EMBRACING CHANGE IN THE LITURGY
Who decides that the Liturgy should change?
Pope John Paul II approved the promulgation of the third edition of the Missale Romanum, the Latin text, on April 20, 2000. The final Latin edition of the revised text was published in March 2002. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the discipline of the Sacraments was responsible for preparing the text.
The Congregation is the Vatican office that the pope has charged with overseeing all matters related to the Liturgy and the sacraments. Any changes in the words of the sacramental formulas—the essential words in the celebration of each of the sacraments (either in Latin or in vernacular translations)—must be approved by the Holy Father personally.
In addition, church law also gives to conferences of bishops (such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) as well as individual bishops certain responsibilities with regard to the Liturgy.
What exactly is changing in the Liturgy?
The structure of the Mass (the order of the elements, the actions of the priest celebrant, and so forth) remains unchanged in the new edition of the Roman Missal. However, the translation of the prayer texts will change to more closely reflect the original Latin texts. In some cases, new options for prayers may be available, and some old options may no longer be present.
Will the changes be noticeable?
In the third edition of the Roman Missalalmost every prayer in the Mass—those spoken by the priest and those spoken by the people—has been retranslated from Latin to English. Some prayers now recited by memory will need to be relearned, and the familiar language of many prayers recited by the priest will change. In preparing the new translation, the translators were asked to make the English texts conform more closely to the Latin originals and to retain traditional theological vocabulary that communicates important concepts of the faith. The language that the faithful will hear and pray is more formal and somewhat more complex than the language of ordinary conversation. It conveys rich theological concepts and retains biblical language and images.
For the next several weeks you will see articles and information regarding The New Roman Missal. For more information about the New Roman Missal please visit this website:
www.RevisedRomanMissal.org ©2010, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. Used with permission.

The Lafayette Diocese’s Office of Worship has scheduled a series of regional workshops entitled “Understanding the Changes in the Mass” during the month of September. The next workshop will be held on Saturday, September 17, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in New Iberia.