The Gloria in the New Roman Missal
On the first Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011,
we will begin using the English texts of the new
Roman Missal at all Masses. While the overall
structure of our Mass remains constant, there are
changes that will occur to the words that we pray at
Mass. Gloria, which is prayed or sung at all Sunday
Masses (except during Advent and Lent) and on all
feast days. As part of the Introductory Rites, the
Gloria assists the assembly in preparing our hearts
and minds to celebrate the Eucharist fully. It
expresses the praise and thanksgiving, the awe and
wonder of joining ourselves to God in prayer.
In preparing the new translation of the Roman
Missal, translators worked with specific translation
guidelines issued by the Holy See, which asked
translators to remain faithful to the original Latin
wherever possible. Many of the changes in the
Gloria are illustrations of this translation principle.
Some of these changes help to underscore the link
between the words we pray at Mass and the
Scriptural passages from which our prayers are
drawn, while others express theological beliefs more
clearly..
One of the first differences you will notice occurs in
the first line of the Gloria. Where we used to pray
“Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people
on earth,” the new translation now reads, “Glory to
God in the highest and on earth peace to people of
good will.” The text alludes to the angels’
announcement of peace at Christ’s birth in the Gospel
of Luke (2:14) and the new translation is more
closely aligned to that scriptural passage.
In the next section of the prayer, we exclaim praise
for God. Our current version reads: “…we worship
you, we give you thanks we praise you for your
glory…” In the new version, there are additional
expressions of praise, increasing in intensification,
culminating with a profession of thanksgiving for
God’s greatness: “…We praise you, we bless you, we
adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for
your great glory…” The prayer allows us to express
that gratitude in God’s goodness in no uncertain
terms!
The Gloria can either be recited or sung at mass, but
as it is intended as a hymn, it is most often sung. In
looking at these examples from the new Gloria, it is
clear that the new translations will not “fit” into the
meter and melody of the current options for the sung
Gloria. As a result, new settings, or musical scores,
are necessary for the Gloria of the new Roman
Missal. Most musical settings for our prayers at
Mass are composed as a “family,” so to speak, so that
they form a unifying musical structure to our prayers
at Mass. Just as the Gloria will need to be re-written,
new versions of other sung prayers at Mass, such as
the Holy, Holy, the Memorial Acclamation, now
known as the Mystery of Faith, the Doxology, and
the Lamb of God will need to be composed.
Musicians have been working diligently to create
new Mass settings that match the cadence and spirit
of the new translations, and some old favorites have
been revised. It is true that some of our well loved
settings will no longer be used at Mass, and that can
cause a sense of loss. However, over the coming
months, new settings will be introduced (slowly!) and
we are sure to settle on ones that become our new
“favorites.”
As we approach these changes, we have planned a
few informational workshops to help parishioners
inform themselves about these changes and hear the
new settings that will be sung at St. Tim’s. We invite
you to attend one or all three of these session. Please
mark your calendars with these dates. Watch for
further details in the bulletin.
The New Roman Missal: Parish-wide Faith Formation Workshops
Session One –
The Liturgy of the Word
Sunday. October 16,
2-3:30pm
OR
Sunday, November 6,
2-3:30pm
Session Two –
The Liturgy of the Word
Sunday. October 16,
2-3:30pm
OR
Sunday, November 6,
2-3:30pm
Session Three Music for the New Roman
Missal
Come and sign the prayers of
the New Roman Missal!
Sunday, November 13,
2-3:30pm
(One offering only)