Changes to the Mass Come Advent 2011

So if by chance you haven’t heard, come Advent 2011 the Catholic Church in the US (and other English speaking countries) will be using a revised translation of the Roman Missal, the text followed when saying Mass.  After Vatican II the Missale Romanum (Latin for Roman Missal) was set as the “definitive text” of the Liturgy.  Since it was in Latin, it obviously had to be translated into other languages, and apparently there were quite a few, umm, liberties taken by those who translated it into English.  So after about 40 years with a mediocre translation, efforts were made to better align the English text with its Latin counterpart.

As a result, our Roman Missal has undergone more than a dozen changes (far more than other countries such as Spain, whose Missals are also being slightly revised).  Though these changes have already been approved by both the USCCB (US Conference of Catholic Bishops) and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome, the new Missal won’t be used until Advent 2011 to allow time for the education of both clergy and laity.

So a few notable changes:

• “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault” added in the middle of the Penitential Act
• When the Priest says, “The Lord be with you” and we respond “And also with you”, we will now respond “And also with your spirit”
• A few changes in the Nicene Creed (“of all things visible and invisible”, “consubstantial with the Father”)
• Different Mysteries of Faith (“Save us, Savior of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.”, “We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.”)
• “Lord I am not worthy to receive you, only say the word and I shall be healed” is replaced with “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. (I’ll cop to being a little sad about this change – that was my favorite line of the whole Mass!)

For those of you familiar enough with the Mass that you know by heart some of the Eucharist prayers, they are completely different.  So in some ways the Mass will feel a little foreign.  But as we are One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the texts followed at a Mass in the US should match as perfectly as possible the texts read at a Mass in Europe or Africa or Latin America.  These changes are ultimately a good thing, they’re making our text more true to Tradition, the Bible and/or the Mass as the universal Church celebrates it.

Check out the new Roman Missal so you can start to familiarize yourself with it.  And share the link with your Catholic friends because we need to help the Church spread the word!

Order of the Mass PDF from USCCB Site

General Info Regarding Changes from USCCB Site

I’ve since written a longer post on the changes to the Mass, which includes more of the changes to the texts: More Changes to the Mass.  You may also want to check out: To A Deeper Understanding of the Mass.  God bless!

The Importance of Christian Friendship

A few days ago the Church celebrated the memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, who lived from 1572-1641.  Widowed at 28, she later went on to found the religious order The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary.

What she is most commonly known for though, is her correspondence with St. Francis de Sales.  (If you’ve never read any of their letters, it is HIGHLY recommended!  Two saints learning from and encouraging one another – can’t go wrong with that kind of reading material!).  Whenever I read their letters I’m reminded of how very important it is to have good Christian friends you can rely on and who will help you grow.  This is an idea that has especially been on mind the last few days since I’ve finally started graduate school at Franciscan University.

We’re all affected by our environment and who we spend our time with.  It’s not a weakness, it’s how we’re built.   And while of course not all of our friendships will be Christian ones, it’s still crucial to have a core group of Christian friends if we’re going to stay strong in our faith.  People from whom we can learn and get support.  People who will challenge us to be better followers of Jesus and apply our faith to every aspect of our lives.  Basically, people who will call us to holiness!

In one particular letter St. Francis tells St. Jane, “I must tell you that I have never understood that there was any bond between us carrying with it any obligation but that of charity and true Christian friendship, what St. Paul calls ‘the bond of perfection’; and truly, that is just what is, for it is indissoluble and never weakens.”  May such things be said of some of our friendships!

Dealing with Fellow Christians

In case you haven’t heard, Anne Rice recently left the Church, and it seems any formalized type of Christianity, saying that she was fed up with Christians.  In her words, “In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.”

I understand the impulse – it can be difficult to “belong to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group” known as Christians.  To say we often don’t do Jesus proud would be putting it mildly.

God knows (literally and figuratively) that the behavior of Christians is sometimes embarrassing, damaging, and even shameful.  We could say the same for any individual (myself, sadly, included).  And yet in spite of that – or perhaps because of that – Jesus became man and died for us.  He continues to love us – calling us to be better, and more like Him.

So since God is always ready to forgive us, despite all the harm we’ve done to Him and others, how can we possibly do otherwise?  If we are true followers of Jesus, how can we give up on anyone, let alone our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ?

We, the Church, are the body of Christ (see 1 Cor 12:27, Eph 5:23).  So to give up on Christians is in fact to give up on Christ!

No part of this job is easy.  But it is our responsibility not to turn our back on our brethren!  We must help them – and humbly receive their correction when we’re the ones not acting like Christians.  “Correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction (2 Tim 4:2), “Encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone” (1 Thes 5:14).  Easy?  No.  But following Christ rarely is.

The Challenges of Sharing the Faith

The other day I was speaking with a for-the-most-part fallen away Christian and felt so inept.  As much as I wanted the Holy Spirit to inspire me to speak brilliantly, I know that’s generally not the way it works.  It really is a skill to be able to artfully explain one’s religious beliefs and experiences and to ask penetrating questions to get to the heart of someone else’s.

I’m not foolish enough to think that anything I could say, no matter how brilliant, would create some great conversion.  I know full well it is only the Holy Spirit that works such miracles.  But I can’t help wishing God would use me as an instrument, unworthy though I am.

But how can anyone really share their faith?  How do you explain an experience of God touching your soul?  Or the infusion of grace and love received through the Eucharist?  Or the peace felt when accepting that whatever happens is God’s will and therefore good (when I occasionally manage such a feat)?  Words really do fail.

I know that the more conversations like these I have, the better I will be at sharing such experiences – but I wonder how much room there really is to improve.  The more dogmatic aspects of religion can be shared so long as there is a foundation of knowledge, but how much of one’s spiritual life can be shared?

I’d love to hear some of your (that is, you one or two readers out there) thoughts.  Have you struggled with this at all?  Have you found something that helps?