(9/27)...streaming

Yesterday was a busy day, busier than I anticipated, and I never got back to the computer after 9 a.m., at least not for blogging.

Latin Mass at 9:45 a.m. was a big reason. If we go to daily Mass it's at 8:30 a.m., finished by 9, home after pastries and coffee by 10. We often don't start school until 9:30 or 10 so we're not far off on a Mass day. We didn't start school before we left yesterday because we have to leave by 9:15, and we arrived home at 11:30. And then there was that little power nap at about 1:30 while Faith ate lunch (why was I so tired?). And retrieving Noah from school from 3:15 to 4:15, and dinner, homework, blah, blah, blah. A mother's day never really belongs to mother, does it?

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Speaking of Latin Mass...wow, was I surprised.

Veiling was not as big a deal as I thought it would be. I thought we would both be uncomfortable covering our heads, self-conscious, but I thought the Mass would be no big deal. Not that Mass is not a big deal, because it definitely is, always, in every form, but I didn't think it would be soooo different. I guess I thought it would be very much the N.O. Mass in Latin. I thought it would be like the Mass on EWTN radio -- N.O Mass with Latin prayers. I was wrong on all counts.

Well, like I said, veiling was not a big deal. Every other woman had her head covered, so I didn't feel odd at all and neither did Faith (except when my veil fell back and Faith whispered in my ear).

But the Mass was sooo different. I came away a little stunned (not in a bad way at all, just surprised at how very different Mass could be). I can't imagine how Catholics felt when the Church went from the Traditional Mass to the N.O. Mass. I was young, and so I don't really remember being stunned, but older Catholics must have thought "what is all this talking?" The Latin Mass, for those who do not attend (and this was a Low Latin Mass, so no chanting or incense), is very, very quiet. With the exception of a few Latin responses, like after the reading and the Gospel, there are no responses. And with the exception of the readings, the homily and the Hail Marys, Hail Holy Queen and prayer to St. Michael before the recession, it was all Latin, and often not in audible tones. As one who has not been to Latin Mass since I was a young school girl (and we went every morning before school, so I was familiar with it at a time) it felt very passive, and it felt very private. It could have been just Father and me in the church.

(Well, except for that little altar server who never missed a beat. He was about 10 years old and I'll tell you it was second nature to him -- most impressive. He knew every prayer response and every move, which is a lot.)

I did not have a missal, which was my mistake. Like I said, I thought it would be more like the N.O. Mass in Latin and I had the prayers in Latin in my Magnificat. But it was not the N.O. Mass at all. The readings were different (different calendar) and there were many prayers, which I did not know, and many motions, of which I did not know the significance. Of course Holy Communion was on the knees and on the tongue, but I was prepared for that, and prepared Faith ahead of time.

I'm certain I could have asked any one of my readers here what to expect (you are probably snickering at me now), but I just never thought, and that is my fault. Mea culpa. But no harm done. I think Faith is open-minded enough that though she didn't understand a word of it, essentially we knew what was going on (and that little altar boy kept her very entertained) and we will go back. Our young associate pastor intends to offer the Low Mass twice a week when possible. That gives us a great many opportunities, once we get a missal. And if anyone has a suggestion for a reasonably-priced Latin missal, I'm all ears.

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Another busy day today, a lunch date, grocery shopping, pick up, blah, blah, blah. Have a good one.


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