Five Years Later in a new Spirit

Five years ago this weekend, Roman Catholics gathered for Mass, and the stumbling began with the official launch of the newly revised English translation of the Roman Missal.

I remember going to Mass on Saturday evening of that weekend, and it was the first time in my life that I would describe attending Mass as a "chaotic" kind of experience.  We had this new translation in front of us, which altered some of the responses and words we spoke at Mass, but it was going to take some getting used to, in part because the Mass is so scripted, we can get kind of locked into what we say week after week.  We were trying to hold ourselves together as we entered into the liturgy of the Mass, but with so many changes.  Of course, it was easier to handle the new translations when we sang the words, like with the Sanctus, versus the response "And with your spirit".

While there was some dislike for the wording, for me, there were some aspects I definitely liked about the new wording.  Saying, "And with your spirit", has a noble ring to it, as the intention is to acknowledge that the Spirit of God is upon the ordained minister in a special way in his ministry.  I also like saying "I believe" in the Creeds, instead of "We believe", because expressing faith comes down to a decision each of us makes, and that we own our faith as individuals, with each person saying, "I believe and adhere to this", which happens in the context of a community as each of us says it together, rather than passively following the crowd.

Then there's the call and response right before the start of the communion rite.  Every time I say that line, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof..." immediately makes me think of the story of the healing centurion's servant in Matthew 8, one of many connections between the Mass and the Bible.

As for the Gloria, all the phrases praising God in the first part gets at this idea that we're so filled with awe of God we just can't stop singing His praises in a profusion of words, much like we would sing the praises of a person or a thing that we enjoy.  That's an insight I remember from a faith sharing group I attended at St. Teresa's, the church I attended while away at college, as part of the preparation for the new translation's launch.

One thing I miss is the mystery of faith response "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again."  It put it very straightforwardly, but there's much richness in the texts of the current translation.

I also couldn't help but notice how the wording puts Roman Catholics more in line with the liturgy of other Christians:  While in college, I went to St. Paul's Lutheran Church with a couple of my LCMS friends on a handful of occasions.  When the new Roman Missal translation was launched, during my 3rd year, I noticed how the changes made the wording sound similar to what I heard spoken at St. Paul's.  Interestingly, though, when I attended liturgy at the Chapel of the Resurrection on campus, the response to "The Lord be with you," remained "And also with you".

I heard it said that it was needless to focus so much attention on new wording in the Mass, and not focus more on the action part of our faith in serving others and meeting their needs.

Looking back, I think it's good we went through this change to a different translation that is more directly a reflection of the original words of the Latin Mass:  Instead of just following along with the script passively, we went through some confusion and had to actually stop and think about what we say.  In the two months leading up to the launch of the translation, it was so wonderful to attend the faith-sharing group at St. Teresa's for several sessions, once a week, to go over the changes to the wording in different parts of the Mass, and then discuss the significance of the wording for our own lives, namely, in living out the Mass.

Ultimately, it's important that we give due attention to both worship when we gather at Mass, and then service in the times and places outside of Mass.  And when worship is done right, it inspires us to act in service to others as an expression of love in response to the God Who first loved us so much.