Will Catholic Mass Changes Cause Mass Confusion?

Washington Post ^ | November 24, 2011 | Elizabeth Tenety

[Steelfish]

11/23/2011 Will Catholic Mass Changes Cause Mass Confusion? Elizabeth Tenety

The Catholic Church, its religious authorities often remind its followers, is intentionally slow to change, if it ever changes at all. The ritual of Communion, where the priest consecrates the bread and wine for distribution to the faithful, for example, has been observed in similar fashion for thousands of years.

But this weekend, millions of English-speaking Catholics will experience some of the most profound change in their lifetime when the words of the Catholic liturgy are phased out in favor of a new translation.

As Michelle Boorstein reported this month, a summer survey showed that most Catholics were then unaware of the upcoming changes. In recent weeks, say church officials, priests and parishes have been preparing Catholics through instruction at religious services, direct mailings and communication campaigns.

The overhaul has been in the works for a decade, and “is aimed at unifying the more than 1 billion Catholics worldwide with a translation that is as close as possible to the original Latin version.” In some cases, the new language will more literally reflect the Scripture passages on which liturgical prayers were based.

One example of that shift is in a line familiar to Catholics at the height of the Mass, just before Communion. “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed,” Catholics have said for decades. This weekend, those words change to, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” This new translation borrows from a story in the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus entered a man’s home and healed his servant.

If you’re attending Mass this weekend, here’s what you need to know:

[TSgt]

You lost me at The Coronation of our Blessed Mother.

[dsc]

“Verbal attacking persons or institutions by either saying or writing what is not true, trying to spread falsehood?”

In this thread (just to limit the statement) I haven’t said anything about any person or institution that wasn’t true.

[AKA Elena]

When I was growing up we learned a dialog Mass in Latin -- when Cardinal MacIntire objected we switched to English.

The NEW translations are old to me and what I originally learned -- changing when it became common, for instance to say "And also with you" instead of And With Thy Spirit.

Anyway, there is no reasonable reason to be confused. There is one instance where I feel the word is so Strange, that I will have problems of DISTRACTION with it, but never inability to follow and participate in the Eucharist.

Let us NOT MAKE MOUNTAINS OUT OF MOLEHILLS!