Now that the Vatican has approved a new version of the Roman Missal, dioceses across the United States will begin the catechesis process so priests and their parishioners are prepared for the first major changes to the Mass in decades.

The Roman Missal is the ritual text containing prayers and instructions for the celebration of the Mass. Vatican officials are now finishing the editing of the Missal and will soon forward it to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

During the Jubilee Year 2000, Pope John Paul II announced the revision of the Missal. It will include prayers for saints who were recently canonized, additional prefaces for Eucharistic prayers, additional Votive Masses and Masses and prayers for various needs and intentions, and some updated and revised rubrics (instructions) for the celebration of the Mass.
Translations of existing prayers, including some of the well-known responses and acclamations of the people, will also be included in the revised Missal.

“Proper catechesis will answer questions people will have about the pending changes,” said Bishop Edward U. Kmiec. “The end result will be a richer, truer liturgical experience for all.”

What’s different in the new translation?

According to the USCCB’s Committee on the Divine Worship, “The texts of the revised translation of the Roman Missal are marked by a heightened style of English speech and a grammatical structure that closely follows the Latin text. In addition, many biblical and poetic images, such as “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof” (Communion Rite) and “from the rising of the sun to its setting” (Eucharistic Prayer III) have been restored.

For example, at the greeting, when the priest says, “The Lord be with you,” the people will respond, “And with your spirit.” No longer will we say, “And also with you.”

Karen Podd, president of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission in Buffalo, is leading the education process in the Diocese of Buffalo.

She said the faithful will not see any dramatic changes in their spoken or sung parts of the liturgy. “There are no significant changes in the sense or meaning of the texts. The wording of the newer translation may feel a bit awkward at first but the meaning of the text, the sense of the prayers is not changed. In fact, people might better appreciate the texts as they are in better keeping with the scriptural sources of many of the texts.”

Priests and the people will also have to learn new words to the Penitential Act (Confiteor), the Gloria, the Nicene and Apostles creeds, the Sanctus and a number of other parts of the Mass.

In April, priests and diocesan liturgical leaders began to attend a series of workshops presented by the Committee of Divine Worship and the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. Some priests from the diocese have already attended the workshops and others will be attending training in the future.

Workshops for clergy in the Diocese of Buffalo will be held beginning in November, followed by training sessions at the vicariate level. Podd said those workshops will be used to provide background on the history and development of the Roman Missal as well as an explanation of the English language translation that has been approved by the Holy See.

She noted there will be unified catechesis throughout the country before the changes are implemented. “This is something that we did not have immediately after Vatican II. We are fortunate to have materials available for use at the national, diocesan, and parish levels.”

The transition to the new texts will take more than a year to complete. Podd said she expects the USCCB will first suggest a “may use” date when the new texts can begin to be used. That will be followed by a “mandated use” date from the USCCB which Podd said could coincide with the start of the 2012 liturgical year, meaning the new texts would be in full use beginning with the First Sunday of Advent in 2011.

Podd said she is looking forward to the updates to the liturgy. “One of the foundational truths of the liturgy is this: when the faithful gather with their priest in the liturgy, Christ is made present through the consecration of bread and wine. Regardless of how we translate text, or how comfortable we feel as we get used to the renewed text or the new music settings that we will sing, our faith and knowledge support us in knowing that the bread and wine still become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. That truth does not change.”

For more information on the upcoming changes to the Roman Missal, including parish resources, Spanish language recourses and sample texts, visit www.usccb.org/romanmissal or www.fdlc.org.