I once turned in a report for a college class and was graded down for being vague. I had thought what I said was clear, but in truth it was only clear to me. I had not explained the subject properly for anyone else who was not familiar with the topic. Ever since then, I have tried to make sure that whether I am writing or speaking, I do my best to make myself clear. Language can be challenging at times, because, although we may think we are being clear, words do not always mean the same thing to everyone. I can say something to a close friend and he can easily get confused for a number of reasons. When we try to communicate something to millions of people, the odds are even greater for misunderstanding. This is the reason why it is always a bad idea for the words of the Scriptures, the Mass, and the Daily Office to be done in common vernacular. Notice that I said common vernacular. Vernacular speech, technically means that which is currently spoken, but there is a category of vernacular that we could distinguish, and that is unspoken vernacular (my term). By unspoken vernacular I mean something that is able to be understood and spoken by a people group, but that is older and therefore not actually spoken in day to day usage by anyone. This is, of course, the great value of Latin: that it is not vernacular. Whenever someone complains that they cannot understand something said in Latin, I relay to them that this is not fully a bad thing. If it is not modern speech, then its definition does not change. Thus, we have the Novus Ordo, which is intended to be in common vernacular. Yet, here in these USA we are now on the third translation and it is only just over 50 years old. That is a lot of change in a half a decade. A priest who lived in the 17th century had this to say: If the Mass were said in one of the living languages, there would be great risk that, as the meaning of words changed, the original significance of the formulas would change also, and against this danger the Church must guard. Notice how he says one of the living languages. In other words, a language as it is spoken flexes and changes. New idioms arise and various adjustments in definition occur. Over time (sometimes a very short time) language changes so much that it does not mean what it once meant. In a good sense we can say that Latin is a dead language (that is why it is good to use it in Mass, in prayers, in priestly blessings, in song, etc.). We can also say that Sacral English (sometimes mistakenly referred to as Elizabethan English) is a dead language, and that is also good. This is why it is used in the Divine Worship Mass that we have in the Ordinariate. It keeps definitions stable; it helps us to be certain what we are saying, and it prevents various heresies from easily arising. Thank God we have dead languages!