Martin Sheen plays a priest who must enforce the church doctrine that the Mass should be said in native languages. The monks of a remote monastery disagree and think that the Mass should remain prayed in Latin.
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This is a really good film. It’s well acted and has compelling, interesting characters.
A great film that is simple in concept and production, but really looks into the questions about the Sacrifice of the Mass (and what it really means) that face the Church even today. This film was made in 1973, and hits on the truth of what was happening at that time concerning the Nuevo Ordo Mass and how many did not favour it. 36 years later and time has proven that the preference for the Latin Mass is stronger today as a result of Vatican 2 and it’s questionable liturgical practices and liberal abuses. I highly recommend this film to those who have questions as too what is considered the “True Mass” in the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
There is no church doctrine that the Mass must be said in the vernacular tongue. Rather, the Church condemned this notion at the Council of Trent, because it’s easier to corrupt the Mass once it is said in the vernacular tongue.
In addition, the present Mass is not a Mass in the Catholic sense of the term. The True Mass is the unbloody reenactment of the Sacrifice at Calvary. The General Instruction on the Roman Missal specifically states that the New Mass is a memorial of the Last Supper.
The concept of the Mass as a memorial of the Last Supper was also condemned at the Council of Trent. God does not change, and neither does the True Mass. The false variety shifts with the wind, as we see in the new “Mass.”
You’ll note the movie is name “Catholics – A fable” and it is in fact … a fable… Trying to attach any more significance to this movie than an entertaining piece of fiction is a questionable exercise.
This was an amazing film, and I humbly believe that it is trying to tell you that whether you believe that Transsubstantiation takes place during the Mass (which is my personal belief) or that the Bread and Wine are just symbols of the Body and Blood of Christ, or how the Mass is said whether in English, Latin or the native language of the congregation,the most important thing is that you should have Faith and that you believe in God.