Japanese: Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu!
Since we never say “Happy New Year” during Mass, I was curious about how to say it in Latin, so I asked Jerome, a language geek, how it is said in Latin. He gave me a very geeky answer, but it was pretty long, so I will only introduce two simple phrases.
Latin: Felix annus novus!/ Felices Kalendae Ianuariae
Well…thanks to a little knowledge of Spanish, which came from Latin roots, I can understand these phrases pretty easily.
Until last September, I attended Latin Mass every Sunday. However, beginning on September 8 last year, because of orders by Pope Francis, the traditional Latin Mass has no longer been available in many places. My parish church was one of those places. So, at the beginning of this year, I attended a Latin Mass at a church a little farther from home.
In the remote church where I attended the Latin Mass, I met a very dedicated lady who had once been in my parish church, but left when Latin Mass was banned there. It is truly sad that people like her are no longer in our parish. I can’t help but think that if we still had the freedom that Benedict XVI gave us, we would not be in such a state of quasi-schism. Now that we need permission to have a Latin Mass — a permission which is usually withheld — it seems that the “schism” within the Church continues to quietly progress.
May 2023 be a year full of blessings!