Most significant were conversations with three prominent Indigenous spiritual leaders who grew up Catholic but now focused on traditional Indigenous ways. All three elders expressed frustration with various church teachings and anger at the abuses at residential schools. Two were no longer Catholic and wanted nothing to do with the church, and the one who was still Catholic also spoke highly of the inculturated Native American liturgy. But all expressed nostalgia for the Latin Mass. One even described a deep congruence between Indigenous ceremonies and the traditional Latin liturgy.
This feeling became clearer to me as I learned about Indigenous ceremonies. Praying all night at a Native American church ceremony or all week at a sun dance took me out of my preconceived notions and allowed me to surrender to this ceremonial way of knowing. The absolute focus on the actions of the ceremony, the rich detail, and layer upon layer of meaning opened up another world that absorbed and redefined this world.
I have seen the similarities between Indigenous ceremonies and Catholic Mass, but I was surprised to meet any Native practitioners who did as well. Most fascinating was one Indigenous elder’s opinion that Latin resonates with the holistic character of the Indigenous languages. That is, our everyday English language is not up to the task of conveying deep spiritual truths. Older languages, unsullied by our mechanized, digitized way of life, can.
Unquestionably, there are differences in the purpose and sacrifice asked of participants in ceremonies such as the sun dance and Latin Mass, but there is a similar way of engaging the spirits and engaging God. The witness of Nicholas Black Elk, who is now being promoted for sainthood, draws this out. Black Elk, one of the most important figures in Native American cultural revitalization during the 20th century, sang his grandchildren to sleep with Latin hymns from the high Mass. “I understand why Black Elk loved Latin so much,” Mr. Twance shared with me. “It has a connection to traditional Native chant."
Don’t get the appeal of the Latin Mass? Look to an Indigenous sun dance | America Magazine
This feeling became clearer to me as I learned about Indigenous ceremonies. Praying all night at a Native American church ceremony or all week at a sun dance took me out of my preconceived notions and allowed me to surrender to this ceremonial way of knowing. The absolute focus on the actions of the ceremony, the rich detail, and layer upon layer of meaning opened up another world that absorbed and redefined this world.
I have seen the similarities between Indigenous ceremonies and Catholic Mass, but I was surprised to meet any Native practitioners who did as well. Most fascinating was one Indigenous elder’s opinion that Latin resonates with the holistic character of the Indigenous languages. That is, our everyday English language is not up to the task of conveying deep spiritual truths. Older languages, unsullied by our mechanized, digitized way of life, can.
Unquestionably, there are differences in the purpose and sacrifice asked of participants in ceremonies such as the sun dance and Latin Mass, but there is a similar way of engaging the spirits and engaging God. The witness of Nicholas Black Elk, who is now being promoted for sainthood, draws this out. Black Elk, one of the most important figures in Native American cultural revitalization during the 20th century, sang his grandchildren to sleep with Latin hymns from the high Mass. “I understand why Black Elk loved Latin so much,” Mr. Twance shared with me. “It has a connection to traditional Native chant."
Don’t get the appeal of the Latin Mass? Look to an Indigenous sun dance | America Magazine
To die for-- literally in my case since I'm a diabetic.