Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, head of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship, clarified how the new translation of the Roman Missal should be used in services and rites outside of the Mass.
Archbishop Aymond answered questions about the new Missal at the U.S. bishops’ conference’s fall General Assembly, held in Baltimore Nov. 14-16.
The new English translation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal will be used in the U.S. beginning on Nov. 27, the First Sunday of Advent.
Archbishop Aymond explained to fellow bishops that his committee worked with the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship to determine certain instances where the material from the new Roman Missal should be adapted to other rites.
In all Church rites, sacraments and praise services, the response to the greeting “The Lord be with you” will consistently be “And with your spirit,” he said.
He also explained that the penitential prayer — known in Latin as the Confiteor — which begins “I confess to almighty God,” should follow the new translation whether it is prayed in the Mass or anywhere else.
In addition, a deacon’s request for a blessing from a priest before proclaiming the Gospel should use the new translation, even if done outside of Mass, he said.
As for the blessing of the water in the baptismal rite, the archbishop noted that there are three options — two abbreviated forms of the rite and one longer one. The long form matches the blessing of the water at the Easter vigil, and when that form is chosen, it should use the new translation.
Archbishop Aymond also said that the new translation should be used for the Ecce Agnus Dei, which begins “Behold the Lamb of God” — whether it is done at Mass or as part of a Communion service — as well as the dismissal at the end of praise services, blessings for nuptial ceremonies outside of Mass and funeral ceremonies.
For the Liturgy of the Hours, the prayers before the epistle can still be used, although the new one found in the Roman Missal will also be acceptable, he added.
The archbishop explained that while the old translation should no longer be used, pastoral practice will allow for flexibility in extraordinary circumstances, such as when Communion is brought to an elderly person who may not be aware of the changes.
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I noted that your informative article repeats the same as the one put out by CNA. In the second to last paragraph, the article notes that “For the Liturgy of the Hours, the prayers before the epistle can still be used, although the new one found in the Roman Missal will also be acceptable, he added.” I must confess that this language is not very clear. There is only one prayer, as far as I know, for each Office, and it comes after the “epistle” (although it is not always an Epistle, properly speaking). To which prayer “before the epistle” is this sentence referring?
@ B. Thompson:
I agree that the term “prayer before the Epistle” seems a cryptic way to refer to what I think is meant as the Opening Prayer or the Collect, which on a Sunday or a Feast Day is the same as the Concluding Prayer at the end of any hour in the Liturgy of the Hours. In the pre-Conciliar Liturgy, there was not what was considered a First Reading or Second Reading before the Psalm and then the Gospel, but only one reading which was almost always from an Epistle of St. Paul; so there was one reading - or “Lesson” - a short verse and response from a Psalm, and then the Gospel. This reading, or Lesson, since it almost always came from an Epistle of St. Paul, was also referred to as the Epistle. The priest read this reading and the Gospel at different ends of the altar, the Epistle at the right end and the Gospel at the left. The Lesson was so considered an Epistle that the right end of the altar was considered the “Epistle side” of the altar.
In the pre-Conciliar liturgy, the Collect was said right before the Epistle, at the same time the Opening Prayer is said during the post-Conciliar liturgy, right before the First Reading. So, by “prayer before the epistle”, I think Archbishop Aymond is referring to the Opening Prayer or Collect. I also think this is incredibly confusing terminology. To use what appears to be post-Conciliar language adds an unnecessary category whose distinctions must be managed among already trying to mangage the distinctions and terminology between the new translation, the old translation, and the Liturgy of the Hours.
@ B. Thompson:
“Prayer before the epistle” appears to be pre-Conciliar terminology for the reading that used to before the Psalm and then the Gospel (there used to be no First or Second Reading since there weren’t two “Readings” in the pre-Conciliar Mass, just a reading - considered the “Epistle” since it almost always came from an Epistle of St. Paul - a short verse and response from a Psalm, then the Alleluia and the Gospel. The prayer before the Epistle was the Collect, which is now the Opening Prayer, which also takes place before the First Reading. On Sundays and Feast days, the Opening Prayer at Mass now is the same as the Concluding Prayer at the end of any hour of the Liturgy of the Hours on those days. To use this terminology - Opening Prayer or Collect and Concluding Prayer for the liturgy of the Hours - would have been much less confusing. To use pre-Conciliar terminology unnecessarily adds another category whose distinctions must be managed among the different categories with which we are already dealing.
Sorry for the double response. I got a message after the first one which gave the impression it hadn’t been accepted. So, I tried to condense the first response I gave in the second. Please enjoy both (along with this one, if you like, which entails a THIRD response).
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