Out with the old and in with the new

It's a new liturgical year, and English-speaking Catholics across the globe had their first encounter the new English translation of the Roman Missal yesterday, the first Sunday of Advent. Much like a new calendar year, when people accidentally write in the old year on their checks until February or so, there were a few slip-ups. Let's see a show of hands of people who accidentally said "And also with you" instead of "And with your spirit" at least once? Yep, we thought so.

Judging from news reports, the transition seemed to go fairly smoothly for most Catholics. The Washington Post reported that Catholics in the D.C. area took the changes in stride. “Back in the ’60s we did this, when we went from the Latin Mass,” one Catholic woman told the paper. “You get used to it. It’s really not that profound a change.” See more reaction from Washington faithful:

In Seattle, a former critic of the new translation, St. James Cathedral rector Father Michael Ryan, urged his flock to keep the proper perspective on the changes: "This is still the Mass: We are still celebrating Christ who is in our midst . . . We must not let anything get in the way of that."

While many news reports focused on reactions to the revised Mass, including those in The New York Times and the Louisville Journal Courier, Catholic News Agency had a different take on the transition from the Sacramentary to the Roman Missal, Third Edition. What is the proper way of handling the old liturgical books that will no longer be used?

According to the U.S. bishops' secretariat, the ashes of liturgical books should be collected and “placed in the ground in an appropriate location on church grounds.”

Some Catholics may be surprised to learn that it is appropriate – and even customary – to burn or bury old liturgical books and other religious items.

Catholic tradition offers these means of disposal in order to ensure that objects used in worship are not casually discarded or mistreated, even when they are no longer needed for use or reference.

Read what else should be done with liturgical texts.

Saying goodbye to the 'old' Mass

With a mere six days to go before the Roman Missal, Third Edition is implemented in English-speaking parishes, some commentators are saying goodbye to its predecessor.

Jesuit Father James Martin, culture editor of America magazine, offers these words on the In All Things blog as part of his elegy for the Sacramentary:

Any significant change is like a little death; and so any change brings about the need for some grieving. You sell a house and buy a new one; and you are sad about the loss of the old one--even if your new house is more spacious. You move from one job to another; and you shed a few tears at the loss of old colleagues--even if you’re looking forward to the new position. You graduate from high school to college, and even if it’s your top choice, you cry at your graduation.

It would be odd, therefore, not to acknowledge some sadness over the passing of something so central to our lives as what will soon be called the “old” Sacramentary. Even if you are eagerly anticipating the new translations, something significant is moving into the past, and being lost.

So let me say something: I will miss the old prayers, even as I look forward to the new. I’m 50 years old, which means that by the time I was conscious of the Eucharist, say around 1968, the Mass was being celebrated in English. I dimly remember saying things like, “It is right and just” as a very young boy, which was most likely a holdover from the earliest translations of the Mass after the Second Vatican Council. But, for the most part, my entire Catholic life has been shaped by the familiar prayers of the Sacramentary, the book that we are leaving behind this coming Sunday.

Sister Julie of "A Nun's Life" blog also has a post saying goodbye to what she terms the Roman Missal 2.0:

For now and for this week, however, I will cherish my last Mass with the current Roman Missal. Roman Missal 2.0, you’ve been my constant companion. I have celebrated with you, cried with you, and witnessed some of the most beautiful landmarks of my Catholic life with you. You were there when my siblings married their spouses, my nephews were baptized, and my parents renewed their vows. You were there when my friends became Catholic or were ordained or got married or when we celebrated their Mass of Resurrection. You were there when my IHM sisters celebrated Jubilee and when I professed my vows as an IHM Sister. I am grateful for you, Mass 2.0. Goodbye.

What, if anything, will you miss about the "old" Roman Missal?

Revised Missal — an opportunity to revive sacred music

The November issue of The Priest magazine features an article by Brian MacMichael of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and Michael Roesch of the Diocese of Evansville, Ind., on the opportunity for a renewed sense of reverence in the sacred liturgy that the new translation of the Roman Missal presents — not just in the spoken words, but in the sacred music of the liturgy as well. Here is what they write:

On the First Sunday of Advent in 2011, these words will mark the inaugural use of a newly translated Preface from the Third Edition of the Roman Missal. As with many of the revised texts in the new Missal, it more clearly calls to mind a scriptural passage — in this case, Colossians 1:16 and St. Paul’s reference to “thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.” However, this effusive segue into the Sanctus also underscores a key reality: that music is integral to divine worship both in heaven and on earth, and that the use of sacred music should be emphasized more heavily with this new Missal.

As evidenced by its prominence in the Old Testament and throughout human history, music is a fitting and intuitive work of praise to God. Sacred music might even be described as a sacramentalization of human speech, and its numinous potential as a reflection of the heavenly liturgy.

The new Missal presents many opportunities to encourage a greater appreciation for sacred music in divine worship. At a basic level, the revised Missal itself will include more musical notation for the prayers and dialogues in the Order of Mass. In addition, such beautiful sung texts as the Proclamation of the Birth of Christ at Christmas and the Proclamation of the Date of Easter on Epiphany will now be incorporated into the appendices of the Missal itself.

Read the rest of what they say about the revival of sacred music.

Roman Missal videos and reflections, courtesy of Notre Dame's liturgical center

Over the next few weeks, leading up to the Nov. 27 implementation of the new English translation of the Roman Missal, the University of Notre Dame's Center for Liturgy is featuring videos and reflections on the revised Missal on its blog, Oblation: Liturgy and Evangelization.

Here is today's video, featuring Msgr. James Moroney, a priest of the Diocese of Worcester, Mass., who is executive secretary of Vox Clara. For more videos, visit YouTube or the center's Web Catechesis site.

Phoenix priest appears on television show to discuss Roman Missal revisions

With just 26 days before the new translation has its official debut, more and more secular media have picked up on the story, including recent pieces in the Louisville Courier-Journal (which USA Today picked up) and the Washington Post. (By the way, did you see the Post's liturgy quiz? Take it here.)

TV programs have also taken notice, as shown in the following video from the Phoenix PBS affiliate. Father John Muir, who is associate director of the Diocese of Phoenix's Office of Worship, speaks about the changes with Jose Cardenas, host of the local show "Horizonte," including the use of the word "consubstantial" in the Nicene Creed. (Father Muir was also the host of a popular Life Teen video on the revised Missal, which we told you about in July).