The Language of Prayer

It was during my own childhood that the Great Rebellion against Latin took place.  Even the Church repudiated the ancient tongue and reconstructed the Holy Mass in the vernacular.  What a pity!  Throughout the world, before the pronouncements of the Second Vatican Council, worshippers could enter a Church and participate in the Mass freely, without having to struggle with a foreign language.

People justified the change by claiming that no one understood the Latin but really that makes no sense whatsoever.  The Homily never was given in Latin.  It was only the ancient set prayers such as the 'Pater Noster' (Our Father), the Gloria and the Credo that were declaimed in Latin.  I cannot believe that any practicing Catholic, or indeed any individual with a passing knowledge of sacred Music, would not know the text of these prayers.

The Church now recognises the value of the Latin Mass, however grudgingly, and there are Churchs that have added a Latin Mass to their weekly schedule.  Unfortunately, none are close enough to me and at present, I cannot travel much in any event.

Still, the old prayers in Latin give me pleasure and the very weight and resonance of the language is beautiful to me.

The following are not taken from the Mass but are extremely ancient prayers:

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O Sacrum Convivium
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O Sacrum convivium, in quo Christus sumitur:  recolitur memoria passionis eius; mens impletur gratia et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur.

V.  Penem de caelo praestitisti eis;
R.  Omne delectamentum in se habentem.

O Sacred Banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of His Passion is renewed, the mind is filled with grace and a pledge of future glory is given to us.

V.  Thou didst give them Bread from Heaven
R.  Containing in itself all sweetness.

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Sub Tuum Praesidium
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Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genetrix.  Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta.

We fly to Thy Patronage, O Holy Mother of God.  Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.  Amen.

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The turning of the soul towards God during illness or medical emergency or the threat of impending death is the subject of much mockery but really, it does make sense.  The veils that separate this world from the other become tattered and thin when one sees or senses the approach of Death or even its threat.  Yes, we should be conscious of the blessings of God at all times but most people do not have the capacity to multi-task and being aware of the spiritual World while trying to perform a host of mundane tasks can be difficult.

When one is forced into physical inactivity, it is easier to return to the spiritual.  After the first operation, I was not as aware of the spiritual world as I am now, after the second.  Indeed, I had a very vivid vision during the recovery from the second operation where I saw both Christ on the Cross and our Holy Mother.  She appeared to me as she did to St. Bernadette at Lourdes but she was surrounded by flowering trees and vines.  The colours were incredibly vivid and the scent was exquisite.  Although she was dressed in blue and white, the colours of the plants that surrounded her were almost overwhelming in their vivid glory.

Christ was on the Cross, to the left of the Holy Virgin, a little in the distance, but both of them spoke to me.  In fact, I had a bit of an argument with them.  I asked, 'What is the point of all this pain and suffering?  Why have I been forced to live so long with so much pain?  Did I do something to deserve it?'

The answer was not that unexpected really.  Christ, bleeding on the Cross told me that suffering NEVER was meaningless, and never pointless.  Pain was a Teacher and it enabled us to become stronger and to see beyond the transitory to the eternal.  Furthermore, through witnessing the pain of others, we become more compassionate and empathic.  We become less selfish.... well, some of us do, I suppose.  Others have an incredible ability to ignore the pain of others or simply to find it annoying and burdensome.  I do see, however, that I became more compassionate as a human being by being forced to witness the pain of others, both animals and humans.

Our Lady looked at me with such tenderness and compassion.  She did not have to speak at all.  I had to acknowledge that she, of all human beings, understood the path of suffering.  She walked that path with her Son.  She never turned away.  She gave him strength and faith at His darkest hours.  How can a Mother bear to watch her own child in torment?  it has to be the bravest act of all, that refusal to turn away and her willingness to act as a witness to the Passion of Our Lord.

I have not had many real visions in my life.   This vision occurred at a point when my blood pressure fell radically.  No one ever will tell me what happened during or after the operation, but I know I had to have massive transfusions and that my blood pressure was dangerously low for quite some time.  No one was allowed to see me for almost two hours AFTER the operation...

At some point between the first operation and the second, a wonderful volunteer from St. Francis Parish began to bring me Holy Communion regularly.  What a difference that has made!  It is not only the Holy Communion itself or the rite...  the fact that this woman, who herself suffers from disabilities and pain, is ever willing to battle bad weather and her own problems to help others, is a source of inspiration to me.  How many of us would try to find excuses not to go out of our way in these circumstances?  I find her dedication and kindness rather amazing.

Christmas always has been a favourite festival of mine.  I love the entire Advent Season and the many traditions that our family followed.  We did not only observe our own traditions.  We would adopt traditions from other cultures and our Christmas embraced St. Nikolaus and Krampus, St. Lucia, the Nativity, Stockings and of course the Tree and after Christmas itself, the Feast of the Epiphany.