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While attending an inane Novus Ordo Mass at Immaculate Conception (the pictures at the link tell you all you need to know) in Ithaca, NY this morning, and all the while praying the Penitential Psalms from the Breviarium Romanum in reparation for the abuses there against the Blessed Sacrament, my mind turned to reflect again on Veterum Sapientia, the unenforced Apostolic Constitution of Blessed Pope John XXIII.
At the eve of the Second Vatican Council, Veterum Sapientia, a document with the highest authority, called for the restoration and reinvigoration of Latin studies throughout the Church. In particular, it mandated that seminary instruction take place in the Latin language. For this to be practicable, the seminarians themselves would have to be competent Latinists.
When I asked Fr. Reginald Foster, O.C.D. (Reginaldus) this summer about why the document was never enforced, he said something about people being too busy with other things at the time of the Council, their priorities were elsewhere, he added.
One might think to blame the “reform” of the liturgy as the reason why Veterum Sapientia went by the wayside. But there is nothing in Veterum Sapientia which is inconsistent with Sacrosanctum Concilium. The reforms of the Council and Veterum Sapientia might have gone hand-in-hand, even if such a union seems a little unlikely to us today when the liturgy of the Novus Ordo is almost exclusively in the vernacular, something for which the Council never called.
I’m tempted to think that if Veterum Sapientia had been implemented, we would not have the disastrous situation which we have today: the liturgy would have held together, effeminacy would not have run rampant, homosexuals would not have entered the clergy in such great numbers, etc. But perhaps that surmise is wrong. Maybe, with Veterum Sapientia in place, today’s pederasts in the clergy would also be excellent Latinists. After all, a knowledge of Latin needn’t keep one from enjoying the company of young boys.
But I think that we can blame the non-implementation of Veterum Sapientia for something of the willingness of priests and bishops to embrace the vernacularization of the Roman Rite. Further, now that Latin has almost entirely disappeared from the Church, we can also see how the difficulties will be great in returning to (or having for the first time) a liturgy as the Council Fathers then envisioned it, in Latin, with an occasional use of the vernacular.
Veterum Sapientia did not come out of the blue, but came at a time when the knowledge of Latin was reaching an all-time low in the Church since ancient times. Throughout the Middle Ages, low, high, and late, Latin had been the language of culture, theology, medicine, and of most everything that needed to appear in writing or be distributed widely. Latin united Europe in a way that she will never be united again. Whether a man lived at Oxford, Paris, Cologne or Rome, he could expect to be understood by other educated persons in any of those places.
I am sure that the clergy, at all times, were not as well educated in Latin as they were at others. Still, it is notable that when the Cure d’Ars, St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, went to seminary, he was classed with, well, basically, the mental retards, because he didn’t know Latin well enough to follow the theology lectures in that language. So instead of studying with the other seminarians, he was put in a remedial class with fellow losers who were lectured in French. The Cure was ordained in 1815.
In 1892, the bishop of a rather obscure diocese in northern Italy, Msgr. Giuseppe Sarto, was competent enough in Latin so as to be able to write a little poem in honor of Blessed Alessandro Sauli; a commentator says about the poem: “A graceful little poem in dactyllic hexameters (an elevated style recalling Vergilian epic), with well-placed caesuras and sound rhythm, written by an elegant and literate person used to constructing Latin verse.” You can read the poem here.
While Bishop Sarto was writing Latin poetry in Mantua, Pope Leo XIII, a man of exceeding erudition, was still composing with his own hand, and in Latin, the great encyclicals for which his reign is justly famous. By contrast, and less than a hundred years later, John Paul II drafted his first encyclicals in Polish and later encyclicals, written by committee, were drafted in Italian. As Reginaldus explained to me this summer, Karol Wojytla was no slouch when it came to Latin, yet it is still true we’ve come, so to speak, a long way since Leo.
At some point, roughly from the term of the century, Latin education must have taken a hit. When the Hungarian bishops visited Pope Pius XII, his Latin was not quite at their level. Similarly, during the reign of Paul VI, Pope Paul asked his Latin secretaries, Reggie among them, to compose for him a few lines in Latin with which he might respond to some visiting bishops who had eagerly greeted him in Latin the day before. So some people, out in the provinces, as it were, were still receiving an education in Latin, but the state of affairs had fallen to the point where the Supreme Pontiff was inadequate in his own language, the language of the Church, Latin.
So it comes as no surprise to me that a great number of priests and bishops, on the eve of the Council, while they said Mass and the Office in Latin, understood little of what they were saying. This was the thought offered by Fr. Perricone while he was recently visiting with us. I sympathize: if you don’t know the language of your prayers, there will certainly be a tendency to prefer to have them in a language which one does know. The Roman Breviary is not an easy book; one finds a great range of style and vocabulary therein; in order to understand every bit and piece of it, one really has to take some care with it. And when priests are rushing through the Office each day, for it is time-consuming, it’s not surprising that comprehension would go by the wayside. Yet the solution to these difficulties is not to jettison Latin, but to learn Latin better. Thus, Veterum Sapientia.
Catholics who take these matters seriously need to encourage, I think, a thorough education in Latin, whether for themselves (if they intend to become priests) or for others, for their children, etc. And a “thorough education” does not mean four years during undergrad, no matter how good the school is. It is something which must begin from childhood, which is the way that everyone in the past, who had great facility with the language, began to learn Latin. As Reggie said to his students this past summer, it’s the kind of thing that you want to have put ten years into by the time you go to undergrad, so that then you can focus on other things, Greek, Hebrew, theology, whatever.
Let us return in spirit to Veterum Sapientia and honor the pontiff whom so many erroneously think gave us this glorious “springtime of the Church” and the vernacular Mass.
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort,
Pope St. Pius X,
St. Joseph,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Francis (and St. Clare),
St. Catherine of Siena,
St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
St. John Chrysostom,
What happened at the Immaculate Conception mass? I did not see any pictures of the mass at the link in the post.
Who is the person sitting at a desk outdoors in the very last photo on the origional poat?
Nothing happened at the Mass. That’s part of the point. I only mentioned the pictures because you can tell, I think, by seeing how they’re dressed, the little profiles they put up about themselves, what kind of a place its going to be.
And it lives up to its web billing. The homily today, better than most, I suppose, focused on how Harry Potter (the deacon had just been to see the new movie) can help us to stay awake and watch. Unfortunately, the connection was sorta confused as we are supposed to be watching for our Lord, in the one case, and in the case of Potter, Harry was supposed to be watching out for the bad guys, staying on his guard.
I could add another whole post about how Deacon George brushed aside Cardinal Ratzinger’s tacit condemnation of the Harry Potter books. They present magic, white or black, it doesn’t matter, in a positive light. This is all fine and dandy if magic were nothing at all, but as a Catholic, we know about wizards and witches.
Barely a day goes by without news from some corner of the world about another satanist ritual murder or some such gross violence in the name of the forces of darkness.
Funny how the sister at that website doesn’t wear the habit but then wears a ton of pins!
I find it rather amusing that it seems almost impossible to sit through a homily at Immaculate Conception without getting some sort of analogy drawing on contemporary pop culture. Clearly we should be explaining the Gospel in terms of the impoverished images of our present age, and not the other way around.
That said, I am not certain that Harry Potter should be condemned and the Vatican has given no definite word on the matter. Magic in fantasy is not the same as magic in real life. Which of us did not enjoy fairy stories as children? Did it turn us to Wicca? I realize that there are a number of complications in Rowling’s case, but it is not prima facie clear that her books are evil. I’m still deciding whether or not my children should be allowed to read them.
Concerning Harry Potter - I’ve decided so far not to read them because of my prior knowledge about their author, but I have seen all of the movies, and I give my highest recommendation to this very interesting article.
The Harry Potter books are clearly designed to corrupt souls and lead young children down the path of satanism. Which is why I was very suspicious when young Iacobus went to see the latest Harry Potter movie. So I’m keeping a close eye on him.
Cardinal Ratzinger backs author whose book opposes Harry Potter “cult”.
And why are we talking about Harry Potter in a post about the glories of Veterum Sapientia?
Okay, I know that one of the Harry books was translated into Latin by an Oxford don, and it’s supposed to be serious Latin, so Reggie said.
But by the time, Clara, your children can handle the serious Latin of this book, they’ll also have good enough taste to want to read something more edifying and ennobling. :)
You best watch out, Iosephus!
Despite your joking, I respond:
Satanist or not, we mustn’t embrace probably false news stories that do little but promote the sales of books by the likes of this sassy Gabriele Kuby character. Just like Benedict’s supposed condemnations of all rock music, which I so thoroughly agree with, these things are so widespread in culture and so important to the lives of Catholics that our grasping onto hints from lifesite.net and other foolish sources as if they had any worth whatsoever makes up the worst kind of cultural crusade.
As for the article I linked to, I tend to come down more harshly against HP than the author, but he makes all of the important points against.
I condemn Iosephus’ incessant giggly banter.
“Who is the person sitting at a desk outdoors in the very last photo on the origional post?”
That is Pope John XXIII.
Well, the reason we’re talking about Harry Potter is because Iosephus brought it up. But as possibly the only member of the debate who has read the Harry Potter books (that’s right, ALL SIX — I’m the one you’d better keep an eye on, Iosephus), I have to say that I really can’t take seriously the charge that they are Satanic.
I think the article Iacobus passed on is mostly fair. Magic in children’s stories is not necessarily evil, and all of us have surely read and enjoyed such stories without falling into irreligion. But there are areas of legitimate concern. JK Rowling is not deliberately leading children to the devil, but her stories display no serious religious sensibilities, and hence they carry certain dangers, as would any series of books that creates a fantasy world where God plays no clear and active role. Similar concerns might be raised about many or even most of the films and books produced for entertainment purposes today, so these things have to be judged carefully on a case-by-case basis. Almost all of us decide that it is possible to partake of certain entertainments despite our recognition of some spiritual or moral deficiencies in them. Are not recent Disney movies or science fiction series imbued with liberal values and modernist heresies? Do Seinfeld or the Simpsons promote Catholic teachings? There are many shades of grey in deciding how to deal with these problems, and I suggest that the books of JK Rowling fall into one of these grey areas.
As for the article passed on by Iosephus, I have to agree that this is grasping at straws to some degree. The Pontiff has not directly condemned Harry Potter; he has only hinted disapproval in a private letter. If he wanted to say something stronger, he certainly could, but thus far he has chosen not to. Has he ever read the series? I rather doubt it. I take his warnings under advisement, but think it is unreasonable to make too much of such a weak statement.
On the whole I agree with the assessment of Harry Potter books as being unhealthy objects of obsession, but acceptable entertainment if mixed in with a diet of different sorts of children’s books. Personally, I love children’s literature in general and I can’t wait until I have kids old enough to give me an excuse to pull out all of my old favorites (not that I’m really that bashful about pulling them out now.) Whether I’d let my kid read Harry Potter would probably depend on the age and temperament of the child. But as a final anecdote (and I’ll have to tip my hand here about just how pathetic I am, but oh well): I was in fact in a bookstore on the evening when the most recent Harry Potter book was released. It took a lot longer than I expected to buy my copy… I didn’t realize that there would be literally hundreds of people there. But anyway, while we all wandered around the store for a couple of hours waiting for our chance to buy the book, I did a sort of informal survey by going several times through different aisles of the store, checking to see what other sorts of books the Harry Potter fans would find interesting. The children’s section was, of course, swarming. The fantasy shelf was thoroughly picked over, and of course the young adult section was also packed. Other parts of the store seemed to have a reasonable spread of customers. But what about the shelves devoted to witchcraft and the occult? I glanced over many times, but there didn’t seem to be any notable interest in these books. With hundreds of Potter fans trapped in the store for hours, I only saw a few casual stragglers wander into this aisle to browse. There were far more people looking through the religion section. Anyway, that observation obviously doesn’t have the authority of a serious survey, but I thought it was at least some indication that interest in Harry Potter isn’t very strongly connected to interest in Satanic cults in the real world.
“But what about the shelves devoted to witchcraft and the occult? I glanced over many times, but there didn’t seem to be any notable interest in these books. With hundreds of Potter fans trapped in the store for hours, I only saw a few casual stragglers wander into this aisle to browse.”
Clara, Clara, how naive . . . that only goes to show how crafty those people are . . . witch - crafty, that is. You see, they already had all of those books at home, have the spells memorized– there was no need to peruse that section again on a night when there were bigger things in the offing.
Besides, everyone knows that those people learn that satanist stuff on the internet, which is one of the reasons that the internet is pure evil, which is also one of the reasons why I never spend any time on it.
(Except sometimes I go to see what they’re talking about at Angel Queen, but don’t tell Iacobus I said that….)
The Pope didn’t speak publicly about Harry Potter today (though I’m sure he again condemned it privately, after reading this discussion), but he did speak about Latin, to the Latinitas Foundation. Go here.
Thanks to both josephus and Clara for this conversation. It was extremely informative to read.
Why attend Mass there if you only expect to get upset? It would be better for you to find somewhere else to go to Mass then to sit in your pew and critique. Or better still, change your attitude.
Well, we do actually avoid attending Mass at Immaculate whenever possible, and have even been known to rent cars and drive considerable distances to get to other Masses, but that isn’t possible every week. Ithaca has limited Mass options and it’s sometimes necessary to go to the Mass up the street, rather than commit the mortal sin of skipping it entirely.
I agree that one should try not to spend the whole Mass stewing about all the liturgical abuses, but what sort of attitude change would you suggest? Would it be better to shrug one’s shoulders at heresies uttered in the homily? To be cheerful about being explicitly asked not to show reverence for our Lord by kneeling during the Sanctus, the Agnus Dei and communion? To smile warmly at a nine-year-old child who pays no attention to the Mass at all, and then, after being nudged into the communion line by his mother, tries to tease her by chewing the Blessed Sacrament as noisily and obnoxiously as possible? It is admittedly hard to find the line between self-righteous uncharity and lax indifferentism, but the line must not be obliterated. Christ himself grew angry at the inappropriate activities taking place in his Father’s house.
Well said, Clara. To anonymous: we do try to avoid the Novus Ordo whenever possible, but sometimes, well, it just doesn’t work out.
Also, in a way, attending the Novus Ordo, when one doesn’t want to, is an act of faith, I suppose, in that we recognize the Mass in externals which would otherwise lead us to believe that nothing resembling a sacred rite of the Church has taken place.
Indeed, the Novus Ordo is just an imitation of the Protestant “reforms”, but in places like Immaculate Conception parish in Ithaca, this truth is brought painfully home by the “spirituality” which accompanies said rites.
Actually, again, I’m always impressed by the numbers of people there on Sundays. Wow, I would never attend such garbage, especially as a man. I wonder how many men are there because they want to be there instead of because their wives have goaded them into coming? If I were married, my wife could never get me to attend the Novus Ordo and, a fortiori, the Sunday Mass at Immaculate Conception.
But poor, unmarried, no real job, a graduate student, I still end up there on occasion. :)
On the whole I commend Iosephus’ post, but I wanted to put in two things:
1. Not all Novus Masses are the same. I personally would be fairly okay with the Novus if it were always done well. When the Doctor and I were at the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Alabama, we went to a Novus there. It was in Latin and about as liturgically high as I’ve ever seen (for a non-Tridentine, at least), and they had the sisters singing lovely music for it. If I could go to that kind of Novus every week, I’d have no complaints. Even among more ordinary Novus Masses, there are huge differences from place to place.
2. I don’t quite understand why being married would make the difference as to whether or not you would be willing to attend a Novus Mass.
About #2, I’m saying that I imagine many of the dudes there are there because their wives have requested that they be there. I think that anyone can see that the good word preached by Fr. Leo and Deacon George is not going to bring in the male crowd in droves.
Iosephus,
What type of manly material are you talking about? why is that important? I am not saying the homilies at Imm Conc are knocking my socks off….but I never thought of them as something that was not manly? what is manly in terms of spirituality?
The main thing that troubles me about immaculate conception is how often it is closed. I think it is only open till 3pm each day….except Saturday for the vigil. What a shame. There are some days when after a long day of study or research or work you may actually want to spend some time in a church…silently before the Lord. But in our modern day if you have a parish with only one priest (so many of these)..they must lock up the church like a fortress most of the day. Poor consequence of lack of priests, crime by satanic idiots, lack of zeal by priests, lack of spirituality by parishoners,….etc.
Lets keep those doors open 24-7!!!
Dominic Maria, when I say “manly”, I’m thinking of material which is suited for both sexes, to be sure, but which is challenging: the preacher recognizes that we are in a battle with the forces of evil, recognizes the dangers which sin poses to our souls each day, and then encourages us to take up the appropriate means to combat those dangers, the sacraments, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the Rosary.
Often, if these things are encouraged at all, the language is something about making us nicer people and better citizens. That may be true and a consequence of being a good Christian, but the first and most important thing is the salvation of souls.
Preaching devotion to our Lady is manly, I think. Have you ever heard our Lady preached at Immaculate or at the Chaplaincy of Cornell University? I mean, really preached, in a way that would make St. Louis de Montfort proud?
Do some of those thoughts make clear what I have in mind?
Oh ok…so by manly you mean “Heavenly” or “Catholic” or “Saintly.” Yes that would knock my socks off.