vulgar tongue in the Eastern Rites.

Not really. The recognized liturgical languages of Slavonic, Coptic, Ge'ez, and Armenian are not "spoken" languages, just like Latin. The Church wants languages which are both objective and stable. 

3) The people cannot have "full, conscious, and active participation" if they don't understand the language used at Mass. 

The following proposition of Quesnel (d. 1719) was CONDEMNED in the Apostolic Decree Unigenitus of Pope Clement XI: "To refuse to the simple folk the consolation of joining their voices to that of the whole Church [by praying in the vernacular] is a practice contrary to that of the Apostles and is against the will of God." The Council of Trent, Canon IX, "If any one saith, that the rite of the Roman Church, according to which a part of the canon and the words of consecration are pronounced in a low tone, is to be condemned; or, that the mass ought to be celebrated in the vulgar tongue only; or, that water ought not to be mixed with the wine that is to be offered in the chalice, for that it is contrary to the institution of Christ; let him be anathema."

 Besides a basic Modernist spin on what is meant by "active participation," I'm reminded of one Sunday at Mass with Father DePauw when I had kneeling to my left a Spanish gentleman, and to my right a Haitian lady. His missal was in Latin and Spanish, hers was in Latin and French, mine was in Latin and English. We were all following along just fine! A Universal Church needs a universal language, welcoming all, but belonging to none!

Latin Endorsed from an Unlikely Source

Angelo Roncalli ("Pope" John XXIII) wrote an "Apostolic Constitution" published February 22, 1962 entitled Veternum Sapientia, on the promotion of the study of Latin. Modernists are devious insofar as they will promote something orthodox to avoid the charge of heresy in other places. I'm reminded of John Paul the Great Apostate who (correctly) condemned abortion at every chance he got, so as to convince people he was "Catholic" and hoping they would overlook all his heretical statements and actions, such as the Assisi abominations of 1986 and 2002  when he prayed with all the false religions of the world. Below are quotes from Roncalli. He spoke the truth here, but never enforced his own rules regarding the study of Latin. He knew his fellow Modernists would have their day at the Council, and Latin would be overthrown. The Modernists made Roncalli a "saint," but these are words from him they will never quote and hope all will forget! 

The reasons for Latin:

"Of  its very nature Latin is most suitable for promoting every form of culture among peoples. It gives rise to no jealousies. It does not favor any one nation, but presents itself with equal impartiality to all and is equally acceptable to all. Nor must we overlook the characteristic nobility of Latin for malstructure. Its 'concise, varied and harmonious style, full of majesty and dignity' makes for singular clarity and impressiveness of expression.

'For the Church, precisely because it embraces all nations and is destined to endure to the end of time ... of its very nature requires a language which is universal, immutable, and non-vernacular.'

'The wisdom of the ancient world, enshrined in Greek and Roman literature, and the truly memorable teaching of ancient peoples, served, surely, to herald the dawn of the Gospel which Gods Son, 'the judge and teacher of grace and truth, the light and guide of the human race,' proclaimed on earth.

Such was the view of the Church Fathers and Doctors. In these outstanding literary monuments of antiquity, they recognized man's spiritual preparation for the supernatural riches which Jesus Christ communicated to mankind 'to give history its fulfillment.'

Thus the inauguration of Christianity did not mean the obliteration of man's past achievements. Nothing was lost that was in any way true, just, noble and beautiful."

Venerable languages

"The Church has ever held the literary evidences of this wisdom in the highest esteem. She values especially the Greek and Latin languages in which wisdom itself is cloaked, as it were, in a vesture of gold. She has likewise welcomed the use of other venerable languages, which flourished in the East. For these too have had no little influence on the progress of humanity and civilization. By their use in sacred liturgies and in versions of Holy Scripture, they have remained in force in certain regions even to the present day, bearing constant witness to the living voice of antiquity."

A Primary Place

"But amid this variety of languages a primary place must surely be given to that language which had its origins in Latium, and later proved so admirable a means for the spreading of Christianity throughout the West.

And since in God's special Providence this language united so many nations together under the authority of the Roman Empire -- and that for so many centuries -- it also became the rightful language of the Apostolic See. Preserved for posterity, it proved to be a bond of unity for the Christian peoples of Europe."

The Nature of Latin

"Of its very nature Latin is most suitable for promoting every form of culture among peoples. It gives rise to no jealousies. It does not favor any one nation, but presents itself with equal impartiality to all and is equally acceptable to all.

Nor must we overlook the characteristic nobility of Latin for mal structure. Its 'concise, varied and harmonious style, full of majesty and dignity' makes for singular clarity and impressiveness of expression."

Preservation of Latin by the Holy See

"For these reasons the Apostolic See has always been at pains to preserve Latin, deeming it worthy of being used in the exercise of her teaching authority 'as the splendid vesture of her heavenly doctrine and sacred laws.' She further requires her sacred ministers to use it, for by so doing they are the better able, wherever they may be, to acquaint themselves with the mind of the Holy See on any matter, and communicate the more easily with Rome and with one another.

Thus the 'knowledge and use of this language,' so intimately bound up with the Church's life, 'is important not so much on cultural or literary grounds, as for religious reasons.' These are the words of Our Predecessor Pius XI, who conducted a scientific inquiry into this whole subject, and indicated three qualities of the Latin language which harmonize to a remarkable degree with the Church's nature. 'For the Church, precisely because it embraces all nations and is destined to endure to the end of time ... of its very nature requires a language which is universal, immutable, and non-vernacular."

Universal

"Since 'every Church must assemble round the Roman Church,' and since the Supreme Pontiffs have 'true episcopal power, ordinary and immediate, over each and every Church and each and every Pastor, as well as over the faithful' of every rite and language, it seems particularly desirable that the instrument of mutual communication be uniform and universal, especially between the Apostolic See and the Churches which use the same Latin rite.

When, therefore, the Roman Pontiffs wish to instruct the Catholic world, or when the Congregations of the Roman Curia handle matters or draw up decrees which concern the whole body of the faithful, they invariably make use of Latin, for this is a maternal voice acceptable to countless nations."

Immutable

"Furthermore, the Church's language must be not only universal but also immutable. Modern languages are liable to change, and no single one of them is superior to the others in authority. Thus if the truths of the Catholic Church were entrusted to an unspecified number of them, the meaning of these truths, varied as they are, would not be manifested to everyone with sufficient clarity and precision. There would, moreover, be no language which could serve as a common and constant norm by which to gauge the exact meaning of other renderings.

But Latin is indeed such a language. It is set and unchanging. it has long since ceased to be affected by those alterations in the meaning of words which are the normal result of daily, popular use. Certain Latin words, it is true, acquired new meanings as Christian teaching developed and needed to be explained and defended, but these new meanings have long since become accepted and firmly established.

Finally, the Catholic Church has a dignity far surpassing that of every merely human society, for it was founded by Christ the Lord. It is altogether fitting, therefore, that the language it uses should be noble, majestic, and non-vernacular.

In addition, the Latin language "can be called truly catholic.' It has been consecrated through constant use by the Apostolic See, the mother and teacher of all Churches, and must be esteemed 'a treasure ... of incomparable worth.' It is a general passport to the proper understanding of the Christian writers of antiquity and the documents of the Church's teaching. It is also a most effective bond, binding the Church of today with that of the past and of the future in wonderful continuity."

Educational Value of Latin

"There can be no doubt as to the formative and educational value either of the language of the Romans or of great literature generally. It is a most effective training for the pliant minds of youth. It exercises, matures and perfects the principal faculties of mind and spirit. It sharpens the wits and gives keenness of judgment. It helps the young mind to grasp things accurately and develop a true sense of values. It is also a means for teaching highly intelligent thought and speech."

Conclusion

 As Fr. Gueranger said, "Hatred for the Latin language is inborn in the hearts of all the enemies of Rome." Indeed, it is so. Latin prevents innovations of language from harming doctrine. It unites us in a universal Church, rather than a "Tower of Babel." It lifts the mind and heart to God. Those who want to understand more, must research and know the Faith better. How does the majesty of the True Mass in B minor compare to the vernacular Novus Bogus with everyone singing "Michael Row the Boat Ashore"? The Vatican II sect also does not want their clergy to read the theology books prior to the Council and perhaps wake up to the truth about the Great Apostasy!

 As G.K. Chesterton once aphoristically noted, "...the choice between Latin and a modern language is not between a dead language and a living one, but between an immortal language and a dying one."