New to the Latin Mass and want to learn more?

 

Are you new to the Traditional Latin Mass? Here is a link to Sancta Missa's online Latin Mass tutorial, with the different sections of the Mass in Latin and English side by side. There is also mp3 audio for those who wish to hear the Latin. Click on the Latin text on the left to hear the audio file (MP3) of the selected text.
This great website also contains the Rubrics of the Latin Mass, video and photo galleries of Mass and Sacraments in the Extraordinary Form, and many other Traditional Latin Mass resources.

Traditional Latin Mass Directory

Going on vacation this Summer and need Latin Mass times and locations? Here is a link to the Coalition In Support of Ecclesia Dei's website that provides an approved Traditional Latin Mass directory for Masses being offered in the US and Canada.
Go to www.ecclesiadei.org/masses.cfm and scroll down the list of states, cities, and Diocese on the left to see where Latin Masses are being offered nearest to your vacation location.

First Saturday Mass for July

Our First Saturday Mass for July will be this upcoming Saturday, July 6th. All are invited to join us for Low Mass at 12:00 noon at our Mass site, Queen of Heaven Cemetery Chapel. Fr. Nicholas A. Milich will be our celebrant.

Happy Anniversary to Fr. Nicholas Milich and Monterey Latin Mass

Congratulations to our Chaplain Fr. Nicholas A. Milich on the anniversary of his Priestly Ordination yesterday, and the anniversary of his first Mass on June 29th., the Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul.
This date also marks the 'birth' of the Monterey Bay Area Latin Mass community. Our first Traditional Latin Mass was held at Mission San Juan Bautista 5 years ago today.

Monterey Latin Mass on CalCatholic - 'Churches Worth Driving To'

California Catholic Daily has recently done an article about our Latin Mass site in their 'Churches Worth Driving To' section:
http://cal-catholic.com/wordpress/2013/06/14/churches-worth-driving-to-48/
Thank you California Catholic Daily for the thumbs up~

An Interview with Fr. Nicholas Milich - Part 2

The following is part 2 of an interview with our Chaplain, Rev. Nicholas Milich, done by the Latin Mass Network back in 2007. If you missed part 1 you can click here to read the beginning of the interview.

  My Anchor, and My Constant Challenge- The Traditional Latin Mass: 

An Interview Fr. Nicholas A. Milich

Photo by Mr. Ron Placzek

 Part II of the Interview:

6. Fr. Milich, what is the most important thing a parishioner can do to show their respect and appreciation for the priesthood?

Fr. Milich responds:
"I think that it is important for parishioners--including those who have no interest in the Traditional Latin Mass themselves--to recognize how important, even vital, it is for their priests to offer the older Mass. The older Mass is an instrument of sanctification for the priesthood. So, I would hope parishioners could be patiently supportive of their priests and try to learn what it is in the older Mass that so strongly draws their priests--and which so wondrously built up the Church over the centuries."

7. What advice do you have for parents who want to encourage vocations in their family? 

Fr. Milich responds:
"Take your children to the Traditional Latin Mass. Have them learn it, along with several of the traditional devotions.  Enroll them in a schola, have the boys serve Mass, pray daily for the Church and priests and bishops, put Mary in a place of honor. God will take care of the rest."

8. What do you think is the goal of the Holy Father in making the Traditional Latin Mass available widely and without impediment?

Fr. Milich responds:
"I thank God for Pope Benedict. The Church IS Roman and he has made Rome an ally and defender of Tradition as it has historically been. We live in this fascinating transitional time when the Pope is trying to guide us back to our own Tradition. We don't want to miss being part of this tremendous adventure. That being said, I feel very strongly the need for further clarifications from Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei on Summorum Pontificum.  In spite of the very Roman clarity of the document, there are people who still wish to impose impediments.  All of us in parishes have a certain trepidation that this treasure could be taken from us."

9. Who is your patron saint and how does he or she inspire you to holiness? 

Fr. Milich responds:
"I have several patron saints--Nicholas of Myra/Bari is my baptismal patron, I took Paul as my confirmation name, and said my first Mass on the Feast of Peter and Paul. I have a special love for Therese of Lisieux.  And there are several others...I think of them as my family."

An Interview with Fr. Nicholas Milich - Part 1

The following is part 1 of an interview with our Chaplain, Rev. Nicholas Milich, done by the Latin Mass Network back in 2007:

  My Anchor, and My Constant Challenge- The Traditional Latin Mass: 

An Interview Fr. Nicholas A. Milich

Photo by Mr. Ron Placzek

 Fr. Nicholas A. Milich was the pastor of St. Rose of Lima in Ephrata, Washington and was gracious enough, and at a very busy time of year, to give us an interview about what the Traditional Latin Mass means to him as a priest and what it means for the Church. I think you will agree that his answers are eloquently expressed and show a beautiful insight and understanding.

The word "Ephrata" may sound familiar to you. It is another name by which the town of Bethlehem is known.  And I understand that the hymn "Veni Emmanuel" was traditionally known as "Ephratah".

Part I of the Interview:

1. Fr. Milich, what does the Traditional Latin Mass mean to you as a priest and how does it reaffirm your priesthood?

Fr. Milich responds:

"I have come to depend upon the traditional Mass.  It is my anchor, and it is my constant challenge--can I live up to what this Mass requires of a priest? Saying this Mass is like a daily examination of conscience.  Somewhat like the traditional breviary, I believe, the traditional Mass is a rampart against challenges to our vocation.  Beyond that, way beyond that, really, way beyond my own feelings, there is an objective quality to the older Mass. This is our RITE.  And the rite itself is holy.  When you enter into it, you leave yourself behind, you enlist in the work of the communion of saints. It may be that others have that experience with the Novus Ordo. For me, the Older Mass has been necessary."

2. What would you say is the most striking difference between the Novus Ordo and the Traditional Latin Mass?

Fr. Milich responds:

"It may be that the most striking difference is that the Traditional Latin Mass is "prayable." Unless the Novus Ordo is offered privately, it is almost impossible to pray the Mass as I should. But even offered privately, the Novus Ordo simply does not seem to offer such a powerful contemplative plane, on which you can rest and commune with the Lord for a few moments. I am sure there are persons far holier than I am who can pray the Novus Ordo easily, but I need the older Mass. If that's a weakness, I accept it and give thanks to God for His gift of this Mass."

      3. What would most surprise the average Catholic layman about the Traditional Latin Mass?

 Fr. Milich responds:

"I think the biggest surprise for someone new to the Mass would be the silence, the profound, unremitting, but acutely focused silence is a bit of a shock.  We don't know what to do with silence in our culture. The Novus Ordo calls for certain moments of silence, but they seem like add-ons, which are neither necessary to nor adequate for the particular culture of the Novus Ordo. The Novus Ordo wants to speak--it seems that it was designed as a teaching tool. The older Mass does not apologize for being a sacrifice. And before a sacrifice there is only awe. And silence."

4. Can you give some biographical information about your childhood, family life, your vocation, seminary training and how you discovered the Latin Mass?

Fr. Milich responds:

I grew up with the older Mass, and my very saintly Croatian grandmother would take me by the hand and walk me to church almost daily for prayer. I fell in love with the Mass and with the Lord's dwelling place. Meanwhile, I wanted to be a priest, but my Croatian father would have nothing of it. Then, when I was a teenager, the New Mass arrived and I thought it was pedestrian, that the language was silly at best.  In time, I did come to accept it, but--and I don't think this is accidental--my desire for the priesthood had waned. Two decades later, I found that my vocation had never completely disappeared. My seminary training was very decent, but was thoroughly Novus Ordo in its format. I tried to find training in the older Mass but no one could help me. So after ordination, I began to study on my own--not just the Mass, but the older theology, the things that had been overlooked in the seminary.  I honestly feel that compared to some other fairly recently ordained priests, I did get a respectable theological education, and no one stopped me from doing independent study on my own. But there was a wholly beautiful theological landscape out there which I had only glimpsed from afar. It became apparent, over time, that it IS the theology of the Mass, that it is all of one piece, one seamless garment."

5. What do you think the future of the Latin Mass is in the U.S.?

Fr. Milich responds:

"Only God knows the answer to that. I rather suspect, though, that God is at work, answering the prayers of his faithful ones, and hearing the perhaps unarticulated cries of so many who long for the sacred. My hope is that within a generation, the Traditional Latin Mass becomes a somewhat normal and expected form that will help re-catholicize our people.  So much depends on our bishops.  Their role is crucial. My own bishop is a good man.  Although he is not himself involved with the older Mass, he has listened to me over the years. He also allowed me to offer the older Mass privately and to be part of a team which offered Mass at our bimonthly indult site.  For that I am grateful. And when the Motu Proprio came out, he, unlike some of his colleagues, did recognize that is the law of the Church. We desperately need bishops who will support priests with a love for the traditional forms. If they do that, they will find some surprising rewards--including a big upsurge in vocations."

Click here for part 2 of the interview.