Intelligible Worship

I have been following a discussion on a blog page about the value of the Latin mass in the Roman Catholic Church. I am not a catholic, I don’t hold to catholic theology, and I don’t agree with the theology of the mass. However, I couldn't help but appreciate the honesty of this catholic priest who questioned the value of the Latin mass to the worshipper, because it is inaudible and unintelligible. I assume this priest was looking for some honest answers so he could happily embrace the Latin mass, but so far, no one has been able to give him a good answer. He won’t find a good answer, because there is none.

For those of us who have been raised in protestant churches, having worship in a language we can understand is a no-brainer. The reformers wanted the people to have the Word of God preached in a language they could understand so they could come to know the truth of God’s Word for themselves. Martin Luther went even further when he wrote hymns that fit tunes common to the every day man. John Calvin hired men to set the Psalms to tunes in the vernacular so people could obey the command to sing Psalms. This was the legacy they left us.

The reformers also understood that real worship cannot take place if the worshipper is not fully engaged, mind, soul, body and strength. This teaching is clear throughout the New Testament. (Romans 12:1,2 Mark 12:30). If the language either spoken or sung is not in a common tongue, the worshipper cannot understand and engage his mind and heart. Corporate worship takes place when all the worshippers present are pouring out their hearts to God in one accord whether through song, prayer or preaching.

For those of us who are non-Catholics, we might scoff at the priest for not seeing clearly what seems so obvious to us. However, before we laugh too hard, we should ask ourselves what hinders our worship? Some insist on using the King James Bible, a 17^th century English translation, even though there are better translations available and the KJV is difficult for the average person to understand. Others insist on singing hymn tunes that put people to sleep, even though there are now hundreds of more contemporary tunes to sing to the same words. On the flip side, there are those who insist on singing contemporary songs with horrible tunes that are difficult to sing in a congregation.

The reason why the Catholic Church holds to its Latin mass is tradition, and the reason why we often hold to our pet ways of worship is tradition. If our King James Bibles and our old hymn tunes and whatever else we do works for our congregation, then by means keep it. But if it hinders believers from worshipping God with a whole heart, then out the window it should go.