Matthew M’s Story

Matthew M recently shared his experience with us regarding the book Treasure and Tradition and how it has deepened his understanding of his faith. Matthew writes:

Treasure and Tradition is THE book to help bring you to the Latin Mass if it’s your first time, or to help evangelize the Mass to others.

I say that as (a) it helped convert me to the Latin Mass and (b) I was so inspired by it that I bought dozens of copies to help my parish evangelize others.

I grew up after Vatican II, so I only attended my first Latin Mass recently, a funeral.
 
Since the Latin Mass is not the version of the mass I grew up with, I found it nice but bewildering, and had no real intention of going back. Basically, it wasn’t for me – but if others like it they were welcome to it…Or so I thought!
 
Before I went to the funeral, I had ordered this book to try to understand it – unfortunately the delivery arrived after the Mass, but I still read it. It opened my eyes to a whole new world: the history, the tradition, and the connections to the religious services set forth in the Bible.
 
Until I read it, I had no idea how connected the Latin Mass is to the prayers in the Bible, how it derives from the religious ceremonies Jesus and the Apostles and the Evangelists and the Church Fathers performed (let alone all those who performed it for two millennia since), and how it carries on the traditions of the Old Testament Jewish faith, as superseded by the New Covenant of Jesus. As I read the book, and basically for every waking moment since, I am filled with one question: why oh why oh why did we ever stop doing this?!?!? Thanks to this book, I now see the importance of the Latin Mass and I hope to win others over to it.

Whether introductory readers are Catholics like me raised after Vatican II, or protestants, or atheists, this book will at a minimum help explain the Mass, how it dovetails into the bible/history, what the priest is doing/wearing/saying, what the Latin means in English, why it is done this way, etc. It is filled with photos, diagrams, and color coded explanations. It makes following the mass a breeze, and is much, much, much easier for a beginner to use than a Missal. It is by far the best book to use for your first Mass or to give to those whom you would like to educate about the Mass.