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Monday, November 21, 2011

Changes in the Mass Begin Next Week

If you want to know more about the revisions to the Mass beginning next week, Jimmy Akin has a book out explaining them.  I haven't read it, but for Catholics who are confused about why this happening or want to know more, this sounds like a good resource.

10 comments:

  1. The amusing thing is that all the reforms look more or less like the English translations that were in my prayer book as a child translating the Latin mass.

    So what we are doing is simply translating the Latin accurately. Funny if it were not so pathetic.

    We have people complaining about replacing a 50 year old flawed liturgical formulation with an accurate translation of the ancient mass.

    When I was a boy the reason that the Latin mass was said in Latin we were told is that Latin was universal giving palpable form to the truth that the church was catholic. Every catholic worshiped with the same liturgy. Today we have a mish-mash of chaos which destroys the catholicity.

    We should restore the prayers at the foot of the altar to St. Michael. I remember the opening prayers of the mass ... I will go up to the alter of God, God who gave joy to my youth.

    The symbolism of the current liturgy has introduced chaos and not unity into the mass. That's sad. I have felt sad about it since it began back in the 1960s.

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  2. http://www.stmichaels.org/mass1.shtml is a link to a traditional mass parish in Spokane, Washington which gives the opening prayers.

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  3. Good comments. I'm reading a book called The Devil Knows Latin: Why America needs the Classical Tradition. It's not about the Mass or Catholicism per se but the author tells a story of a priest baptizing a baby--not sure when exactly. Anyway, when he was asked to say the prayers in the vernacular, his response was, "The baby doesn't know English and the Devil knows Latin". I thought that was interesting. Ever since I have known Spanish, I have preferred the Mass in Spanish precisely because the meaning is different. So excited for this change.

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  4. Ray, I couldn't have said it better!

    We were told that the reason for the two year delay for the implementation of the new translations was so that the pewsitters could be "educated". Well, our "education" in our diocese did not commence until October, 2011.

    And, I agree. My husband and I just yesterday were saying how each and every Mass, no matter what form that Mass takes, should end with the Prayer to St. Michael. As it is, we both pray it privately after Mass despite the cacophony of noise from the exiting Cathholics.

    Veronica

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  5. Yes, I have thought that the new translations are almost exactly like those in my missal from long ago. I am glad to hear that someone else has those same memories.

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  6. Veronica says: "Well, our "education" in our diocese did not commence until October, 2011."

    Well, at least you had *something* before this weekend, Veronica!

    We have had...nothing! Zip. Nada. Zilch.

    We were told - occasionally - about the "changes to come" but, aside from a plastic fold-out with the prayers of the priest and the responses from the congregation, nothing at all!

    No wonder there is so much confusion. So many of our priests - while they do an admirable job with the sacraments - do not (will not? cannot?) catechize the sheep worth a hoot.

    "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." (Hosea 4:6)

    Catecist Kev

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  7. Catechist Kevin,

    Our "education" consisted of four videos of our bishop explaining the reasons for the changes. These videos were shown after Mass, and only about 1% of the pewsitters stayed behind. By the last video, the only ones left watching it were my husband and I. The reason for this could be that it was difficult to hear the video with the boisterous choir tuning up for the next Mass and sitting in the pews, like it was a lounge, chatting away without whispering.

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  8. Mary Ann
    Ray Schneider gave a link to a "traditoinal mass parish in Spokane" but it is not a traditional mass parish --it is not only a schismatic "parich" but a sede vacante one This is the problem when people think that if it is "old Church" it must be orthodox

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  9. Thanks for the alert re St. Michael's. It's easy to make a mistake if you don't check out the entire website. I find the sedevacantist position untenable from the point of view of Jesus' promise that He would not leave us orphaned. Once the line is broken, how are we not in the same position as the Anglican/Episcopal churches that no longer have the apostolic succession?

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  10. well actually this particular sede vacante group has been very careful to acquire and preserve a valid but illicit apostolic lineage so there is no problem with their orders but orders without Communion with the Roman See still puts them outside the Church they are more equivalent to the Orthodox Churches than the Protestant

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