July 16, 2010
Special Report
Preparing for celebrating Mass with the new missal
By MATT MILLER (Director of Worship)
The “source and summit of the Christian life,” the Mass, is about to see the first substantial changes to its English texts since they were first translated forty years ago. This stands to be a very significant event in the life of all the English-speaking dioceses around the world, but also a time of great opportunity and promise.
On March 25, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI gave formal approval (recognitio in Latin) to the English translation of the Roman Missal, third edition. The Missal (previously called the Sacramentary) is the ritual book containing the prayers and instruction for the celebration of the Mass. Pope John Paul II announced a revised version of the Missale Romanum (the Latin edition from which all translations are made) during the Jubilee Year 2000. Among other things, the revised Latin edition contains prayers for the observances of recently canonized saints, additional prefaces and prayers, and some updated and revised rubrics (instructions) for the celebration of the Mass. Now that it has been translated and approved, the revision will eventually be used by all English-speaking countries and bishops’ conferences. Although a date to use this new translation in the dioceses of the United States of America has not yet been given, it is expected to be the First Sunday of Advent 2011. This will give time for everyone to do the needed preparation.
Since 2003, the liturgy personnel of the dioceses of Illinois and Indiana have been making plans to help priests and people understand and use well this new missal with new words but familiar forms and unchanged structure.
For the Diocese of Evansville, the Office of Worship has been charged with overseeing the local implementation. This is an opportunity over the next eighteen months to do much more than just see what words have changed. The early focus of these efforts will be looking into why we do what we do at liturgy and how it expresses the faith of the Church. In conjunction with this will be training on the revised texts for parish leadership, from pastors on down, to provide the needed formation and resources to use on the parish level for education and implementation. A calendar of these initial efforts is included below.
Two points to keep in mind: (1) Although the pope approved the new English translation, no one may yet use it. The corresponding missals, hymnals and missalettes have to be printed. Diocesan and national training and preparation still needs to take place. (2) Over the next eighteen months and beyond, the Office of Worship will work to act as a clearinghouse of Roman Missal resources for the parishes of the diocese, as well as offering bulletin inserts, articles in the Message, and other materials that can be used on a parish/school level to help bring all the people to a greater understanding and appreciation of the Church’s liturgy.
Those interested in comparing the current and new English texts can do so at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops special Roman Missal web site: http://www.usccb.org/
romanmissal/. Many other items on this new translation are also posted on this site. The Office of Worship will post resources, links, workshop in-formation and other pertinent information to the diocesan website under “Liturgy and Worship.” It is the aim of the Office of Worship that these efforts will work toward not only the successful implementation of the new Missal, but will enable a time of renewal in the celebration of the liturgy overall across the diocese.
Timeline of Events
Fall, 2010 — Liturgical catechesis focused on General Instruction of the Roman Missal
- The Message articles/bulletin and newsletter inserts focusing on “why we do what we do” with a focus on topics from the General Instruction
- General Instruction of the Roman Missal diocesan workshop (October, 2010)
Fall, 2010-Winter, 2011 — Specific workshops on the Roman Missal for various constituencies (based on the Region VII Roman Missal Catechetical Project)
- Priests/PLCs — Wednesday, November 10, 2010
- Deacons — Saturday, January 15, 2011
- Music Ministers — Saturday, February 12, 2011
- DREs/Pastoral Associates/Parish Staffs — Thursday, February 17, 2011
- Principals/Religion Teachers — Tuesday, January 11, 2011
- Youth/Campus Ministers — Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Spring 2011 — Continued liturgical catechesis focused on music with topics from Sing to the Lord
- Bulletin and newsletter articles/inserts
- Sing to the Lord diocesan workshop (date TBD)