Transcript

This is the traditional Latin Mass, the ancient Roman rite, the Mass of the Ages.

You won't hear contemporary music, instead, Latin chants that have been sung for centuries.

Men will wear their Sunday best.

Women will wear dresses and veils.

But you will find all kinds of people, families that have been attending their whole lives, and people who are coming for the very first time.

So, whoever you are, you are welcome here too.

There are two main types of Masses.

A Low Mass has no choir, is mostly silent, and lasts less than an hour.

A High Mass is sung, filled with incense, and lasts well over an hour.

Instead of facing the people, Mass is celebrated facing the east.

We face where Christ our Lord ascended and where he will come again in glory.

We are pilgrims en route to eternity.

The Mass of the Ages is so full of symbol, meaning, and prayers that it's impossible to take it all in at once.

So, you are free to meditate in the silence, or, if you're the type of person who likes to follow along, open a hand missal to find every precious detail.

These are the same prayers that have been on the lips of countless saints in centuries past.

The Eucharistic prayer is the same one that Pope Saint Gregory the Great received in the sixth century and passed on to future generations.

The consecration is prayed in silence, because silence is the language of God, and mere words fall short when we are encountering the Word.

The liturgy is not quick.

Instead, it will invite you to take your time to contemplate the mysteries of the faith.

The priest will genuflect every time he comes before the Holy Eucharist.

He will make sure every particle of our Lord's body, every drop of his precious blood, is zealously guarded.

People will approach the altar rail, fall to their knees in humble adoration, open their mouths in wonder, and receive like children on their tongues, because this is Almighty God.

As Pope Benedict XVI said, True liturgy can be recognized by the fact that it liberates from everyday activity, and restores to us both the depths and the heights, silence and singing.

True liturgy is recognizable, because it is cosmic, and not limited to a group.

True liturgy sings with the angels, and true liturgy is silent with the expectant depths of the universe.

And thus, true liturgy redeems the Earth.