Will next year finally be the year for long-awaited changes to the Roman Catholic mass? After eight years of discussion, the Vatican has advised all English-speaking congregations that the wording to portions of church services -- including the Apostles' and Nicene creeds, Gloria and Mystery of Faith -- has been re-translated to more closely reflect the original intent of the Latin text.
Some examples of planned changes in the Roman Catholic mass:
Current: When the priest says "The Lord be with you," the people respond: "And also with you."
New text: The people will respond "And with your spirit.''
Current: The Gloria begins, "Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth."
New text: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will."
Current: The Nicene Creed begins, "We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen."
New text: "I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible."
Source: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
"The meaning of the mass has not changed," said the Rev. Douglas Martis, director of liturgy for University of St. Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary. "The hope is the new text will better carry the meaning that has always been there."
When the changes will begin isn't yet clear. November 2011 has been mentioned, coinciding with the start of Advent and the church's liturgical year.
Ultimately, according to U.S. Catholic magazine, the final decision rests with Cardinal Francis George, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The biggest threat to prayer is memorization. Mindless repetition can strip words of their meaning, leaving hollow patterns in their place.
And yet, one of the great traditions of the Catholic Church is the familiar call and response proclamations that have been part of services for centuries. Even priests admit they have to be careful the words they've said several times a day for decades don't get lost.
"The great challenge for a priest is to not allow the words to become not just rote or flow, but to truly pray them each and every time," said the Rev. Richard Rosinski, pastor of St. John Neumann Church in St. Charles. "When prayer simply becomes routine or rote, it's very easy to forget that we're praying the words and not just saying the words."
That's why many people believe the recently announced changes to some of the most recognizable parts of the Catholic Mass could be a very good, if jarring, change for those in the pews and at the pulpit.
After eight years of discussion, the Vatican has advised all English-speaking congregations that wording to portions of church services -- including the Apostles and Nicene creeds, Gloria and the Mystery of Faith -- have been retranslated to more closely reflect the original intent of the Latin text.
"The meaning of the Mass has not changed," said the Rev. Douglas Martis, a North Aurora native who is now the director of liturgy for University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. "The hope is the new text will better carry the meaning that has always been there."
Change is never easy, and many priests expect some shock from parishioners who have been saying the same words their entire lives. But change is also an opportunity to break out of stale grooves.
"Like so many things, you learn to adjust," said the Rev. David Engbarth, pastor at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Aurora. "I think a great danger for some is that they get so fixated on language they could fail to move beyond the language to look at what the language is pointing us to, which is the living God."
The Missale Romanum was first translated from Latin to English in 1973 for use in churches during Mass. Since then it has seen several minor changes.
Pope John Paul II announced a revised version of the Roman Missal in 2000. In 2008, the portion of the retranslated text that will affect Mass was confirmed by the Vatican. Although the complete revised English-language Roman Missal has not yet been published for use, many parts of it have been released for study by clergy and interested lay people.
The centuries-old Missale Romanum -- the basis for much of the church's collected prayers -- is unchanged, but the English translation of that Latin text is evolving.
Martis said the Latin text was translated accurately, but not always with the full flavor. Martis compared it to translating the French beverage bourgeois as "red wine." That's accurate, but it loses the historical and societal connotations of the importance of bourgeois to the French people. (Consider translating a Corvette as "sports car." It doesn't have the same flavor.)
The most obvious changes for church-goers will be to the familiar speaking parts during service. For example, when a priest addresses the congregation, "May the Lord be with you," under the new translation parishioners will reply "And with your spirit," rather than "and also with you."
"Looking at the new translation, the meaning is still there," Rosinski said. "The translation is very beautiful. It seems to be a more formal language, a more prayerful language."
So far, most local priests have not fielded many questions about the changes and they are just beginning to prepare for the shift, which is not expected to be officially instituted until November 2011.
Penny Wiegert, director of communication for the Rockford Diocese, which oversees most of the Fox Valley, said the diocese has already formed a committee to shepherd its members through the changes. Still, she anticipates mixed reviews.
"I joined the church 30 years ago," Wiegert said. "I don't need a missal; I know the service by heart. But now that's going to change. I think this is going to be an educational moment for everybody."
SIC: CST