Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Folks,

Singing Latin at Mass? What are we to think?

Since I have had two folks ask me about singing in Latin in our Sunday Masses, that means that many of you are asking yourself the same questions.

Four principles: First, having hired a qualified director of Sacred Music, I do not micromanage the selections that he makes. He has earned my trust and yours. Second, I do and will continue to give feedback, just as you do, and to enunciate principles for the parish celebration of the Liturgy. Third, I do not believe that Latin is the answer to all that ails the Catholic Church. Fourth: full and active participation is an external and internal conformity to the Mass; not a matter of ‘what I am doing.’ Prayer and singing is a both/and principle, not either/or.

We have been doing the Latin responses during the penitential seasons (Lent and Advent) for a little while now (three years). There are a couple of reasons why the Latin Mass parts are appropriate for penitential seasons:

1. The penitential seasons of Lent and Advent call for limited use of the organ and musical instruments. We try to limit their use as much as reasonably possible. Previous music directors here have chosen to have no recessional hymn, and to have priests exit in silence as an expression of the penitential nature of the season. I have found this silence stilted and awkward, and thus gave permission to have a simple chant serve the same purpose because it is ideal for acappella singing for those who wish to join, and a pleasant ear wash for those who prefer otherwise.

2. The second Vatican Council explicitly asked that all of the faithful know the Latin Mass parts that correspond to them: “Nevertheless steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 54). This pertains to the Confiteor, Gloria, Creed, Holy Holy Holy, Memorial Acclamation, and the Our Father.

This has been sadly and widely ignored. So in trying to gently keep this alive, the parish is faithfully trying to be a part of the universal church. However, I understand that some/many folks do not know this, nor do they have a desire for this. This is why I have put this into the penitential seasons, and why we have done mostly the three shortest of those seven prayers.

3. I understand that learning these Latin chants requires stretching our comfort zones. Because of this, I have not suggested, nor do I have plans to suggest, that the Latin parts
be used all year. It seems reasonable and appropriate that 10 Sundays a year (6 Lent, and 4 Advent) during penitential seasons we try to stretch our comfort zone.

4. One parishioners suggested that I ask the majority what they want? Don’t worry! Folks express their desires frequently to me, the priests, and the music director as she did kindly by email this week. Moreover the selection of music is delegated to the director of music, who tries to have a wide variety of music so that there is some comfort for everyone. Honestly, there are even times when I think, “I really hate this song.” But I offer that up for whomever it is in the parish who loves it.

5. Translations of Latin? After the second Sunday with the same Latin recessional chant, I did ask the music director to provide a translation for us. That should appear in the next music program. Unfortunately, at the time I asked him, previous versions had already been printed. But I agree with the folks who requested this as an help in understanding. Again, thank you to the kind parishioner who requested this respectfully.

6. Ok, that covers the penitential seasons. But since the Second Vatican Council asked that all the faithful know the parts that apply to them, that includes the Gloria and the Creed. Because there is no Gloria in Lent, I have permitted the Gloria in Latin for the feasts of: Christmas /Holy Family/Mary Mother of God / Baptism of the Lord and Pentecost. That is 3 Sundays and 2 Holy Days.

7. Having looked at music sheets from the prior music director: I see that we did occasionally sing the Our Father in Latin and in Spanish too. Hmmm…. not a bad idea. Know that we are members of the Latin Rite Church because it is the mother tongue of our divine liturgy. But getting to the point where we could pray the Confiteor or Creed in the mother tongue? We are not there yet.

Thanks for your prayers and kindness,

Father John Mosimann

Act of Consecration
to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Basilica of Saint Peter
25 March 2022

O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbor’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.

That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.
Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war. Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.

Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.
Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness. Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons. Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love. Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.
Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26). In this way he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the “Fiat”, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope”, water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen.

In preparation for the 2023 Synod of Bishops in Rome, the Supreme Pontiff Pope Francis has asked every local Church to undertake their own synodal phase, of prayerful listening, dialogue, and discernment, on how the Church is journeying together and fulfilling our mission in the world.

In obedience to this request, I am happy to announce that our parish synodal listening session will take place on Monday March 28th @6:00 pm in the Church. I expect that it may run for 90 minutes, but that depends on your interest in being heard.

Also, this weekend you will find in the church cards at the back which invite you to pray and sacrifice for a friend, family member, or neighbor who has discontinued practicing the Catholic Faith. I have also included the card on this page. You may drop these cards into the collection baskets, and we will place them near the tabernacle as a sign of your prayers being placed before the Lord.

Both of these opportunities are beautiful occasions for us to be able to invite folks back to loving union with our Lord. Your prayers, sacrifices, and invitations may be the grace that helps a soul come home!

Pax et Bonum,

Father John Mosimann