Third Edition of the Roman Missal - Credit: Mazur
Posted on 11/27/2011 6:41:43 AM PST by NYer
.- As English-speaking Catholic parishes begin using the new translation of the Mass on the first Sunday of Advent, leading members of the hierarchy are predicting great gains for the Church.
“I have a feeling that this will be a great moment for deepening people’s liturgical piety and liturgical spirituality,” said Cardinal Raymond Burke, a member of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship, in comments to CNA.
“The prayers are much more beautiful and they carry with them a staying power,” observed Cardinal Burke.
He predicted that the newly-rendered prayers would “get people thinking about what they prayed, and taking consolation from it, and also inspiration.”
The Rome-based cardinal has been waiting until this weekend to start using the new English missal, in line with the Church in the U.S. But he offered Mass with the new texts on a recent visit to England, where many dioceses have already switched over.
“I have to say the texts are really much, much richer and much more beautiful,” concluded the cardinal, who described the previous translation as “often very bland and stripped of any richness.”
With his promulgation of a new edition of the Roman Missal in 2000, Blessed John Paul II gave the Church the opportunity to make a more faithful English translation of the Mass. The previous version had drawn criticism for its looser adaptation of the original Latin.
New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, currently in Rome for his “ad limina” visit to the Pope, recently used the new translation for the first time. Earlier this week he offered the freshly-translated prayers while prerecording his televised Mass for the first Sunday of Advent.
“Awesome, poetic, reverent language,” he said, summing up his impressions to CNA.
Archbishop Dolan also pointed out that the new texts spoken by the laity have changed less than those prayed by the priest.
“I found myself, personally, having to understandably go more slowly at Mass because I was having to look more closely at the text,” he recalled, “and that’s no bad thing.”
New York's archbishop said he was “praying with more reverence and intention and awe” as a result.
Changes for the laity include the reply “and with your spirit” spoken to the priest, rather than the response “and also with you.” Elsewhere, the threefold “mea culpa” – “my fault” – returns to the Penitential Rite, and the profession of the Creed begins with “I believe” instead of “we believe.”
Australian Roman Catholics made these changes several months ago with their shift to the new English version. “We've had no mutiny or revolution in Australia yet,” said Canberra's Archbishop Mark B. Coleridge, chairman of the committee that prepared the new English lectionary.
“Predictions of chaos, and upheaval and revolution just haven’t come to pass,” he told CNA.
The archbishop added that after a “messy transition” in some places, priests and laypeople are starting to see the new language as “richer and stronger than what we have grown up with.”
He sees almost no hostility to the changes from lay Catholics, who he says are “just getting on with it.”
Among the clergy, Archbishop Coleridge has stressed the need for advance work. While the priesthood is “more than a profession,” he said, priests still have to do their “professional preparation” before Mass – because the new texts are “a different idiom.”
Priests, he cautioned, “can’t just open the book and go for it,” without the appropriate study and practice.
After returning from mass today, please post your reactions to the new translations.
A definite improvement, although the changes are certainly not radical. We had very nice cards in the pews from Magnificat press that had the new parts on them. There actually aren’t a lot of differences for the congregation’s words; I gather the translation of the priest’s part is a significant change, however. But our priest seemed to weather it just fine.
We noticed some folks who reflexively said, “And also with you,” but more said the now appropriate “And with your spirit.” Father missed a beat in a few places, but he isn’t feeling well at the moment. Otherwise it was fine. This is from last night’s vigil Mass, which is sometimes better for the younger three (6,6,& 5).
The new Mass finds it impossible to say in one word what it can in three, and uses the vernacular, only that of the theologian. I doubt I ever have used the word “consubstantial” in conversation polite or otherwise, nor in Brother Noonan’s religion class.
I see this as more make-work for liturgists. Here’s a thought; let’s go back to the pre-Vatican II liturgy to restore some actual joy and power to the Mass.
The power is always there. It is given as a great gift of our God.
Joy emanates from our response to that power of God.
I use that as a gauge as to how successful any attempts at evangalization/conversion are on earth.
God's Plan isn't always clear to me, but I know He has one.
I KNOW He has one. I KNOW it.
We went to see my MIL in a home yesterday. So we were two hours away from our home parish.
The Priest at the parish we attended was a veritable drama queen about how hard “HE” had to work to celebrate the new translation. He told us many times about it, including begging for applause at the end.
He was still winging it through the Kyrie, saying “Lord Jesus, you are the chosen peacemaker. Lord have mercy.” and he messed up the words to the offertory, but I can’t remember what he said.
All in all, the people were receptive. Being the first week, there were still a lot of “And also with you.” being heard, but everyone was putting in an effort.
Now, here is the question. I’ve attended two parishes in my home Diocese. In the guide, it instructed us to strike our breast during “through my fault....” and to bow during “and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary.....”. Yesterday, no gesture instructions were given at the parish we attended yesterday.
Are the gestures supposed to be there or not?
>>Here’s a thought; let’s go back to the pre-Vatican II liturgy to restore some actual joy and power to the Mass.<<
All in time, my FRiend
Yes. (I saw it in the local newspaper, and also, we have them in the Spanish liturgy.)
I'm looking forward to the new prayers, and will especially listen for the Quality Adjectives, when I go to English Mass for Immaculate Conception.
My parish has been practicing "And with your spirit" for several weeks. Most were saying it at Mass on Thanksgiving Day.
Actually, the pre-Vatican II liturgy did use the word consubstantial, and also literally repeated certain words and phrases three times. You would have known this even in Latin, although sometimes low masses were inaudible and the people did not make any responses. Also, the old low masses were very fast because a lot of priests had developed a sort of speed-reading technique, just doing a fast mumble, since the people couldn’t hear most of it anyway.
There was a brief interim mass between the end of Vatican II and the promulgation of the Novus Ordo where the pre-Vatican II low mass with a few minor changes was said in a vernacular translation. I actually remember some of these responses from that time. I wish they had kept that mass and not gone to the Novus Ordo. We would have had none of the problems that we have had for the last 40 years.
As a translation of the Novus Ordo, the new one is much more accurate and if you examine it, you can actually see some of the “bones” of the old rite under it. Personally, I think it is the Pope’s plan to reintroduce a revived Old Rite mass, probably but not always in the vernacular or in a mix of Latin and vernacular, that would essentially be like the “interim mass” I mentioned but include the new Calendar of the Saints (since there are many new saints) although possibly bring back some of the old calendar, such as Rogation Days.
However, this is a massive undertaking and he may not be able to complete it. But I think this new translation is actually a start in that direction.
I guess they are still winging it in our area. *sigh*
A joyous Advent, Lady!
It was a little distracting, because the priest insisted on reminding us throughout the Mass, as we were to say one of the new responses, that we were about to say a new response. Folks generally also used the appropriate gestures.
It's amazing what five minutes of effort each week for a couple of months will do in terms of creating acceptance and uniformity.
I remember the old Mass in the vernacular, before we went to the new Mass, and it was a joy for me to use some of the new/old responses.
It was right and just.
I was practically in tears last night when I received Communion. It was so holy and beautiful.
Here’s a thought; let’s go back to the pre-Vatican II liturgy to restore some actual joy and power to the Mass.I did, I did! :) +
I think it is a mess. I read the new responses for the past several weeks and didn’t like them. Today Mass was a mess and the responses were worse than just reading them. I look at it somewhat as receiving new product instuctions that were originally written in chinese and then translated into english by some guy in Egypt. Absolutely no flow and not well translated.
Everything was fine, beautiful Mass as always. The “And with your Spirit” will take some getting used to, but regular attendees will not have a problem. Those Christmas and Easter Catholics on the other hand.......
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