Volume 2, Issue 48
Newsletter of St. Joseph Catholic Church & School November 27, 2011
The New Roman Missal: A Deeper Meaning But The Same Mass by Rosemary Gregory The new Roman Missal will be used in all Masses throughout the country beginning this weekend. On Saturday, October 8, about 70 Catholics met at St. Joseph's Catholic Church for a workshop on this change. Father Daniel Grigassy, OFM, Ph.D., came from St. Bonaventure Church in Paterson, N.J., to present to us the new Catholic Liturgy and to explain the reasoning behind the changes. Among those in attendance, in addition to St. Joseph‘s parishioners, were parishioners from St. Mary of the Angels in Anderson, St. Anthony of Padua in Greenville, St. Paul in Seneca, and St. Mark in Newberry. Fr. Grigassy began the workshop by talking about the way we pray. As Christians we started by imitating Jewish prayers, now called ―rites.‖ Rites have changed over the centuries, the last change being 40 years ago when the language of the Mass went from Latin to the common language of the country. He explained, ―The Holy Spirit will work in the Church as we delve into the ancient history of our Church analyzing the changes that might be made.‖ The missal used up until the 1960‘s was issued during the papacy of Pius V, which offered the Tridentine Mass coming from the Council of Trent in 1570.The Second Vatican Council in the 1960's brought more changes. The Mass first was celebrated in English in 1964. In 1973 new additions came out. The significant changes parishioners will see on the first Sunday of Advent will be in the shifting of some wording. There is a change in the creed. Many will ask ―why?‖ Fr. Grigassy explained that a ―dynamic equivalence‖ has been applied. In other words, studies were done to find a better translation which reflected a closer proximity of the Latin words into English. The Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy appointed a group of translators called Vox Clara, a clear voice. Fr. Grigassy said the new missal will have the same shape, same structure, same essence. There will be additional prefaces, many new ones, with
Illustration by Jeremiah Minton
prayers for various needs included. ―Some may see this as a step backwards, others ‗poetic,‘ others ‗cumbersome,‘ others ‗not so poetic,‘‖ he said. Fr. Grigassy acknowledged the critics but reminded us to be ―loving critics.‖ He said, ―Change brings a new awareness of our actions and purpose. We LISTEN better. We WATCH more closely. It prompts many Catholics to ask ‗Why?‘ It causes us to re-examine our beliefs.‖ Fr. Grigassy went on to point out some of those changes. For example, instead of responding ―and also with you,‖ parishioners will say ―and also with your spirit,‖ which seems less casual and more thoughtful. The word ―creed,‖ from the Latin ―credo,‖ implies first-person
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A Closer Translation from Latin Continued from previous page singular, so the Nicene Creed will begin with ―I believe‖ instead of ―We believe.‖ Instead of ―one in being with the Father,‖ the words ―consubstantial with the Father‖ will be recited. ―Consubstantial‖ is a more precise word and is returning to the words spoken at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. The words ―born of the Virgin Mary‖ will be replaced with ―incarnate,‖ reflecting the Latin words of Mass: ―incarnatus est.‖ The Son existed along with God as ONE with the Holy Spirit from the beginning of time. At the consecration, the word ―cup‖ will be replaced with the word ―chalice‖ per the Latin translation of ―caliges.‖ Plus, another bit of information—the chalice must not ever be made from glass or clay, only gold or precious metal. The words ―for all‖ will be changed to ―for many.‖ The Synoptic Gospels—Matthew and Mark—explicitly say that ―for many‖ Jesus died that we might be saved. Luke—the other Synoptic Gospel—only says ―for you‖ and John‘s Gospel doesn‘t have the words of institution but rather a foreshadowing in Jn. 13 that ―not all of you‖ are
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clean despite that ―all‖ sat in on the Passover/Last Supper. Therefore, this wording is more consistent with Scripture. The Memorial Acclamation ―Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again‖ has been removed. Instead, there will be three other familiar acclamations offered for use. Fr. Grigassy also revealed one of his ―pastoral principles,‖ which is that ―People will talk. In Italian we call it, 'yakaroni'!‖ He encouraged each one of us at the workshop to talk to our friends about the changes, keeping in mind that we have a responsibility to set aside negative reactions and look to the positive aspects of this new Roman Missal. He recommended that we each check out the Bishop's website, www.usccb.org/ RomanMissal. There you can download and reproduce the Roman Missal. St. Joseph‘s will also have ―cheat sheets‖ in the pews to help parishioners with responses. He also recommended a DVD called Changes in the Mass by Greg Freeman. The cost is $36 through the St. Anthony Messenger Press (800-488-0488). Another source is a video on YouTube called ―The New Translations—The New Roman Missal‖ by Fr. Mark Knestout. It is 56 minutes long and gives an excellent explanation of the upcoming changes. As Fr. Grigassy emphasized, this change in the Roman Missal is a blessing and brings about an opportunity for all Catholics to deepen, nurture, and celebrate their faith through the renewal of worship and the celebration of Sacred Liturgy.
Publications Committee Gabrielle Arena Evelyn Beck Kate Edwards Rosemary Gregory Jeremiah Minton
Steve Newton Michael Stein Denise Thompson Marlene Ventura
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