THE TRIDENTINE LATIN MASS: AN EXPLANATION AND COMMENTARY TRADITIO Traditional Roman Catholic Internet Site E-mail: traditio@traditio.com, Web Page: http://www.traditio.com Copyright 1997 CSM. Reproduction prohibited without authorization. THE TRIDENTINE LATIN MASS: AN EXPLANATION AND COMMENTARY By Fr. Kevin Vaillancourt Copyright 1996, three audiocassettes in vinyl case Catholic Research Institute, P.O. Box 756, Greenacres, WA 99016-0716 (509) 489-6602 $23.45 "Try as they may, they [the Innovators of the Second Vatican Council] could not suppress it completely. Faithful Catholics the world over, who have always known the value of the Tridentine [Traditional] Latin Mass, have fought courageously to bring it back to the universal recognition it once enjoyed." With so many thousands of Catholics returning to the Traditional Latin Mass, this series on the practical spirituality of the Mass for the pew Catholic could not have arrived at a better time. For new traditional Catholics, cradle Catholics, convert Catholics, and anyone who simply needs to increase his spiritual understanding of and devotion to the immemorial Mass (and who is there who does not?) can benefit from this series. The series is a "live" recording based on talks that the author, a traditional Catholic priest and editor of "The Catholic Voice," gave over the course of several Sundays. The introductory tape sets the general approach to the traditional understanding of the Mass. It explains the fundamental difference in approach between the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo (New Order) worship service of 1970 and goes on to describe the sacred vessels and vestments used by the priest. In this regard, I must point out that the use of the word "Tridentine" to describe the Traditional Latin Mass is misleading (as the author himself points out), because that Mass was not composed by the Council of Trent in the same way that the New Mass was composed by the innovators of the Second Vatican Council. Rather, the Traditional Latin Mass has existed from the earliest centuries of the Church, in substantially the form as we have it today. The remaining two tapes in the series cover the Mass of the Catechumens (the part before the Credo) and the Mass of the Faithful. The author explains the meaning of the prayers -- and frequently translates them in full or paraphrases them -- as they relate to the nature of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I have only a few minor quibbles related to the production of the tapes. Often I would have wished for the explanations to be spoken more slowly so that it would be possible to reflect longer on the meaning of the words. Also, I found that the level of the background noise on some of the tapes was higher than it should have been. However, it was not so high as to interfere with the clarity of the words. All in all, this series will give the pew Catholic a better understanding of the prayers and background of the immemorial Mass. It will also clarify for him the contrast between the traditional approach and the Novus-Ordo approach, although that is not the primary focus of the series. Perhaps most importantly, the devotion which the Traditional Catholic feels toward the Mass comes across quite strongly in words and explanations of Fr. Vaillancourt. And what better testimony can one give than that?