For as long as is needed (but hopefully not too long), there will be cards available giving all the new versions of the responses and prayers of the congregation.
Everyone coming in will be encouraged to take one along with a hymn book, in order to ensure that we can all participate in the Mass fully and become familiar with the new words.
Booklets will also be on sale in the Stall for those who wish to purchase their own new "Order of Mass".
Missals will be available for sale as soon as these become available, although it is thought these will not be published until later in the year.
As many older parishioners may remember, until the 1960s Mass was celebrated across the world in Latin. Wherever you happened to be, the Mass would be celebrated in the same language. Because the words were not in a language people spoke, often only the priest – and perhaps the altar boys – actually said the prayers. By the 1940s, this was changing and people were being encouraged to join in with the responses much more, albeit still in Latin. Then at the Second Vatican Council, in the early 1960’s, the Pope and bishops agreed that Mass could be said in the language of the country in which it was being celebrated. By using languages people understood, we were able to understand more fully what was being said and to participate more fully, not only by “joining in” but more fundamentally by being able to understand the prayers that were being offered.
An English translation was made available quite quickly, but this was always intended to be temporary. A more considered translation was to be issued later. This first translation (the one we have been using since 1974) was intended to allow the prayers and responses of the Mass to be close to the language as people spoke it.
Now, some 40 years has passed! This new translation, which was always planned, has finally been agreed by the bishops in all the English-speaking countries and by the authorities in Rome. If the first translation tried to bring the prayers close to the way we spoke, one feature of this new translation is that it seeks to bring us closer again to the original Latin texts. Now that we are used to praying at the Mass in English, we are ready to make use of a version which more closely reflects the Latin poetry of the prayers. The words we have been using have served us well; the new version will too, hopefully for many years to come.
From September 2011, Catholic parishes all over the English-speaking world will begin using prayers and responses at Mass which come from a new translation of the Latin prayers of the Mass prepared by ICEL (The International Committee on English in the Liturgy) over the past ten years or so, verified by the Congregation for Divine Worship in Rome and approved by their Bishops' Conferences in late 2010 or early 2011.
From the 27th November 2011 - the First Sunday of Advent - the whole of the new version, including the prayers the priest says at the Chair, the Eucharistic Prayers and many of the new prayers composed for various feasts, will be used.
This page is devoted to offering some help in preparing our parish for these changes. Some notes are copies of those printed in our parish newsletter over the summer of 2011, others offer suggestions for praying and reflecting on the new texts, while others offer useful links to other websites which offer insight and assistance.
These notes offer a few insights into the different parts of the Mass and the ways in which each is affected in the new version of the Missal - and why.
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