When I first told the parishioners at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Greenville, S. C., that a new translation of the Mass was coming, I had to convince them that it really was the Pope’s idea and not mine.
We began preparations for the introduction of the new translation of the Mass in July with four pastor’s letters in the parish bulletin. These letters outlined why the new Mass translation was necessary and explained the theory behind it.
This gave me an opportunity to explain why we, as Catholics, worship with liturgy in the first place. Next, I explained the difference between “dynamic equivalency” and a more literal rendering of the text. This led to a couple more weeks of catechesis about how the new translation was more faithful to the Latin and restored the references to Scripture.
In October, we devoted three weeks worth of homilies to the new translation. First, I reviewed the uses of liturgy and why the language used matters. The second week we looked in detail at the changes in the people’s parts for the Introductory rites and Liturgy of the Word, and the third week I explained in detail the changes in the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
That brought us to November, and during these past weeks, just before the new translation kicks in, we have spent time practicing the musical changes for those parts that will change on the First Sunday of Advent: the Acclamation of Faith and the Sanctus. The congregation has also used pew cards to practice their new responses.
We have delayed the process of learning a new musical setting for the Gloria until Advent begins. I’ve suggested that we might all take it on as an Advent penance. So far, things have gone well. I have tried to make the transition as painless as possible, and the feedback from our people has been positive.
I do, however, worry about one comment. I asked a parishioner how he liked the new translation, and he thought for a moment and said, “I really like it. I think it is shorter than the old one.”
Father Dwight Longenecker
is the parish priest of
Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Greenville, South Carolina.
Visit his parish website at
OLRGreenville.net.
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Just got back from Mass…not too bad, only said, “And also with you” twice! :) Happy Advent!
Well, brevity *is* the soul of wit… :)
“I really like it. I think it is shorter than the old one.”
LOL. There’s one in every crowd….
Short but sweet new translation :)
The music for the Gloria was horrible. How many music arrangements are there to choose from?
What Gloria are you referring to? From the Mass of Renewal? If so I agree wholeheartedly. It is difficult to sing and the music itself is horrible.
As long as the music does not mandate we use tambarines and clapping of hands with base drums and etc ...what is wrong with all the mass music composed and used for centuries. We americans can only be like the others we want to be more like our protestant christians and forget the heritage of our Roman Catholic heritage…give the chuch back to the poeple and not some intelect who thinks the music should be more secular and vague.
We’ve been preparing for three months or so. I really like it. I can understand a lot of the changes and the need behind them now that I’ve gone through a couple of Masses. Our choir and cantors have wonderful voices that have brought out the beauty of the new music.
At our parish, we’ve been introducing music for a couple of months now, so we already know the “new” Gloria. I happen to be the organist, so I met with our priest and asked if we had to adopt a new musical setting or if we could just use the new words to the music we already know. ie We were using Alstott’s Heritage Mass before, and since OCP made the new words fit to the old music, we stuck with the Heritage Mass for now. Once all the new responses settle in, we might investigate another musical setting but it will assuredly not me one of the many settings that sound like they’re right out of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s greatest hits.
@Fr. Dwight - I too left the sinking ship of Anglicanism for the firm foundation of the Rock of Peter. But there will never be a Catholic liturgy like the 1928 BCP.
It’s an option to sing the Gloria for Advent?
Please, folks, this is not a “new” translation of the words of the Holy Sacrifice. It is a true Reformation, not of the reforms of Vatican II, but of the abuses of the reforms of Vatican II. Welcome back, O Respect, for the Divine Liturgy. I have missed you and yearned for you for forty years. “Oh, Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.
Now, on to the music!
I was really looking forward to an explanation of why the Church worships with liturgy! As an evangelical seeking to join the Church, I am working quite hard to interpret and learn everything I can and I had hopes that this article would explain more on this point… Alas… Father Longnecker, any chance you could write an article outlining your homilies on that topic? I, for one, would appreciate it tremendously.
To Daniel, google Scott Hahn and liturgy, he is protestant convert and theologian who has some stellar books written on the Mass and Liturgy.
Well, it wasn’t too bad at our parish. Fr has been prepping us pretty good with homilies, and write up in the bulletins. We all had some slip ups here and there, including our priest. We all got a good chuckle after the dismissal when he said we got through it and it can only get better with time. I didn’t notice any difference timewise :-D, our Mass length varies on Fr’s homily/and or any special rites happening.
Father—
By chance might you know Episcopal Bishop (retired) Dorsey Henderson? I have known all my life from his days as a parish priest in the Fort Lauderdale area (Saint Benedict, interestingly enough). Thank you, and thanks for your many illuminating articles.
Alas, it seems the poor Father took the wrong boat on this. 3 weeks of homilies and 4 pastor’s letters? Amazing. You would think we’re starting a new religion with all that verbosity! No, dear Father, not much has changed really. Still the same Novus Ordo, and, as you have experienced and may have facilitated, a perfect opportunity for the community to look at itself during Mass—as usual. I think that shiny light surrounding your new picture might help explain this better, dear Father. The spotlight is on us!
At a parish training session, a little boy asked, “What is the Most High?”
I found it odd that the catechist could not answer him, and the pastor didn’t chime in with any comment either, just letting the question pass. Though, it was just a lecturing session, not a question/answer format.
So later, I did research on the Most High. It comes from the Gloria in the Latin Rite, and seems it’s from a prayer written by a Saint Phillip Poitier a few hundred years after the Resurrection. I found The Gloria in the Eastern Rite is different, & the term Most High is not used.
Looking at the “Most High” from Scripture, I found it’s a name for God the Father, only. Jesus is the “Son of the Most High”. If I were asked to explain what “Most High” meant to the child that night, I’d have said it was a Name for God. But I’d not have been totally correct. Most High is a name only for God the Father, and not for Jesus, the Son.
Too bad after 15 years of getting the liturgy revised and translated, the powers that be at the Vatican did not address our error, and make our Latin Rite Gloria the same as the words in the Eastern Rite, that is more accurate.
Love the Gloria, no matter what the music, the words evoke Bethleham, worship of God, praise for the Trinity. Miss it so much during Advent. Come Lord Jesus, come so we can sing the Gloria again!
Sabeth- my point is if the Vatican aim is to be precise, why not be precise in the proper Names for the Trinity? If Fr. Dwight Longenecker’s father’s name is Stanley, would it be appropriate to call him Fr. Stanley Longenecker?
I like to be precise when I pray. After all, so much has been said about how we lay people are on auto-pilot at Mass, and how we do not really focus and listen to the liturgy words. But I do. So I think people like me are getting a bad rap.
The higher ups do not give us the credit or respect we deserve. I always concentrate at Mass. While I too, love the Gloria, and I always loved to sing it, now when I see “Most High Jesus Christ”, I cringe. Fr. Stanley? Or Fr. Dwight? Is it six of one, half dozen of another? Not to me.
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