A mysterious little book with a handsome cover was placed into my hands one day by a friend who simply said, “what you have been waiting for”. The cover alone drew me to open to the first page, for it is well known in my circle that I love a beautiful book. I began to read and was immediately intrigued; no doubt because it is introduced by none other than the holy and wise Cardinal Sarah. He stresses, with a vigorous intent, that
“the faithful should be encouraged to take a full, intelligent, active part in the liturgy; something which requires that the totality of liturgical signs be made available to them, these…symbols which include the ceremonial, and also the beauty of the liturgical ornaments, the sacred vessels and the choral chant, and in first place the Gregorian chant..”
This full, intelligent, and active part in the liturgy is a matter of Mystagogy: the liturgical catechesis that aims to initiate people into the mysteries of Christ. This beautiful little book, A Forest of Symbols by Abbe Claude Barthe, in its ordered and wonderful language led me step by step through all the parts of the Tridentine Mass, its language, its ceremonies, its vessels, and why they are shaped the way they are, the colors of the vestments, why an altar faces east, why the priest prays silently here and aloud there, how the Scriptures are woven effortlessly in and out among the prayers, giving them the weight of Divinity as we pray – for they are the very words of God. Everything has a meaning. And all the meanings point to Christ, Whose death and resurrection we have come to witness when we quietly enter our pew. The Mass unfolds like a grand and glorious pageant of sights, smells, and sounds. It reminds us that we are on Holy ground. That we have entered Eternity for the space of an hour. For me, Abbe Barthe’s words had the surprising and satisfying flavor of a Medieval treatise; the Medievals reveled in symbolism, allegory, and the connection between the Divine and the physical world that illuminates Him. In this way, I am hopelessly one with the Medievals. I was enchanted. And indeed I was surrounded by a whole ‘forest of symbols’ as I was promised.
Cardinal Sarah had an unmistakeable air of urgency in introducing this book; as though he feared the meanings would be lost if we did not hold them to our hearts and minds now, in our time. He urged the laity to listen carefully and to “take up and read”. The Mass must be studied and intimately, by each layman seeking understanding of Christ in the “mysteries” of the Mass. It has been explained to me by a priest friend that it is rather like immersing ourselves in the study of a poem we think we already know, but perhaps do not in full – until we seek out the deeper, allegorical meanings hidden in the actions and physical objects – until we understand more intimately our soul’s Beloved hidden there, who is Christ.
In the middle of reading this book, I had a sudden memory of a little old man I once knew. He was very devout and sometimes looked like a sweet child when I caught glimpses of him praying his rosary. I had started attending the Latin Mass occasionally by then and had asked him what he thought. To my surprise, he said he didn’t really like the Latin Mass. I was a bit taken aback because he had grown up with the Tridentine Liturgy, and I thought he might have missed it. He did attend my Mass once, however, and what he said afterward intrigued me.
“Ya know, it didn’t look anything like this when I was a younger man.” He went on to explain that the vestments were not this beautiful, the altar not as decorated, the servers were definitely not as well versed in their duties, the music was not chant or polyphony, and the Mass not as slowly majestic and deliberate as he had just experienced it. It seems the Latin Mass had sagged a bit over time and gotten a bit messy.
He went on to explain that many Masses of his youth or early adulthood were rushed and slap-dash. The servers ended up mumbling jibberish when they were called upon to do their part in the Latin responses (my own older brothers backed this up later), as they didn’t know the Latin very well at all. And the congregation hadn’t a clue, nor did they seem to care too much, what was happening up at the altar. I myself, who grew up in the time right before the transitions of Vatican II, remember how we always hoped it was Father M. saying the Mass before field day or the Parish Picnic because he said it in about 15 minutes flat and we could more quickly move on to the fun.
So, the Mass, even in Latin, was not then what we have now. It was not, as we might surmise, this perfect bed of liturgical roses. Even then, in the 40’s and 50’s they lacked the mystagogy! The Mass, even in its Latin Form, was not studied or explained to the laity as well as it seems to be now. I found that surprising, but true, after talking to many older laymen who remember and sadly did not wish to return.
I left the Latin Mass for a few years myself and then returned at the encouragement of a priest who did know his mystagogy. This made all the difference for me. I was firmly of the mind that I wanted to know what I was doing and seeing in the Mass. I asked question after question and he answered them. His Mass was careful, reverent, and truly like a poem come alive. Later, when I found myself going to low Mass at an Institute of Christ the King oratory, I also saw this so richly played out. I was able to see meaning in the candles, the vestments’ color, the way the missal is carried from one side of the altar to the other, the meaning of incense and when it is used. Parts of the Mass are intentionally audible, and I could actually hear the Latin from both altar boys and the priest. There are also silences – deliberate silences that had deeper meanings to the whole. I am lucky to have already studied Latin in college, but I think we all need to try to study it more and know what it is expressing, and even if we do not, we have missals that translate for us what is being said. And what is being said is utterly beautiful in its meanings if we listen and follow. In short, I ended up doing what Cardinal Sarah says must be done for any liturgical revival to have benefit. I studied it. And it has made all the difference.
This book by Abbe Claude Barthe is a wonderful way to educate yourself on the meanings behind the Tridentine liturgy. The vestments, the vessels, the incense, the movements of priest, deacon, and sub deacon, even the symbolism of the sacristy where the priest prepares and vests for Mass, likened to the womb of Our Lady where “the Son of God put on his fleshly vestments before entering the world for the great liturgy that he was going to carry out there, which ended with the holy Sacrifice of Calvary”. It is a marvelous treasure trove of meditations and often reads like a prayer in itself. It has given me a greater attention when I participate in the Mass each morning and especially at High Masses on Sundays. I am more grateful than I can say.
It makes me wonder that it might have been necessary to go through the upheavals of the 60’s and 70’s if only perhaps to eventually wake up the Latin Mass Community to reform itself in practice and intent, which it certainly has! To count it of the utmost important for its priests to educate the laity in the mysteries instead of leaving them out there to fend for themselves until they finally give up – thinking it too difficult to keep up with something of which they do not understand the meaning.
The present revival has been truly wonderful. I myself have benefited from attending some beautiful, deliberate, Latin Mass liturgies that I fully understand now because an attentive priest and a few well educated laymen taught me well and thought it important to teach me well. That one of them handed me this marvelous book and told me to read it. It is also highly encouraging that orders of priests like The Institute of Christ the King have dedicated themselves to celebrating the beauty of the Mass with all attentiveness and zeal for us to experience and learn from. It has brought me much comfort and encouragement in my prayer life to know and understand what is going on up at the altar. Knowledge leads to love and I can say I DO love it. These Latin Masses are rich in meaning and allegory. I can say my prayer life has deepened simply by attending them daily. I have grown closer to Christ.
I heard the urgency in Cardinal Sarah’s words, and I tried to take them to heart. I highly recommend this book as it was recommended to me. It will make the Mass blossom for you. Take up and read. You will be blessed, indeed.
My heartfelt thanks, Abbe Claude Barthe.
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Image courtesy of the author.
