The excitement for the New Translation of the Roman Missal,
due to be implemented this Advent, finally hit me the other night after my initial
stage of typical cradle Catholic indifference (“Oh, the Roman Missal is
changing. Neat. What’s for lunch, again?).
I admit that experiencing any profound enthusiasm in anticipation of
the changes has been slow going for me. But then, my curiosity became a
bit more peaked when blue pieces of cardstock with chant appeared in
the pews at church. And then my mom surprised
me the other night when she handed me a chart thing with the changes that pertain to the assembly* (it was a guide published by Ascension Press). Anyway, the nerdy
Catholic girl that lives inside my tired mom body instantly began scouring the
bolded additions in the “new text” column and comparing them meticulously to
the soon-to-be-defunct text.
But it wasn’t until my mom said, almost in passing, “Oh
yeah, I grew up doing that,” at the part where we are now supposed strike our breast three times and say, “through my fault, through
my fault, through my
most grievous fault;” that I realized: hey, this is…
awesome! You mean I get to do what my parents and
grandparents have always told me they did
at mass? Wow…We’re actually going to do
it together now? Whoa. And, bonus: my kids will grow up doing the same as their parents (which is not something, that, until now my parents have been able to say).
In other words, we will now have commonality of experience in
the liturgy, particularly
with the breast striking but also with the new response “And with your spirit” (Identical to the original: Et cum spiritu tuo). This
phrase emphasizes the fact that Holy Spirit (remember Him?) works through the
priest, just as He did with Christ.
Awesome.
Awesome.
Oh yes, and there are some other things that have me psyched. The word “consubstantial”: love it! And it makes a whole lot more
sense: Jesus is one and the same substance
as the Father, plus it massages my conviction that everyone should know a bit
of Latin. A longer Gloria - sweet. A shorter Nicene - thank you. Oooh, and we get
to say “holy” Church again. Whoa, holiness. How long we have missed you.
*the link will take you to the USCCB's site, to a convenient chart with the changes for the assembly. There you can also download a PDF (it's only one page) or open it in iBooks if you have an iPhone.
You will do something "similar" to what your parents or Grandparents did, but in its essence, it is a departure from the Tridentine Mass. By over 80%. Compare the new missal to the 1962 missal and you will see what your grandparents really grew up with. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, thanks for stopping by! You seem very knowledgeable! I am aware it's not fully what my grandparents did am familiar with the changes made by the 2VCouncil. I was simply referring to our "new" actions which really aren't so new, such as the breast strike and the closer-to-the-Latin translations. Again, thank you!
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