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 ought to have been changed centuries ago; indeed, no serious defence can be made of the use of Latin at all in the Church of Rome.

Ecclesiastical Latin is, of course, easy, still it is a fact that many priests know so little Latin of any kind that many parts of the Mass and Office are quite hieroglyphic to them. I remember a country priest who was invited to bless a churn. He took the book of (Latin) benedictions to the farm, and donned his surplice; not knowing the Latin for a churn (which may be excused) he pitched upon a ‘Benedictio thalami’ as probably referring to a churn, and read the ‘Blessing of a marriage bed’ with the usual solemnity over the churn of cream. Certainly some of the sequences in the Mass and many of the hymns in the Breviary are beyond the capacity of a large number of priests.

And it must be admitted that no familiarity with Latin will enable the priest to attach a meaning to certain portions of the liturgy—especially to some of the psalms. The approved Latin version of the Psalter is a disgraceful performance; yet it has been used for