Blessing the New Roman Missal

Liturgy Training Publications has provided a free PDF download of a blessing for the new Roman Missal which can be used during or outside of Mass. It is adapted from one of the blessings in the Book of Blessings. Go to revisedromanmissal.org and click on the Resources tab. Find "free downloads" and click. There are several nice resources there. The blessing is the first one.

Masses with Children

A number of questions have come our way about the Eucharistic Prayers and Lectionary for Masses with Children. A decision was made not to include the Eucharistic Prayers for Masses with Children in the new Roman Missal.

At the National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions we heard a report from the Bishops' Committee on Divine Worship. They shared the following:

Permission to print the Eucharistic Prayers for Masses with Children has been granted by the Holy See. This permission was received earlier this summer. They will be published as a supplement to the Roman Missal and the expectation is that they will be available by Advent this year.

Also in this supplement will be the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A few made their way into the Missal but the majority of them will be in this supplement.

We also learned that the Lectionary for Masses with Children was sent to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome several years ago and we are awaiting word on their approval. In the meantime, you can continue to use the present translation of the Lectionary for Children with the newly translated Eucharistic Prayers when they come out.

Update

The Roman Missals from the USCCB have (finally!) arrived. In fact, the Diocesan Pastoral Center worked together to get the 47 boxes into the basement from which we will sort them and get them out to parishes.

Our plan is to work through the deans. We hope to have them to the deans in time for the November meetings. If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to call.

We are still waiting

The shipment of Roman Missals from the USCCB has not yet arrived. They were to have been shipped at the beginning of October. I asked Janice Market, my secretary, to check to see when they would arrive. We will be getting them into our parishes as quickly as possible.

Off to the National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions

Tomorrow morning I leave for the National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. Established by the U.S. Bishops after the Second Vatican Council, the FDLC (Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions) has offered expertise and practical experience in the celebration of the liturgy. It comes together each year to study and to discuss position statements which are voted on during the meeting.

This year the theme is multi-cultural liturgy. As we look around our diocese we see parishioners coming from an increasingly diverse set of cultures. We have Asians, Africans, Hispanics and many others. How does this shape the liturgical life of our communities? It will be interesting to hear the presentations and to reflect with liturgical leaders from across the country and learn from their experience of liturgy celebrated with many cultures.

Catechesis from our parish

Our parish used the following after Communion this weekend to help explain one of the changes to the translation of the Mass. I thought it fit well with the Gospel of the Wedding Feast of the King's Son. Feel free to use it if it is helpful. I will post more as we do them.

We are beginning to provide information and background on some of the upcoming changes in the translation of the Mass. From time to time we will use the period after Communion to share some of the changes we can expect and why the changes are being made.

The first thing to remember is that it is the same Mass with different words. We are not going back to Latin and you will not see significant changes to the way we celebrate Mass. What you will notice is a more formal, elevated style of speaking and praying. The goals of the new translation are to be more faithful to the Latin original of our prayers and to uncover some of the biblical references that we find throughout the Mass.

One change that will be challenging takes place during the Institution Narrative (the words of Jesus at the Last Supper) during which the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. For almost 40 years we have been saying: “Take this all of you and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.” The change to this prayer will replace the phrase, “shed for you and for all” to “poured out for you and for many.” Does this mean that we no longer believe that Jesus came to save all people? No.

The Church has always taught that the saving act of Jesus was open to all. But we find in the Scriptural accounts of the Last Supper the words of Jesus are better translated as “for many” rather than “for all.” Remember that one goal of the new translation is to uncover the Scriptural riches of the Mass and here is one place where a more restrictive word better captures the Biblical sense.

So, how should we understand this? In the Gospel today, the invitation of the king was extended to all, just like the gift of salvation. However, many who were invited refused to receive the gift just as there are many who reject the gift of salvation from Christ. The invitation is universal, the response is not.

When we hear this new translation of the Institution Narrative at Mass we would do well to remember that the gift of salvation is a free gift to us, but that for the gift to be truly effective we must accept it and not turn our back on the invitation.

Dynamic or Formal Equivalence - what is the difference?

Thanks to Fr. Tim Reker for putting me on to this great little video which explains the difference between dynamic and formal equivalence (the two ways of translating text) in a fun way. Although it is designed for middle school students it will be enjoyable for adults as well.

http://vimeo.com/25418061

Here is a similar video targeted to high school students.
http://vimeo.com/25418957

Ask, Seek, Knock

At today's Mass we heard Jesus tell us: "Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Michael Haydn set those words in a delightful way:
http://youtu.be/K66U5gTnv_4