Why I Prefer the Traditional Latin Mass

Over the last year, I have been going to Traditional Latin Mass every Sunday, and sometimes on weekdays too. This is a surprising development, because for most of my childhood growing up, I was completely not spiritual even though I grew up nominally Catholic.

My interest started originally with the idea of Lindy introduced by Taleb. Ideas that stuck around for a long time are bound to be more correct than new ideas, because they have been filtered by time. Bad ideas die over centuries, good ideas remain. What is the oldest idea of all if not religion?

My ancestors from both my Québécois and Italian sides of my family have been Catholic for over a millennium. Yet my generation is the first that for the most part does not believe in God? How interesting. And in my mind, I could not stop thinking that some sort of punishment was forthcoming. Not from God per se (though maybe that’s what I should believe now haha), but from Lindy: there’s a reason Catholicism had been around for millenia, and we would soon discover why.

Now, the core issue I have with going to mass is that I cringe at the thought of my rational, scientific self, who is an engineer, startup founder, – submitting to essentially a supernatural claim about resurrection, life after death, true presence.

The way I have resolved this is to separate the rational and spiritual parts of my life. I live my daily life in English, and pray and go to mass in Latin.

Lord’s Prayer in Latin

Pater Noster, qui es in caelis
Sanctificetur nomen tuum
Adveniat regnum tuum
Fiat voluntas tua
Sicut in caelo et in terra.

Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie
Et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
Sicut et nos dimittimus
debitoribus nostris
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem
Sed libera nos a Malo.
Amen