Latin Mass experience

There is a traditional Latin Mass being celebrated every Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Adoration Chapel of the Capitol Parish Church in Cebu City. Usually celebrated by Msgr. Joseph Tan, the Masses are organized by the Cebuano Summorum Pontificum Society, a small group of young people who fell in love with this very old rite of the Roman Catholic Church and whose use of the chapel is being kindly allowed and encouraged by parish priest and Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo.

Summorum Pontificum (of the Supreme Pontiff) refers to a letter issued by Pope Benedict XVI in July 2007 granting greater freedom for priests everywhere to celebrate Mass according to the 1962 Missal prior to Vatican II, which allowed sweeping changes in the celebration of the Mass. The 1962 Missal is the last official basis for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite prior to the changes.

I belong to the generation that was probably the last to experience the Latin Mass prior to the sweeping changes brought about by Vatican II. I still remember quite vividly how, as a young boy, we used to hear Mass at the old San Agustin Church, since renamed the Basilica del Santo Nino. It was not until very recently, after the passage of many decades, that I got to experience once again the beauty of the traditional Latin Mass.

But why do I describe the experience as beautiful, instead of say, religious or perhaps sacred? It is because in the silence and solemnity of the traditional Latin Mass, the opportunity and the environment for a better and deeper communion with God through prayer is achieved. And honestly I cannot find any other experience more beautiful than a direct personal communion with God through the silence of prayer that this type of Mass affords.

Except for a few snatches here and there, I frankly do not understand much of what goes on in a traditional Latin Mass. Obviously I do not speak the language. But I know deep in my heart that God understands all prayer regardless of the language it is being said. I know in my heart that God understands mine, even if said in English, and hears it, even if said in silence.

The traditional Latin Mass goes all the way back, with very little changes, to how it was taught by the apostles. This fact makes participating in this type of Mass even more touching and meaningful. Imagine taking part in a rite that has a direct connection to the earliest Christians, who in turn had direct contact with no less than Jesus Himself.

In his homily during the Mass I attended, Msgr. Tan explained the great beauty of having a personal communion with God through prayer, of believing with your whole being that through prayer you are in deep personal contact with God, that you are talking to Him one-on-one and that He is all ears to what you have to say. If for this experience alone, you will feel a transformation in yourself, even if, eventually, in His own wisdom, God may give an unexpected answer to your prayer.

And that is the beauty I am talking about. The seriousness, the solemnity and the silence all make this deeply personal audience with God possible. Many of those who attended the Mass when I was there were, quite amazingly, young people. But there were also a few of my age who probably wanted to experience again the rite they knew in their own youth. Anybody wishing to try this wonderful experience with God, it is 4 p.m. every Sunday, Adoration Chapel, Capitol Parish Church, Cebu City.