1.    Is the Mass Changing?
                                  

The answer to that question is “No.” Only some prayers are changing, in fact only their wordings. The manner of celebrating the holy Eucharist remains the same in the Catholic Church.

The Reason for Change

The celebration of the entire Eucharist in vernacular or the language of the place (English) began only after the Second Vatican Council (1962-‘65). For this the Missale Romanum, originally published in Latin in 1969, had to be translated into English, our vernacular.  The principles of translation were contained in a document published in the same year. The International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) led by 11 bishops from ten different English speaking countries had the oversight of these proceedings of translating the liturgical texts. Thus in 1973 a complete Roman Missal for use was approved and it was called the Sacramentary. This is the book we currently use for the celebration of the mass.

          This was nearly forty years ago and we have gotten used to the prayers and rubrics of the Sacramentary, which is a translation of the Missale Romanum. In fact in 2002 a new edition of Missale Romanum (Third Edition) came out and it contained some new prayers. Besides, in March 2001 the Congregation for Divine Worship issued a document Liturgiam Authenticam on the use of vernacular in liturgy introducing some new translation principles for liturgical texts.  Now, the new edition of the Missale Romanum had to be translated to the vernacular (English) using the newer principles of translation, though many of the prayers in Latin were the same.  

          This process of translation was a highly consultative work. The ICEL chartered the preparation of the draft texts and submitted them to all the bishops’ conferences to study, modify and approve, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The text thus improved was offered for the authoritative approval of the Congregation for Divine Worship at the Vatican. The USCCB website now contains the Vatican approved official text of the Order of the Mass for catechetical purposes. New liturgical texts will soon become available for use. 

 

What is New?

The new mass text will be called the Roman Missal, not Sacramentary. It will contain new prayers for the recently canonized saints, additional Eucharistic prayers and Masses and Prayers for various Needs and Occasions.

          The existing prayers will have a new translation maintaining the unique style of the Roman Rite. The translations will have a firmer grasp of the original Latin texts with greater depth of meaning. The allusions to the Biblical texts will become clearer. The prayers will have a more formal style than our ordinary daily conversation. Some new words to match the extensive vocabulary of the Latin prayers will be another difference. Some of the sentences may appear longer than those we are accustomed to. 

The Implementation

The Roman Missal will be implemented in the United States on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011. The text is already available for study and reflection. Until that day the currently existing texts of the mass will be validly used and the new text will not be liturgically feasible. 

          In the coming months we will be learning the newly translated prayers and responses of the new Missal and practicing the new musical settings of the Order of the Mass. The entire Church in the United States has been blessed with this opportunity to deepen our understanding and appreciation of the Sacred Liturgy through these sessions.

                                                                   Fr. Xavier Thelakkatt