As I mentioned last week, I want now to direct our focus on changes in the words the priest will say at Mass. There will be two changes in words used at the Consecration.  We will no longer be referring to the vessel which holds the precious blood as a cup, but instead we will use the word, chalice. We do this because a cup is something we drink coffee or soup out of, or something you use at the bar to drink a beer.  In holding the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the chalice is far more than just a cup.

This change seems pretty simple, but one we might find more difficult to comprehend will be when we hear that Christ died for MANY instead of for ALL. The new translation directly states this.  What, then, is the meaning behind this? Didn’t Christ die for everyone? Well, yes, of course, he did. But we have a choice in how we respond to his sacrifice.  Are we going accept the fact that Christ died for us and live our lives for Him, or are we going to ignore Him and live our lives according to our own will? This part of the New Translation will command us to have an ever increasing faith in Christ, to appreciate Him more and the sacrifice He made for us.

Everyone seems to be getting a little worried as we grow closer to the date when the New Translation of the Mass will be implemented.  However, I do not think anyone is more worried than the priests.

 This New Translation has many different aspects to it. While most of my articles have focused on the changes for the congregation, there are many more changes for the priest. While none of the motions or actions the priest uses will change, the words he says will.  In the next few articles, I will focus on the changes that will impact the priest the most.   It will be very difficult for the priests who have been saying the current translation for a long time to adjust to the New Translation. Believe me; many priests will have their “nose stuck in the book” for the time being.

Please know that this New Translation will be just as difficult, if not more difficult for priests, than it is for the people. However, the whole goal is to honor our Lord and God and the sacrifice he made for each and every one of us. If we keep that in mind, we will only grow in our Faith and our appreciation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

While teaching several of the New Translation classes in our parish, the question frequently comes up:  “Father, this is not going to be easy, is it?” Well, the short answer is, “No.”

 We humans sometimes allow things to become so ingrained in us that we do things simply by rote memory.  We stop giving thought to what we do or say.  We do something just because this is the way we have always done it.  We begin to lose the meaning behind the action or even the reason why we began doing it in the first place. While this might be okay for things in general, it is certainly not okay with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

 We do not want the Mass to become routine.  Rather, we want it to be new and alive for us each time we participate. This New Translation will hopefully help us to deepen our spiritual lives and come to a better appreciation of what it is we are saying at Mass.  This translation will require us to think about what is we are saying, why it is we are saying it, and how it is we are saying it.

 So, no, this is not going to be easy.  However, in order to grow and become better, we have to put forth effort.  Remember the old adage, “no pain, no gain.”  It is time now then to rediscover the beauty of the Mass and to acquire a renewed desire to be more prayerful in the worship of our God.  While it might not be easy, it will certainly be of great benefit to us.

Most people have a very hard time paying attention in Mass, mostly because they are very unsure as to what is going on. This is yet another reason for the New Translation of the Mass. We as Catholics in the pew will have to pay closer attention to what it is we are saying. If we truly understand what we are saying at Mass, we should no longer be able to play the excuse card that Mass is boring. Rather we will be able to gain an ever deeper appreciation of the richness of the Mass.

Take for example the Ecce Agnus Dei or the Behold the Lamb of God. The new response will be, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” (Lk. 7:6-7). In the story, the centurion solider is asking Jesus to heal his servant who is sick and ready to die. Jesus intends to go to the centurions home to heal this servant. In response to this, the centurion says the words we will be using at Mass. Our response means that we are unworthy to have Jesus come into our souls, just as the centurion found himself unworthy that Jesus should enter his home.

How true it is for all of us that we are unworthy to have Christ come into our souls, but by Christ saying the words of forgiveness, we are healed. By Christ coming into our lives, we are strengthened and made stronger. It is only through Christ that we can be healed of our sins and weaknesses. Imagine how much more we will be able to get out of the Mass, when we fully understand the reasons for the changes and the deep meaning behind them.

In the previous article, I wrote about the word I versus the word We in the Creed. Another significant change in the Creed has to do with the words seen and unseen, which are in the current translation, as opposed to the words visible and invisible, which will appear in the New Translation. While this may seem subtle, there really is significant meaning behind this change. If I were standing in a room, I could see everything in that room. I know what is there and it is seen to me. However, if I step out of that room, I still know what is in the room, but it is just unseen by me. So seen and unseen imply things we know of, but are not being looked at presently.

On the other hand, visible and invisible means things that I know exist in the physical world here on earth and things we would call the metaphysical world that are invisible to us, such as angels, souls of saints, heaven, and hell. When we use the words visible and invisible instead of the words seen and unseen, we are going to be professing God’s command of a dimension beyond the physical world that we are incapable of seeing.

Some of the New Translation changes might seem to be small or insignificant.  However, when you actually study the meaning behind the changes, you can see how profound they are.  For example, in the New Translation of the Creed, the first word changes from We to I. Why such a change?

This one really is not complicated.  How can I say what the person sitting in the pew beside me really believes? Whether that person is my husband or wife, my son or daughter, my Mom or Dad, or just another person, I cannot really know what is in their hearts.  I can presume to guess what I think they believe because they are sitting in the pew next to me. I can guess that they are Catholic and understand all of the Church’s teachings, but I cannot know for sure. So, then how can I say We believe?  I can only speak for myself and tell you what I believe. 

Another thing this change does is to make each and every one of us take ownership of our Faith. Our Faith is something we have to make our own, while still holding on strongly to what Holy Mother Church teaches.  We have to demonstrate that Faith, which we profess at Mass on Sundays.  We must let those words sink into our hearts, so that we might live them out whole heartedly.  Hopefully, this will bring more meaning to the Nicene Creed when we say with conviction… I believe….

We have all done things in our lives whereby we sinned against God and his Church. Sometimes these sinful actions are more serious than others, and because they are more serious, we are more deeply apologetic to the people we have wronged in these situations.

We tend to apologize multiple times for the way we have acted in order to put ourselves back into the good graces of the person we have seriously offended.  This is the same idea behind one of the newly translated parts of the Mass, The Confiteor, or the “I confess.” The change is not only scriptural (1 Chronicles 21:8), but also practical.

In the new Translation we will say, “…in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault…” This is the same as apologizing multiple times for the offenses we have committed against God and His Church.

In the beginning of the Mass we come to the Altar of God.  We should come with a clear conscience and a clean soul. This is the exact reason behind the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass and our apology to God for the many times we have turned our lives away from Him. We reconnect with Him right at the start of the Mass, so that our hearts and minds might be open to receiving His graces through the Word of God and the sacrament of Holy Eucharist.

On the first weekend of Advent, you will not notice any physical differences with the exception of the normal ones in liturgical color and the placement of the wreath for the Advent Season.

However at the very beginning of Mass perhaps one of the most misunderstand parts of the New Translation will occur in the greeting.  This is the time when the priest always says, “The Lord be with you.” And now we will respond with, “And with your spirit.” This seems so odd, what is this “spirit” thing all about?

Well, there are several different reasons for this. The first and primary reason is because this greeting is a direct scripture quote (Gal. 6:18; 2 Tim. 4:22). This is how the apostles greeted each other; this was their way of saying hello. But why? What was this spirit thing all about?

The explanation is multifaceted.  We as humans are comprised of a body and a soul. We are constantly recognizing our physical body, but now we will also recognize our spiritual aspect or our soul. To take this a step further, we recall that when a priest is ordained, there is an ontological change or an indelible mark placed upon his soul. By saying this response to the priest at Mass, the laity are recognizing this ontological change, and thereby respecting the fact this is one of the times the priest is acting in the person of Christ.  There are actually very few times in a priest’s day that he is doing this. While a priest should always act like Christ, the culmination of a priest’s ordination is seen when he is administering the sacraments, and acting IN the person of Christ. This change in the translation is more accurate to the original text.  It might be one of the most difficult for us to get used to saying.  However, if we understand what it is we are saying, it should come much easier.

In addition to the articles in the bulletin on the New Translation of the Mass, I hope you will take advantage of presentations I am doing on the subject for parishioners to help us prepare to begin using the New Translation the First Sunday of Advent. These presentations are on the list for “Parish (Parent) University.”    

Remember, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dates, times and places:
Thursday, September 8, 9:00 a.m., Assembly Room
Wednesday, September 21, 7:00 p.m., Assembly Room
Wednesday, November 16, 7:00 p.m., Assembly Room 
Saturday, November 19, 8:30 a.m. in the Assembly Room