Latin Mass

[vianney]

So are you saying that if a Catholic doesnt know latin he/she is lazy and has indifference towrds their faith.

LET IT BE KNOWN that to be Catholic one must know Latin.

[Socrates]

[quote name='amarkich' date='Nov 29 2004, 11:53 AM'] Right, they had those languages, but the variant of the language used at Mass was not the same as that of the people (vernacular). It would be like having a Mass in Old English (real Old English, not Victorian English) when the people do not speak that. The same is true for Latin. Ecclesiastical Latin is a development from the vernacular, but it is not the vernacular itself. The Mass was not in the actual vernacular; it was in the same language, but not the variant spoken by the people. It would be like having a Mass in Old English, which is almost a different language than modern English. It was in the same language but not in the vernacular of that language. [/quote]
Just to clarify, this "Old English" analogy is not really accurate. Church Latin is actually an later development of Latin, not an older or "more traditional" form. In the middle ages, Latin was no longer the vernacular language. Medieval "Church" Latin evolved from the earlier classical Latin used in Roman times when Lain was the vernacular.

[theculturewarrior]

[quote name='amarkich' date='Nov 29 2004, 12:19 PM'] There is no perfect translation. [/quote]
I'm not opposed to Latin, Latin Masses, or the use of Latin in vernacular translations such as on EWTN. And I agree with your basic premise that there is no perfect translation. But some things do translate well, even poetically. And I think Latin translates better into English than some romance languages, because English has borrowed a great deal from [b]Church[/b] Latin.

Also, I don't think not knowing or desiring to know Latin precipitates laziness. Some people just have a hard time with languages.

[theculturewarrior]

[quote name='Socrates' date='Nov 29 2004, 12:32 PM'] Latin evolved from the earlier classical Latin used in Roman times when Lain was the vernacular. [/quote]
just one caveat...Classical Latin was never the vernacular. It was the language of the elite.

[Socrates]

[b]Uncle Argyle[/b]: "Did the priest give a poetic benediction: The Lord bless ye and keep ye? . . ."

[b]Young William Wallace[/b]: "It was in Latin."

[b]Uncle Argyle:[/b] "You don't know Latin?
That's something we'll have to remedy, then."

~ [i]Braveheart[/i]

Great flick!

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='vianney' date='Nov 29 2004, 10:30 AM'] So are you saying that if a Catholic doesnt know latin he/she is lazy and has indifference towrds their faith.

LET IT BE KNOWN that to be Catholic one must know Latin. [/quote]
Eastern Catholics have never used Latin when celebrating the Divine Liturgy.

God bless,
Todd