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Letters to the Editor

The Silver Screen

In light of Alberto Carosa's intriguing article The Silver Screen (winter 2020), suggesting a possible link between Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ and the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, it is worth looking at one particular scene from that film - in which Jesus is questioned by Pontius Pilate.

When the procurator initially addresses Our Lord in His native tongue of Aramaic, He surprises Pilate by responding in Latin, and thus the dialogue continues, leading to what for me is the most beautiful moment in cinema history: Christ speaking the words, "Omnesquiveritatemaudiunt,vocemmeamaudiunt" ("All men who hear the truth, hear my voice" - John 18:37).

For any Traditional Latin Rite Catholic, this scene begs the question of whether Our Lord ever personally spoke what would ultimately become the universal language of His Holy Church. Clearly, being Divine and All-Knowing, Jesus would have understood any dialect in which He was addressed, and could have responded in whatever language He knew to be most proper for the occasion. Furthermore, it does not take a huge leap of the imagination to see that, out of the three languages inscribed on the Cross, Latin is the one the Devil hates most precisely because it was once the language of a pagan empire.

Nonetheless, I await with baited breath the moment when, Déo Volente in heaven, I shall learn in what dialect that most important judicial interrogation in all history actually took place.

Matt Showering Via email

Bread and wine

Paul Beardsmore’s review of Fr Dulac’s book 'In Defence of the Roman Mass' (winter 2020) mentions that, “Fr Dulac deplores the revisions to the offertory prayers. There can, he says, be no genuine Catholic Mass without a prior offering of the bread and wine...”

I don’t know whether this is a fault in translation, but there is no offering of bread and wine in the Mass. What is offered is Christ – the Immaculate Victim – “hanc immaculatam hostiam”. In other words, while the bread and wine have not yet been consecrated what is offered is the Immaculate Victim in anticipation of the consecration which has not yet happened. It is only in the Novus Ordo service where the offertory was replaced by the Judaic prayer before meals that bread and wine is offered to God.

Nicholas Wilton Via email

Consolations of art

I greatly enjoyed Caroline Farey’s wonderful article on Hans Memling in your winter 2020 edition. Even traditional Catholics may not always understand all the symbolism in these ancient works of art, but Caroline leads us gently – and entertainingly –through them. I feel I have learned a great deal from her articles and when I am once again allowed to visit our great art galleries, I will look with new eyes on so many of the many masterpieces of Catholic art we are so lucky to have in our public collections.

But Caroline’s articles have also reminded me of a fact so sad that I usually do my best not to think about it – I have read that before the Reformation, England was reputed to have some of the greatest religious art in Europe. The iconoclasts of the 16th century probably destroyed ninetynine percent of it. How I would love to have some inkling of what we have lost!

Mary O’Brien Via email

Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, Mass of Ages, 11-13 Macklin Street,

London WC2B 5NH email editor@lms.org.uk Letters may be edited for reasons of space