The flow of the Mass is not
changing at all
It will still take place in 4 parts:
Introductory Rites
Liturgy of the Word
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Concluding Rites
I. INTRODUCTORY RITES:
1) Entrance Chant (or
possibly an Antiphon for
weekday Mass)
2) Sign of the Cross and greeting
Immediately after the Sign of the
Cross, the celebrant (priest)
extends one of three different
liturgical greetings to the people.
By far, the most common one used
is: “The Lord be with you.”
This will remain unchanged with
the new translation.
However, our new response will
be the first change in the Order of
Mass.
Instead of responding “And also
with you”, we will now be saying:
“And with your spirit”
This new response will also be
made at four other times during
the Mass when this dialogue of
“The Lord be with you…” occurs.
The second time will be during the
reading of the Gospel.
And at the beginning of the
Eucharistic prayer. Also, during
the Sign of Peace. And finally, at
the conclusion of Mass.
Why the change? The first
reason is: “And with your
spirit” is the proper translation
of the original Latin text: “Et
cum spiritu tuo”..
By correctly expressing this
dialogue in English, we are
actually aligning our
translation with that of all the
other major language groups,
which have long been
translating the Latin properly.
But even beyond the linguistic
reason, the recovery of the
word “spirit” also carries
scriptural meaning.
The two parts of this greeting
express a desire that the Lord
be present to the spirit of the
entire community.
Both the greeting and the reply
come from the Bible.
“The Lord be with you” appears
as a greeting or
encouragement in Judges 6:12,
Ruth 2:4, Chronicles 15:2 and
Luke 1:28.
In Luke 1:28, the greeting
given by the Archangel Gabriel
to Mary at the Annunciation:
“Hail, favored one! The Lord is
with you.”
“And with your spirit” is inspired
by passages that conclude four of
the New Testament epistles: 2
Timothy 4:22, Galatians 6:18,
Philippians 4:23 and Philemon 25.
The dialogue establishes the
interdependence of the priest
and the people, as they take up
their roles to praise God.
3) Penitential Act: There are 3
options for the Penitential Act.
The priest invites the faithful
by saying: “Brethren (brothers
and sisters), let us
acknowledge our sins, and so
prepare ourselves to celebrate
the sacred mysteries.”
a) The first option for the
Penitential Act, Option A, and
the most common one used on
Sunday, is called the Confiteor.
Confiteor is Latin for “I
confess”, and comes from the
first line of the prayer.
As you are know, it begins with: “I
confess to almighty God and to
you my brothers and sisters…”
There will be a new translation
of some of the words in this
prayer.
(Refer to your handout)
Remember, the guiding
principle of the new translation
is a closer adherence to the
original words in Latin.
The new translation for this
prayer has us express more
grandly the seriousness of our
sin and the sincerity of our
contrition.
Most of this text remains the same
as the version we presently
use. However, there are two key
modifications.
The first replaces our current
wording of “I have sinned through
my own fault” with “I have greatly
sinned.” The new text reflects the
Latin wording by incorporating the
adverb “nimis,” which means “very
much.”
The second set of changes
occurs about halfway through
the Confiteor, and is more
significant. The words
removed from the first section
(“through my own fault”) are
being returned to their proper
place here, but with the
expression’s full content.
“Through my fault, through my
fault, through my most grievous
fault” is a direct translation of the
Latin phrase “mea culpa, mea
culpa, mea maxima culpa.”
As a well-known line from the old
Latin Mass, “mea culpa” has even
become a familiar part of our
secular parlance, by which one
admits having made a mistake.
Some might wonder, why this
seemingly heavier emphasis on
sin in the revised English
Confiteor?
Looking beyond simple fidelity
to the Latin, language that calls
to mind our fallen human
nature is actually very
important in the Sacred
Liturgy.
The great Apostle of Christ, St.
Paul, spoke of his complete and
continual reliance on God’s
grace in vivid terms well after
his conversion: “Christ Jesus
came into the world to save
sinners. Of these I am the
foremost” (1 Tim 1:15).
It is good to acknowledge our
sinfulness at particular times, just
as we should do at sacramental
Confession. Unlike Reconciliation,
we are not sacramentally absolved
of our sins at this point during the
Holy Mass.
Nevertheless, it is an
appropriate way to “prepare
ourselves to celebrate the
sacred mysteries,” as the Priest
says at the beginning of the
Penitential Act.
We must strive to approach the
altar of God with humble
dispositions, and should receive
the Most Holy Body and Blood
of Christ free from grave sin,
and in a worthy fashion, as St.
Paul exhorts us in 1 Corinthians
11:23-29.
During the Confiteor, the
faithful should “strike their
breast” while saying, “through
my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous
fault.” This prescribed
“striking” is a symbolic tapping
of the chest with a clenched fist
over one’s heart, signifying
remorse.
This is part of the beauty of our
Catholic liturgy – sacramental
words are complemented by
sacramental actions. This
action also recalls the penitent
tax collector in Luke, chapter
18, who “beat his breast and
prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to
me a sinner.’”
Towards the end of the
Confiteor we ask for the
prayers of the rest of the
assembly and the Saints, led by
the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose
sinlessness and humility are
the perfect model for our own
Christian lives.
Then, as before, the priest
says: “May almighty God have
mercy on us, forgive us our
sins, and bring us to
everlasting life.” You respond:
“Amen.”
The confiteor prayer still
concludes with the “Lord, have
mercy” ,“Christ, have mercy”,
“Lord, have mercy” or the
optional “Kyrie, eleison”
“Christie, eleison” “Kyrie,
eleison.
b) The second option, Option
B, is one that is rarely used.
(Refer to your handout)
The first phrase of the new
translation is from Baruch 3:2
and the second comes from
Psalm 85:8.
Then, as before, the priest says:
“May almighty God have mercy
on us, forgive us our sins, and
bring us to everlasting life.” You
respond: “Amen.”
Then it is followed by the “Lord,
have mercy. Christ have mercy.
Lord have Mercy.” or “Kyrie,
eleison…”
c) The third option, Option C, has
seven different formulas that may
be used. The most common one
used is:
The priest says: “You were sent to
heal the contrite of heart, Lord
have mercy.” “You came to call
sinners, Christ have mercy.” “You
are seated at the right hand of the
Father to intercede for us, Lord
have mercy”.
Just as before, all of these
verses are to be followed by
the congregation responding:
“Lord, have mercy” or “Kyrie,
eleison.”
The priest concludes with the
words:
“May almighty God have mercy
on us, forgive us our sins, and
bring us to everlasting life.”
No words have changed for this
conclusion to the Penitential
Act.
4) Gloria: One of the biggest
changes you’ll notice is the words
of the Gloria.
We will still sing it or recite it on
all Sundays of the year except for
those during Advent and Lent and
the rare occasions when All Souls
Day (November 2) falls on a
Sunday.
Everyone will continue to recite or
sing the Gloria, or the people may
alternate with the choir, or the
choir may sing it alone.
The text of the Gloria has changed
so much that composers have
written new and revised existing
musical settings for it. Parishes
who sing it, will be learning one or
more new revised versions.
Since the same text repeats
Sunday after Sunday, we will
have the opportunity to practice
a new setting for many weeks
until it feels comfortable.
The chart shows you how the
text of this hymn has changed:
(Refer to your handout)
Much of the text of the Gloria
comes from Scripture.
The first lines are derived from
the Angels heralding the glad
tidings of Christ’s birth in Luke
2:14: “Glory to God in the
highest and peace to those on
whom his favor rests.”
These opening words “Glory to
God in the highest” also
correspond to the Latin “Gloria
in excelsis Deo”.
The revised translation
changed “peace to his people
on earth” to “on earth peace to
people of good will.” Again, the
guiding principle for all
translations is to let the English
express more literally the
sentiments of the Latin
original.
In this case, the previous text
describes to whom the people
belong (“his” = “God’s”), whereas
the new one describes their
quality (“of good will”).
The new translation of the Gloria
is a richer reference to the fact
that the Messiah’s coming brings
the world a higher order of divine
peace that only the incarnate Son
of God can bestow.
Those who live in accordance with
God’s will and receive His grace
shall experience the fullness of
this peace.
Turning to the second sentence
of the new Gloria, we notice
something striking – the new
translation recovers entire
phrases that were left out of
the current translation.
Right now, we sing, “we worship
you, we give you thanks, we
praise you for your
glory.” However, the Latin text
of the hymn offers five
successive ways in which we
should pay homage to God: “We
praise you, we bless you, we
adore you, we glorify you, we
give you thanks for your great
In a general sense, it is true that these
all convey the same idea of worshiping
God, however, the liturgical prayer is
enhanced by poetic repetition. And
these five descriptions of worship
have subtle distinctions. Together,
they combine to express the extent to
which it is our Christian duty to give
“glory to God.” We are in awe in the
presence of God and the
overwhelming experience of meeting
God in prayer.
Next change is the words “Only
Begotten Son….Son of the Father”
represent a slight change from the
previous version of: “only Son of the
Father”. The new version recovers a
key phrase of the Latin text – “Fili
Unigenite”. This is a venerable title
of Jesus Christ, which speaks of the
fact that the Son of God comes forth
from the Father, yet is no less an
eternal Person of the Divine Trinity.
Next, the new text includes two
lines (rather than one) that
begin with the words “you take
away the sins of the world”,
thereby reflecting the Latin
text. The phrases appear in a
different order in the new
translation to imitate the order
of the words in Latin.
By regaining this line and an
additional “have mercy on us”
in the next line, the new
translation features a classic
threefold structure of
supplication: “have mercy on
us… receive our prayer… have
mercy on us.” We also see this
sort of structure in the Kyrie
and Lamb of God.
Also, a small change appears in
this line. We have been singing
about “sin” in the singular, but
the new translation has “sins”
in the plural. The difference
indicates that Jesus takes away
not just generic sin from the
world, but individual sin. He
forgives people their personal
sins.
This revised translation for the
Gloria reflects the long
tradition of this hymn, while
making it suitable for singing.
It roots us in the scriptures,
gives us words to praise God,
and is an occasion to reflect on
the forgiving power of Jesus
Christ.
5) Opening Prayer or Collect:
The Introductory Rites
conclude with the Opening
Prayer of the Mass. The
Opening Prayers (Collects)
have been retranslated.
II) The Liturgy of the Word
There are virtually no changes
to the words we use for the
Liturgy of the Word, except for
some words in the Creed.
1) Scripture readings and
Homily:
The first two readings will
conclude the same way. At the
end of the reading the reader
will say: “The Word of the
Lord” and everyone answers
“Thanks be to God.”
One change that you will
probably never notice because
these words are said in silence
by the priest or deacon. These
are the words that are said in
silence which precede and
conclude the proclamation of
the Gospel.
In fact there are several times
during the Mass that the priest
and deacon say some prayers in
a low or inaudible voice. They
are saying these prayers to
center their minds on the
meaning of their actions.
One change will be when the
priest or deacon is standing at
the ambo and greets you with
the words: “The Lord be with
you”, your response will now
be “And with your spirit”,
which is the same response at
the beginning of the Mass that
we already have went over.
When the Gospel is announced
by the priest or deacon: “A
reading from the Holy Gospel
according to Matthew (or Mark
or Luke or John)”, the old
response was “Glory to you
Lord”. It is now “Glory to you,
O Lord”
The word “O” has been added
throughout the Missal before
words such as “Lord” and
“God” in sentences that are
prayers..
At the conclusion of the Gospel,
the congregation will continue
to respond “Praise to You, Lord
Jesus Christ.”
The scripture readings will still be
in the separate books entitled
Lectionary for Mass and The Book
of the Gospels.
For the homily, the priest or
deacon will still observe the same
expectations for its preparation.
And just like before, you will
typically hear a homily based on
the scripture readings for the day.
2) The Profession of Faith:
Of course our faith is staying the
same, but some of the words we
use to profess our faith when we
pray the Creed (Nicene or
Apostles) are changing.
You will notice that there are more
changes in this text than in any
other words you say at Mass.
Once again, the guiding
principle for the revised
translation has been to make
the English closer to the Latin
original. The translators have
given us a text that expresses
our common faith with more
precision.
Catholics profess the Creed each
Sunday in various languages
around the world and it is
important that we all say the same
words because there is one faith.
The Creed the people in the U.S.
usually proclaim is the Nicene
Creed.
(refer to your handout)
You will notice right away that
the Creed begins with “I”
instead of “We”. The Creed is
still the faith of the entire
Church, but each of us
proclaims it to assert our
personal faith together with
other believers.
“I believe” is a literal
translation of the Latin word
“Credo”, and it is consistent
with the translation that has
been used in many other
countries around the world
since the Second Vatican
Council. You will notice this
change from “we” to “I” in
other parts of the Creed.
Next, changing the words from “of
all that is seen and unseen” to “of
all things visible and invisible”.
This makes it a little more precise
because some things that are
visible by nature are actually
unseen at certain places and
times. For example, your relatives
who live across the country are
visible, but unseen to you.
Next, the word “only” is
replaced by “Only Begotten”.
They translate the Latin more
fully. They reaffirm that Jesus
did not merely materialize as
the Son of God, but that He was
intentionally begotten;
His presence has always been
part of the divine plan.
Next, the words “eternally begotten
of the Father” are replaced by “Born
of the Father before all ages”. This
makes it more precise. Jesus
dwelled with the Father before time
began. This reminds us of the first
two verses of the Gospel of John:
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God.”
To say the Son is “born of the
Father before all ages” is a
profound theological truth, for
the Son is not “born” in the
human sense of beginning one’s
life, but eternally proceeds from
the Father while being always
fully God. Therefore, we profess
that Jesus Christ is “begotten,
not made.”
These verses from the prologue
or introduction to the Gospel of
John, are a poem prefacing the
account of Jesus Christ’s life on
earth, proclaiming and praising
his divinity and eternity. Jesus
is the uncreated Word, God the
Only-Begotten.
Next, the words “one in being
with the Father” are replaced
with the word “consubstantial
with the Father”.
This describes the relationship
between Jesus and the Father.
This word lies closer to the Latin
equivalent consubstantialis, which
means having the same substance,
which is more fundamental than
“one in being”. “Consubstantial”
is a term that teaches that the
three persons of the Trinity, while
distinct and separate, share one
and the same substance.
Next, the word “born” is
replaced by the word
“incarnate”. It professes our
faith that the Word became
flesh in the womb of the Virgin
Mary.
Our previous translation could
possibly be misunderstood to state
that the Word became flesh when
Jesus was born.
The revised translation makes it
clearer that Jesus did not become
a human at the moment He was
born; He was incarnate in the
womb, and in that event “became
man.”
Next, the words “suffered,
died” is replaced by “suffered
death”. This is closer to the
Latin text.
Next, the words “in fulfillment”
is replaced with the word “in
accordance.”
Next, the word “worshipped” is
replaced with the word “adored”.
Once again, it more closely
resembles the word in Latin.
Next, the words “we acknowledge”
is replaced with the words “I
confess”. In this context, “confess”
means profess belief in. It is better
than “acknowledge” because it
involves the heart and not just the
Next, the words “We look for
the resurrection” are replaces
by the words “I look forward to
the resurrection”. Once again,
this is a clearer translation of
the Latin and also it resounds
confidence.
3) Prayers of the Faithful
(General Intercessions):
The entire text of the Prayer of
the Faithful can be freely
composed in our local Church
community knowing best what
the community should pray for,
although the petitions are
supposed to cover four areas.
These areas are: the needs of
the Church, public authorities
and/or the salvation of the
world, those burdened by any
kind of difficulty, our
community.
There are sample petitions in
the new Roman Missal.
III) The Liturgy of the
Eucharist
1) The Preparation of the Gifts:
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
begins with the Preparation of
the Gifts.
There will be only be very few
changes to the words.
On Sundays, a hymn is sung as the
gifts are collected and the altar is
prepared. The Missal calls this
music the offertory chant. There
are no changes for this. Once the
priest has received the gifts and
stands at the altar, he praises God,
who has provided the gifts.
Because there is an offertory
chant, the priest will say the
words of praise to God quietly.
For weekday Masses, the priest
says these words in an audible
voice. The words of the priest
will be very slightly different.
As he raises the bread which
will soon become the body of
Christ, he will say quietly or
audibly: “Blessed are you, Lord
God of all creation…”
Your response will still be the
same: “Blessed be God
forever.” The priest will then
raise the chalice with the wine
which will soon become the
blood of Christ and he will say
audibly: “Blessed are you, Lord
God of all creation…” Your
response will still be the same:
“Blessed be God forever.”
2) Invitation to Prayer
Then, after the priest washes his
hands, he invites you to pray.
His invitation is slightly different.
He will say: “Pray, brethren
(brothers and sisters), that my
sacrifice and yours, may be
acceptable to God, the Almighty
Father.”
The difference in words from
“our sacrifice” to “my sacrifice
and yours” is a reminder that
each member of the assembly
is offering a sacrifice, in
keeping with his or her priestly
role as a baptized member of
the Church.
Your response to prayer is
changed by the addition of one
word: “May the Lord accept the
sacrifice at your hands for the
praise and glory of his name, for
our good and the good of all his
holy Church.”
The word holy appears in Latin, so
it is being added to the English.
The reason that the Lord will
hear the prayer and accept the
sacrifice of the humble priest is
because of the holiness of the
Church.
The addition of the word “holy”
reminds us that the Church
belongs to Christ, and is
founded on His grace.
3) Next, is the Prayer over the
Gifts: As you know, there are
different prayers over the gifts
and a different one is used
most every week. This will not
change. Some of the words will
change to offer a richer and
fuller content. You will still
respond ‘Amen’ at the end of
the prayer.
4) Eucharistic Prayer: The
Eucharistic Prayer is the center
and summit of the entire Mass.
It is a prayer of thanksgiving
and sanctification.
a) Just as before, the
Eucharistic prayer begins with
a dialogue between the priest
and the people called: Preface
Dialogue.
The priest says: “The Lord be
with you” and you respond:
“And with your spirit.”
The priest then invites you to
lift up your heart in prayer and
give thanks to God (“Lift up
your hearts”), as you unite your
thoughts with those expressed
by the priest. You still respond:
“We lift them up to the Lord.”
Then the priest says “Let us
give thanks to the Lord our
God” and you respond: “It is
right and just”, which is closer
to the Latin.
This is a simple rendering of the
Latin: “Dignum et iustum est”,
emphasizing the fact that is fitting
and appropriate to give thanks to
the Lord. The word eucharist
means thanksgiving. In this
dialogue at the beginning of the
Eucharistic prayer, the priest
invites you to ‘give thanks’ and
you declare that it is right and just
to do so.
b) Then the priest says the
Preface in the name of the entire
community using the appropriate
preface in which the marvelous
deeds of God are proclaimed.
And at the end of the Preface, we
join the choirs of angels in
singing their song, the Sanctus
(Holy, Holy, Holy).
The Holy, Holy, Holy, comes at
a significant moment in the
Mass. We are praising God.
We are acknowledging the
wonderful things God has done,
and we are proclaiming how
holy God is.
Most all of the Sanctus stays the
same except for a slight change in
the first line of the acclamation.
The change of words is from “Holy,
Holy, Holy, God of power and
might” to “Holy, Holy, Holy God of
hosts”.
The first line of the Holy, Holy,
Holy, is based on a passage
from the Book of Isaiah (6:1-3)
and the Gospel of Luke (2:13).
The replacement word, hosts,
means the angelic hosts, the
invisible powers that work at
God’s command. The revised
translation emphasizes the
sublime power of God, who has
all the forces of nature under
control.
(And speaking of the sublime
power of God, shortly after this
hymn, the priest, by the spirit
given him at ordination, acts in
the person of Christ (in persona
Christi) and asks the Holy Spirit
to exercise that power of God,
by changing the bread and
wine into the Body and Blood of
Christ.)
There is no change to the rest of
this acclamation. It continues to
quote the crowds in Jerusalem,
who shout “Hosanna” to Jesus at
his triumphant entry on Palm
Sunday (Matthew 21:9). The
crowds in this Gospel story also
quote Psalm 118:26, “Blessed is
he who comes in the name of the
Lord.”
So, as we can see, the Holy,
Holy, Holy, affirms the Divinity
of Christ, the unity of testimony
in the Old and New
Testaments, the holiness of
God, the power of God over all
forces, and the universal desire
of all creation to raise a voice
together to praise God.
The Sanctus reminds us that all
creatures in “heaven and earth”
owe thanksgiving to God. As the
Angels are present and
worshipping with us as we
celebrate the Holy Eucharist, with
every fiber of our being should
reflect the utmost reverence.
Therefore, immediately after the
Sanctus, we kneel.
c) Then the priest prays either
Eucharistic prayer I, II, III, or IV.
- Eucharistic prayer I is the Roman
Canon.
- Eucharistic prayer II is the most
common used for weekday Mass.
- Eucharistic prayer III is the most
common used for Sunday Mass.
- Eucharistic prayer IV is the least
common one used.
There will be a new translation
of some of the words in this
prayer. Again, the guiding
principle of the new translation
is a closer adherence to the
original words in Latin.
During the Eucharistic prayer II,
III, or IV, that the congregation
makes a response to is ‘The
Memorial Acclamation’ or more
accurately called ‘An Acclamation
of Faith’ or “Mystery of Faith’.
In the past, the priest has said:
“Let us proclaim the mystery of
faith” and then the congregation
responded with one of the 4
different responses.
With the revised missal, rather
than saying “Let us proclaim
the mystery of faith”, the priest
will now simply say “The
mystery of faith”.
There are several reasons for this.
First, again a closer adherence to
the Latin. Secondly, the new
words are more similar in
structure to other parts of the
Mass. For example, “The Word of
the Lord”, “The Gospel of the
Lord”, “The Body of Christ”, “The
Blood of Christ”. These are simple,
faith filled statements that prompt
a response.
Thirdly, the prior words of “Let
us…” spoken by the priest
encouraged the priest to make the
acclamation with the
congregation. However, the
acclamation is the people’s to
make. The priest is not supposed
to join you in it, any more than he
should make the “amen” response
after he says “The Body of Christ.”
The priest makes the
announcement “The mystery of
faith”, and you make the
acclamation.
Something to note is that an
acclamation is addressed to
someone, whereas a proclamation
is made about someone. Our
words acclaim Christ; our actions
proclaim our faith in Christ.
That is why we will now have
three acclamations from which
to choose instead of four.
These three are based on the
three Latin acclamations. The
three we will use resemble the
three we know well, but their
deeper meaning is being
revealed.
One of the four acclamations
will be removed because it is a
more of a proclamation than an
acclamation and also because
there is no fourth Latin
acclamation.
It is perhaps the best known
one and one that will be
missed: “Christ has died, Christ
is risen, Christ will come
again.” Again, it makes a
statement of faith about Christ
(proclamation), rather than a
prayer to Him (acclamation).
Let’s look at the word changes
in the other three.
(refer to your handout)
Again, it is a closer adherence
to the Latin.
In the second one, you will
notice that there is almost no
change. And in the third one, it
is mostly just a word order
change.
All three of them are rich and
beautiful and are rooted in
scripture. Option A and option B
are derived from 1 Corinthians
11:26 – “For as often as you eat
this bread and drink the cup, you
proclaim the death of the Lord
until he comes.” And Christ’s
title in option C is found in John
4:42.
In regards to the musical
settings for the memorial
acclamation, we are familiar
with several musical settings.
New compositions and revised
settings are ready to roll out.
4) The Communion Rite: the
rituals surrounding the sharing
of Holy Communion are not
changing, but some of the
words will change.
The Communion Rite begins
with the Lord’s prayer (The Our
Father) and continues through
the ‘Prayer after Communion’.
a) The Lord’s prayer: The
Lord’s prayer does not change.
Some of the words that the
priest uses to introduce the
Lord’s prayer have changed:
“At the Savior’s command, and
formed by divine teaching, we
dare to say”. . . Then the Lord’s
prayer starts.
After the Lord’s prayer, the
priest will say his prayer in
which there are a few change
of words: “Deliver us, Lord, we
pray, from every evil…”
You still respond with the same
words: “For the kingdom, the
power, and the glory are yours
now and forever.”
b) Sign of Peace: After the Lord’s
prayer, the priest prays to Jesus
for peace and unity in the Church.
The text is slightly different, but
you will recognize it:
“Lord Jesus Christ, who said to
your Apostles, Peace I leave
you, my peace I give you, look
not on our sins, but on the faith
of your Church, and graciously
grant her peace and unity in
accordance with your will.
Who live and reign for ever
and ever.”
You will notice that pronouns
referring to the Church are now
feminine, like the word “her” in
this prayer. This is to recall the
Church’s image as the bride of
Christ.
Your response at the end of
this prayer is still: “Amen”
Then the priest will greet you just
as he does now: “The peace of the
Lord be with you always” and your
response will be the same new
response as in other parts of the
Mass: “And with your spirit”.
The priest will then invite you to
share peace in the same words
you have been hearing: “Let us
offer each other the sign of
peace”.
c) Lamb of God: Next is the
Lamb of God prayer which is
said or sung. The words are
not changing for this prayer.
Then, the priest elevates the
Body and Blood of Christ and
announces: “Behold the Lamb
of God, behold him who takes
away the sins of the world.
Blessed are those called to the
supper of the Lamb.”
As you can see, instead of
saying “This is the Lamb of
God”, the priest will say
“Behold the Lamb of God”. This
is closer to the Latin and is
more majestic in sound and it is
a more direct allusion to John
1:29, where John the Baptist
points out Jesus to his
followers.
This recovery of the word ‘Behold’
also evokes the words of Pilate to
the crowd in presenting the
scourged Jesus: “Behold the man”
(Ecce homo – John 19:5). The
Holy Eucharist is a re-presentation
of that same sacrificial Victim, and
our undertaking in it is a foretaste
of the heavenly banquet of the
Lamb (Rev 19:9).
The word “Happy” has been
changed to “Blessed”. You may
be blessed even when you are
experiencing sorrow. This
change, together with the
explicit reference to “the
supper of the Lamb”, makes
clear allusion to Revelation
19:9.
There, the angel in the vision
has John write down the words
that proclaim blessed are those
called to the wedding banquet
of the Lamb.
The response has two changes.
First, “Lord, I am not worthy to
receive you…” becomes “Lord, I
am not worthy that you should
enter under my roof…”.
This makes a more direct
connection with Matthew 8:8
and Luke 7:6, where a Gentile
centurion has asked Jesus to
heal his paralyzed servant.
Jesus intends to go to the
house, but the centurion
believes himself unworthy to
have Jesus come to his home
and says: “Lord I am not
worthy to have you enter under
my roof; only say the word and
my servant will be healed.”
By quoting the centurion, we
are telling Jesus about our
unworthiness on account of our
sin, and also our need for
sincere humility before
receiving Holy Communion.
And as the Gospel continues,
Jesus works the cure because
the centurion’s humility
overrides any sinful condition
of his. We are imitating his
humility, so that Jesus will not
avoid us because of our sins,
but will come to us on the
strength of our virtue.
The other change to this text is
from “I” to “my soul”. We
currently say “but only say the
word and I shall be healed.”
We will now say: “but only say
the word and my soul shall be
healed.”
It shows we are not asking for a
generic healing or even a physical
healing, but rather for a spiritual
healing that alone can cure our
soul.
(The first translation of the Roman
Missal used other words for ‘soul’
in many parts of the
Sacramentary. But ‘soul’ is being
restored wherever it appears in
Latin)
d) Holy Communion:
When you receive Holy
Communion, there will be no
change to the words. You will
hear: “The Body of Christ” and
“The Blood of Christ” and you
will respond “Amen” to each.
If you are singing a
Communion chant or song,
there will be no change to the
rules for its selection, so you
should not notice a change in
music for this part of the Mass.
e) Prayer after Communion:
The priest will say: “Let us
pray” and then he will say the
prayer. Some of the words of
some of the different Prayers
after Communion have
changed. Just as before, it
concludes with your response
of “Amen”.
f) The Concluding Rites:
If there are any brief
announcements, they are said.
The priest will then greet you
as before with “The Lord be
with you” and you will reply
“And with your spirit” Then he
will give the final blessing.
Then he will give the
dismissal.
And for the dismissal, our
current three dismissal options
will be replaced by four
dismissal options: “Go forth,
the Mass has ended” or “Go and
announce the Gospel of the
Lord” or “Go in peace,
glorifying the Lord by your life”
or “Go in peace”.
This reminds us that when
Mass concludes, we do not just
leave the Church, but rather we
enter the world with a mission,
emphasizing our Christian call
to “mission”.
After the priest’s dismissal, your
response is the same, ending the
Mass with words of joy: “Thanks
be to God”. We give thanks to God
for the inestimable gift in the Holy
Mass, and a means by which He
draws us and the entire world into
closer communion with him.
For the closing hymn, there will be
no change.
God Bless,
The Priests at
Holy Spirit Church