The new edition of the roman Missal was published in 2011 and introduced in two stages:

1. The new congregational responses, together with a number of the prayers belonging to the celebrant, were in use from 11th September (priests were free to begin this introduction at the weekday Masses beginning Monday 5th September).

2. The full text of the New Missal was in use from 27th November, the 1st Sunday of Advent.

The prayers particular to the celebrant, were in use from 11th September, are as follows:

1. The introduction of the Penitential Act;

2. The prayer beginning: Pray my brothers and sisters…;

3. The Doxology;

4. The introduction to and the prayer following the Lord’s Prayer;

5. The Prayer for Peace (Lord Jesus Christ you said to your Apostles). Please note that the congregation responds to this prayer rather than saying it with the priest;

6. The Dismissal.

These changes are printed on the CTS congregation cards.

NEW POSTURES FOR MASS

Many Dioceses throughout the English-speaking world are  using the occasion of the introduction of the New Missal as an opportunity to establish a common liturgcal practice regarding postures at the Eucharist. It is recommend that our Diocese does the same. All parishes and schools should now follow the new postures outlined in the General instruction of the roman Missal:

1. All stand from the entrance of the Mass until the end of the Opening Prayer;

2. All sit for the Old and New Testament readings and stand for the Gospel Acclamation, the Gospel, the Creed and the Prayer of the Faithful;

3. The congregation sits for the Presentation of the Gifts and stands BEFORE the prayer, Pray my brothers and sisters….(For an initial period priests could introduce this change by saying: Let us stand and pray, my brothers and sisters…or encourage the congregation to stand when the priest has finished washing his hands);

4. The congregation kneels after the Holy, Holy, Holy until the end of the Eucharistic Prayer; The Ccngregation stands immediately after the Great Amen in preparation for the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer;

5. The congregation kneels again after the Lamb of God;

6. All stand for the Concludiong Prayer and Blessing.

NEW TRANSLATION IN RESPONSES AND PRAYERS

The new translation in responses and prayers said by the congregation are included on the Congregational Card but the order and structure of the Mass is not changed. Nor are the readings changed. Over time, we will become familiar with the prayers which have very slightly changed, for example, in the Holy, Holy, we say  ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts’ and in the response to ‘Pray, brothers and sisters,’ the addition of one word, ‘holy.’ before ‘Church‘. Other prayers have much more changes and where we said ‘And also with you’ we now say ‘And with your spirit.’

New Sounds

A short glossary of some new words and phrases in the congregational prayers and responses.

And with your spirit: the most obvious change, used by the congregation at the beginning and end of Mass, before the Gospel, at the beginning of the Preface and at the Sign of Peace. It reminds us of the greetings of St Paul, for example, to Timothy: ‘The Lord be with your spirit’ (2Tim 4:22), a recognition of the spirit that is among us as Christians, a spirit that we must live, and, in greeting one another, it proclaims the presence of Christ among us.

through my most grievous fault;

restored to the Confiteor are words translating mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, as we have in Irish: ‘tri mo choir fein, tri mo choir fein, tri mo mhorchoir fein.’

The Word of the Lord: the simple acknowledgement that in the Scripture readings at Mass are the Word of God. Linked with similar expressions, The Gospel of the Lord, The Mystery of Faith, The Body of Christ, The Blood of Christ, the great moments and the movement of the liturgy are captured.

I believe: is the traditional beginning of the Creed when recited in the liturgy. The singular form is not about individualism but associated with Baptism, it is a personal profession of faith. The Missal speaks of the apostles’ Creed as ‘the baptismal Symbol of the Roman Church.’

Only Begotten: occurs in the Gloria and the Nicene Creed, translating the Latin Unigenitum and replacing the current translation, ‘Only.’ Though it might be regarded as an archaic word, we have said the word ‘begotten’ twice in the Creed for over forty years.

Incarnation: this term expresses the fundamental Christian belief that the eternal Son of God took flesh from Mary and that he is fully divine and fully human. In the Creed we say: ‘he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the virgin Mary and became man.’

consubstantial: at the Council of Nicea in 325, the Greek word homoousios was used to express the doctine that Jesus, the Son of God is of the same essential Being and substance as the Father. In Latin the term is consubstantialis, as we sing in the Latin Credo, hence ‘consubstantial,’ a theological or technical word to express our faith in the person and nature of Christ.

for us men and for our salvation: this line of the Creed is translated this way as it is coupled with the line ‘and became man.’ In Latin, homo and its plural homines may include females and males. Jesus became man, homo factus est. He was incarnate, propter nos homines, for our salvation.

he descended into hell: hell here is not the place of eternal damnation but the underworld abode of the just who died before Christ. ‘Hell’ was the Old English word for the place of the spirits of the dead. In the icon, the harrowing of hell, the Risen Lord is depicted standing on the gates of the underworld, rescuing Adam and Eve, the prophets and kings of the Old Testament, proclaiming the victory of the resurrection and salvation to all who waited for the Redeemer.

my sacrifice and yours: as well as the addition of the word ‘holy’ in the congregational response to the invitation, ‘Pray, brothers and sisters,…’ before the Prayer over the Offerings, the Latin of the priest’s introduction is translated so that we have, ‘my sacrifice and yours.’ While we may indicate a difference between the priesthood of the ordained minister and the priesthood of the laity, a single sacrifice is understood. the Latin verb fiat is singular.

It is right and just: this is the people’s response to ‘Let us give thanks to the Lord our God’ in the Preface. Immediately the priest takes up the people’s part and emphasises, ‘It is truly right and just,……’

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts: The Hebrew word Sabaoth means the ‘heavenly host of angels,’ just as we sing at Christmas. Some argue that it could have been left in Hebrew, like Alleluia, Hosanna, Amen.

under my roof: In the invitation to holy Communion, the people’s response is the response of the centurion at Capernaum (Mt 8:9, cf LK 7:6-7), substituting ‘my soul’ for ‘my servant’. ‘Under my roof’ is in the centurion’s response and is translated in the Irish version, ‘faoi mo dhion.’