Reflection on Mass Changes (IInd Sunday of Advent)

NEW TRANSLATION OF THE MASS.

Last Sunday, after the Mass as I was shaking hands with people as usual, one gentle man came up to me and told, next time you will see me in the Protestant Church. Whether he meant it or not, one thing was clear to me, he did not like the new translation of the Mass. Change is never easy- even the small ones.

It may take a little time to move away from the pew cards. However, this is an historic move for the Church that strengthens our unity as the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. All other languages, Spanish, French, German, Portugese, had their Mass translated to the original Latin nearly a decade ago, except the English speaking Latin rite Catholics.

Change is never easy, even when it is welcomed and necessary. French Journalist and Poet Anatole France once wrote, "All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." It is said: In every seven years, all the cells in our body are totally changed. But that change being slow and gradual we don’t realize much of it. Change is part of growth, and only growing things change

The ability to adapt to change is a sign of strength and maturity. Charles Darwin said” It is neither the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Dinosaurs were strong, but did not survive, because they could not adapt themselves to the changing environment.

Why do we need a new translation ?

The Liturgy, the Church celebrates has undergone various changes though out the centuries, but the heart of the liturgy has remained the same. The Church makes sure that the Eucharist we celebrate always remains in continuity with the first Eucharist the Lord instituted. The new translation of the text are very close to the original Latin text that was used in 1545. In addition to new observances for recently canonized saints, additional prefaces for the Eucharistic prayers, additional Masses for various needs and intentions, and updated instructions for the overall celebration of the Mass are added, making the Missal a large volume for the Mass servers to hold up to the priest.

The pope has dedicated next year as the year of Faith commemorating the 50th year of Vat.II’s beginning, (1962-65). After the Vat.II, the Liturgy was translated into the Vernacular of a given country to encourage more active participation by the people. When the first translation that was published in 1970, the approach to the translation was aimed at (known as “dynamic equivalence”), communicating the general meaning of the Latin text of the Mass, rather than providing a literal, or word for word, translation.

After 40 years of celebration, the Church has come to see certain areas where the English text could be improved. Further, when the Latin text was paraphrased, a number of rich spiritual metaphors and images were lost. Important theological concepts were not always clear, and several biblical allusions did not shine out as noticeably as they could. The new translation of the Mass preserves more fully the theological tradition captured through out the centuries in the liturgy. It also more clearly communicates the many biblical allusions and vital theological concepts that are expressed in the Latin original. This revised translation as a whole uses a more “heightened” style of English that is less conversational and nobler in tone. This style more closely parallels the Latin text and helps us express an even greater reverence and humility in praying to God in the Mass. All these changes are valuable.

The way we worship tells us a lot about what we believe and how we view our relationship with God. In other words the way we pray shapes our beliefs. And what we believe affects how we live our relationship with God. For example when we use more informal language while praying, we might tend to relate to God in a more casual manner. But when the Mass uses more heightened language that emphasizes God’s goodness, power and glory, we may be more disposed to recognize that we are encountering the presence of the all holy God in the sacred liturgy and to approach him with greater humility, reverence, and gratitude. Indeed, the words we use in worship express how we view ourselves in relationship to God. Thus, it was important for the Church to weigh carefully the translation of the Mass parts in this way.

Some of the Changes made are:
1. The Lord be with you. In place of the words “And also with you”,the congregation replies “And with your spirit”- wording that better reflects the biblical language of St.Paul in his letters (Gal.6:18;Phil.4:23; 2 Tim.4:22) and recognizes the unique work of the Holy Spirit though the ordained priest to celebrate the Eucharist. When a man is ordained a priest, the Holy Spirit comes upon him in a unique way, enabling him to perform the sacred rites of the Mass and consecrate the Eucharist. By responding “And with your Spirit”, we acknowledge the Spirit’s activity through the priest during the sacred liturgy. It is Jesus Christ who is the head of the community gathered for Mass and it is his Spirit who is the primary actor in the liturgy, regardless who the particular priest celebrating Mass may be. That is why the priest is able to say this is My body, instead of His body.

It is not a greeting…In the older translation, one might get the impression that our response was merely intended to express an exchange of personal greetings or reciprocal good will: “May the Lord be with you too, Father”.

2. The Confiteor ( I confess to almighty God…)
Instead of simply saying that I have sinned “through my own fault”, we now repeat it three times while striking our breasts in a sign of repentance saying: “Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.”. When we are at fault over something small, we might simply say to the person whom we have wronged, “I am sorry.” But if it is a more serious matter and we deeply feel sorrow over our actions, we sometimes apologize several times and in varying ways: “I am so sorry.. I really regret doing that.. please forgive me.” This prayer in the liturgy helps us recognize that sinning against God is no light matter. We must take responsibility for whatever wrong we have done and whatever good we failed to do.

The gesture of making a fist and striking our breast three times, is not to be seen as an accusatory “finger pointing,” but should be seen as a rock crushing the sin within us — destroying those stumbling blocks that keep us from the Lord and His Altar.

I will continue with the explanation of changes the next time we meet again. Let’s acknowledge that the Church knows better than we individuals know about the tradition and how it can help us develop a deep relationship with God. Primary thing is to start to love the changes, even though we don’t like it. Imagine the trouble of the priests, especially the older generation priests, and the retired priests who have to say mass any way, to adjust with the new changes. And if their eye sight is poor, how will they learn and say the Mass…? As Eucharistic liturgy is the root and centre of our worship let’s put our heart and soul in it to love it.