For your bulletin
Hear ye, hear ye! In case you haven’t heard…..
Effective on November 27, 2011, the implementation of the 3rd edition of the Roman
Missal will join all English speaking countries with the rest of the world in praying
ancient texts that are a more literal translation from the Latin texts and translated into
English. The New Roman Missal also includes prayers for new saints that have been
canonized within the last 45 years.
The text changes impact priests in a big way; many of them learned the current prayers
over the last 45 years and committed much of them to memory. Therefore, there is a lot
for our clergy to learn and absorb – over 1,500 pages in fact. They have many new
prayers to learn and it will take time to become familiar with the many new texts used at
Mass throughout the year. As with English speaking countries, revisions are now
underway for Spanish, Portuguese and other languages and countries, including the
Maronite Rite with the Catholic Church.
In addition to text changes for the clergy, there are also text changes for the laity. We will
need to pay close attention to the new texts as published in our new missalette and an
accompanying Mass card that will serve as a quick reference for use at Mass starting on
November 27 until we all learn the new texts.
The work on the New Roman Missal began in 2000, when Pope John Paul II began the
process. The New Roman Missal was officially approved in August 2010 with Advent as
the designated starting period in the United States because Advent kicks off the start of
the liturgical year. This change is similar to changing textbooks in school: the whole class
needs to use the same, current book! Therefore, all previous texts from the current
Sacramentary can no longer be used after November 27, 2011.
The NRM includes the best possible translation from Latin. The texts are taken directly
from Scripture. It's our job to now study and embrace this new missal. If you’d like to
view a 10 minute explanation of the changes, check out this internet link:
ismasschanging.org. There are four video options on this webpage. During the education
session last week, we watched the version called, “For High School Teens” which is
suitable for adults and youth alike. The video tells the story of this new translation in a
concise, entertaining and entertaining and informative way.
Same prayers, new texts. Our celebration of Mass is intended to be a dialog with God in
which we each hold an active part. “The Lord be with you” is the priest’s wish for us.
Our new response will be, “And with your spirit” -- our acknowledgment of the priest’s
gifts, instead of “And also with you.”
Highlights of a few changes that begin on November 27:
Gloria (Glory to God): There are several text changes in this hymn, which will now start
out this way: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will.”
This text better reflects the song of the angels in the Christmas narratives. There are
several other phrase changes within the Gloria that reflect what we do at Mass - praise,
bless, adore and glorify God.
Gospel acclamation: The revised response by the laity will be, “Glory to you, O Lord.”
The Profession of Faith will now be called “The Creed.” By our baptism, the Creed
(Credo) declares our faith in what we believe as Catholics. As we publicly commit to our
faith, we express our personal commitment and say, “I believe” instead of “we believe.”
There’s also a new word in the Creed that may not be familiar to many people. We will
declare, “Consubstantial with the Father,” meaning that Jesus is of the same substance
as the Father, to reinforce our belief in the Trinity.
The Sanctus (Holy): There is only one word change! We will now say/sing “Lord God
of hosts" instead of "…power and might," but this one word change requires an alteration
in our musical settings for the Holy. We will rehearse this music before Mass.
The Memorial Acclamation (Mysterium Fidei) will now be called, “The Mystery of
Faith.” Therefore, Christ has died will no longer be one of the acclamations as it does not
meet all of the requirements to reflect the Mystery of Faith. While commonly used in the
USA, this acclamation was never derived from Latin texts and was only adopted in the
USA – no other countries. Additionally, this form is the only one that does not include us.
In the new translation, we will join with the universal Church and sing consistent texts.
Communion rite: The dialog between the priest and the assembly right before
communion will change. In the new response, we now quote Scripture by saying, “Lord,
you are not worthy to come under my roof….”
A word about music: The New Roman Missal contains much more music than any
previous edition through the use of additional chants, which simplify Chant is part of our
Catholic tradition as well and its use simplifies learning some of our new texts.
Want to learn more? Go to www.usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops.
Or….
Google New Roman Missal and watch how many web sites pop up!