WELCOMING THE 3rd EDITION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL

1.  What has changed?

The five ‘greetings’ in the Mass: at the beginning of Mass, before the Gospel, before the Preface (the Eucharistic Prayer), at the Sign of Peace and at the end of Mass before the Final Blessing.

Why has it changed?

The new response, And with your spirit, translates the original Latin response, Et cum spiritu tuo.  The original Latin response has these words, with your spirit, because they come directly from the letters of St Paul. 

The new translation reminds us that this greeting is a spiritual greeting. We are not just saying ‘good morning’ or ‘hello’ when we greet the priest at Mass. We recognise the spiritual dimension to our being.

It is Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in both priest and people, who presides, proclaims and offers this Holy Sacrifice to the Father. The Mass is not ‘our doing’, we join and celebrate in what Christ has done and continues to do for us.

Print out the new responses leaflet Click here

Part 3: WE GIVE YOU THANKS FOR YOUR GREAT GLORY

This week we look at the changes to a very ancient prayer in the Liturgy - the GLORIA.  It was first used in the 4th century by Christians as part of their daily prayer and was added to the prayers for Mass for Sundays and Feast Days in the 6th century.

Why has it changed?

It seems that a lot of words have been added to the Gloria and you may be wondering where they all came from. A lot of the original Latin words and phrases have now been put back into the new translation.

However the present translators, with the benefit of over forty years experience of reciting the prayer, now feel that the many words and phrases of the original Latin prayer better convey a sense of awe, wonder and praise of God.

The prayer echoes the other great hymns of praise found in the Gospel of St Luke concerning the birth of Jesus and the coming of the Messiah. The Gloria is the hymn of the angels, the Magnificat is the hymn of Mary and the Benedictus is the hymn of Zachariah. In praying the Gloria each Sunday we remind ourselves of these great hymns and add our voices to the praise of God.

The joyful sentiments of the Gloria explain why it is not said during the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent. When we pray it again at the Christmas and Easter vigils it rings out more gloriously.

New music will have to be composed for this new text if the Gloria is to be sung.

Part 4: CREDO - I BELIEVE

What has changed?

This is the longest ‘prayer’ in the Mass and probably the hardest to understand. The origins of the Creed can be found in the Scriptures: mostly the Gospels and the New Testament letters.

One of earliest Creeds we have is the Apostles’ Creed, which is recited during the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet (this Creed has also changed). The Creed we more commonly use at Mass dates from the 4th century.  All that the Catholic Church holds, in faith and hope, is contained in this Creed.

Why has it changed?

We now say ‘I believe’ instead of ‘We believe’. The Latin word, Credo, means ‘I believe’. However, this does not mean that the Church is becoming more individualistic in her thinking. Because the Church is a community when we say ‘I believe’ we also mean ‘We believe’.

We now say ‘all things visible and invisible’ instead of ‘all that is seen and unseen’. Theologically it is more exact, but it is also a phrase that comes directly from the Scriptures Col 1.6 - For in him all things were created, all things in heaven and on earth: all things visible and invisible.

We now say, ‘I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages...consubstantial with the Father’. These beliefs are all in the old version of the Creed. In the new translation some of the words have been moved around and the word ‘consubstantial’ is now used. This word means ‘of one being with’ (old version) but links us more directly to the original Latin text.

In the following section of the Creed, ‘and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man’, some of the old words, not originally in the Latin version, are taken out and some are changed, e.g. ‘by the power of Holy Spirit’ is now ‘by the Holy Spirit’ and Jesus is not ‘made man’ but ‘became man’.

The section on the Holy Spirit is relatively unchanged, as is the section on the Church. Note that we now say ‘I confess one baptism’ rather than ‘I acknowledge one baptism’ - ‘I confess’ being a better phrase.

The addition of the word ‘forward’ to the last phrase of the Creed, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come reminds us that we do not come before God with timidity or insecurity but with confidence and hope. This confidence comes not from a belief in my own worthiness but from my belief in God’s goodness and mercy.

Part 5: HOLY, HOLY, HOLY LORD GOD OF HOSTS

What has changed?

The changes in the congregation’s prayers in the first part of the LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST i.e. up until the Acclamation of Faith, are few in number.  In response to the priest’s invitation to pray, ‘Pray my brothers and sisters...’ the new prayer differs in only one word from the old version.  Instead of saying ‘for our good and the good of all his Church’, we now say ‘for our good and the good of all his holy Church’. It is an amendment that really needs no explanation.

There is, however, an opportunity here to look more closely at this prayer.  Often it is not recited well by most congregations, possibly because it can be a difficult prayer to say and understand. Now could be a time to examine it, re-learn it and recite it with one voice. It has three phrases, May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands (i.e. the priest’s hands: who is about to offer the sacrifice) for the praise and glory of his name, (i.e. God’s name whom the sacrifice will glorify) for our good and the good of all his holy Church (i.e. the good of the people praying and the whole Church).  Each of these phrases should be recited clearly and distinctly.  There is only one change in the Sanctus (the Latin word for Holy) or the ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ as it is referred to in English. Rather than glorifying the ‘Lord God of power and might’ we now glorify the ‘Lord God of hosts’. It is a simple change that should be fairly straight forward when congregations recite this prayer, but it may affect the singing of this prayer.

Why has it changed?

Let us look at the change to the Sanctus. Why not leave the words ‘God of power and might’?  The first line of the new prayer comes from the Book of Isaiah 6:3 in the Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah has a vision of angels while he was in the Temple in Jerusalem - they appear singing a heavenly refrain, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts; the whole earth is full of your glory.  The change also draws our attention to the priest’s invitation to the congregation to say this prayer, And so with the Angels and all the Saints we proclaim your glory and with one voice we sing (say).

Like Isaiah we too join with the Heavenly Hosts praising God in our Liturgy. In the ordinariness of our Sunday Mass and the hustle and bustle we find there, we believe that an invisible reality and a visible reality come together. Heaven and earth touch.

Part 6: UNTIL YOU COME AGAIN

What has changed?

The changes to the ACCLAMATIONS OF FAITH will be the most noticeable changes in the new missal. One of the most familiar acclamations will no longer be used i.e. ‘Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again’. This phrase is more a statement or proclamation of faith than an acclamation. In the Eucharistic Prayer we address God directly therefore the acclamation should address the Lord directly.

Another familiar acclamation - ‘Dying your destroyed our death, rising you restored our life, Lord Jesus come in glory’ - will be replaced by the following:

We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.

The other two acclamations you will still recognise even though they have changed.

Why has it changed?

The changes to the Acclamations of Faith have been made to allow a more faithful rendering of the original Latin prayers.

In the original Latin text there were only three Acclamations of Faith. The one most familiar to us in English - Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again - does not have a corresponding Latin equivalent.

A second acclamation familiar to congregations - Dying you destroyed our death, rising your restored our life, Lord Jesus come in glory - has been largely re-written following more closely the Latin original but the concepts remain the same: we acclaim the Lord for his saving death and resurrection. 

This now becomes the new missal’s first Acclamation of Faith.

The new missal’s second Acclamation of Faith has changed the version we already know by only a few words, which again, follow more closely the original Latin form.

The new missal’s third Acclamation of Faith has also changed the version we already know by a few words but it has restructured the acclamation to produce a much stronger acclamation. It begins, “Save us Saviour of the world” echoing the disciples call to Jesus during the calming of the storm: “Save us, Lord. We are lost” (Matt 8:25).

At the request of the Irish Bishops a fourth Acclamation of Faith has been allowed for Ireland only: MY LORD AND MY GOD (John 20:28)

Part 7: ONLY SAY THE WORD AND MY SOUL SHALL BE HEALED

What has changed?

THE PRAYERS BEFORE COMMUNION. Before the congregationcome forward to receive Holy Communion the priest holds up the Sacred Host and, as John the Baptist did in the Gospels, invites the people to Behold the Lamb of God (John 1:29). The new translation uses more biblical language. We are invited to ‘Behold him’, we are not just told ‘This is the Lamb of God’ (old version). Note that we are now ‘Blessed’ not simply ‘Happy’ (old version) to be called to the ‘supper of the Lamb’ (Rev 19:9).  Being ‘blessed’ by God is a more valued state than being happy - although the two are not exclusive.  The congregation’s response to the priest’s prayer has two changes.  Firstly, the phrase ‘Lord I am not worthy to receive you’ is now translated, ‘Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof’. This phrase, which some people might remember being used in the first English translations of the Mass after the Second Vatican Council, is much closer to the Latin and calls to mind an important Scriptural reference, which we will look at presently. Secondly, the phrase ‘I shall be healed’ is changed to ‘my soul shall be healed’.

Why has it changed?

The phrase ‘Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof’ comes directly from the Scriptures.  It is found in the Gospels of Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 - the story of Jesus and the Roman centurion whose servant is ill; As [Jesus] entered Capernaum a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, ‘Lord my servant is lying at home

paralysed, in terrible distress.’  [Jesus] said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion answered him, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word and my servant will be healed’… When Jesus heard him, he marvelled and said to those following him,  ‘Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith...And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; be it done for you as you have believed’…  As we approach Jesus in Holy Communion we are called to imitate this man’s faith and place our trust and hope in Jesus as he did.  The second change in the prayer from ‘I shall be healed’ to ‘my soul shall be healed’ is a direct

translation of the original Latin. It also reminds us that Jesus came to save us - body and soul. This reference to ‘my soul’ reminds me that part of me is eternal. It reminds me to nourish and care for this part of myself. St Augustine once said ‘My heart is restless until it rests in God’.

Part 8: GO & ANNOUNCE THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD

THANKS BE TO GOD

What has changed?

The change to the congregation’s response at the DISMISSAL is the same as the change at the beginning of Mass. When the priest says, THE LORD BE WITH YOU, the people now respond
AND WITH YOUR SPIRIT.

The other changes in this part of the Mass concern the priest’s words of dismissal. All the dismissals begin with the word ‘GO’.

GO FORTH

GO AND ANNOUNCE

GO IN PEACE.

Why has it changed?

The new English translation of the missal begins ALL the dismissals with the word ‘GO’. It is a strong imperative that reminds us that, while the Mass is ended, the mystery we just have celebrated is only beginning. The new translation tries to give a greater sense of mission to God’s People at the end of the Mass. When Mass is concluded, we do not just leave the Church, we ‘Go Forth’ to become the Church in the world. We enter the rest of the week with a mission. Two of the dismissals, which have been added to the missal, make clear what this mission is,

ANNOUNCE THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD

GLORIFY THE LORD BY YOUR LIFE.

The congregation concludes the prayers of the Mass with a joyful, and what should be, a loud and unanimous proclamation,

THANKS BE TO GOD.

For the conclusion of Mass to ring out with the enthusiasm envisaged in the missal, the dismissal needs to be proclaimed well and the call to service needs to be taken seriously by all; lay faithful, religious and ordained. Whether by our baptism, by a religious vow or by ordination, we are all called to announce the Gospel and glorify the Lord in the vocation to which God has called us.

More information http://www.downandconnor.org/missal/