More Questions Than Answers

NOTE: After posting the text below on the Roman Missal I noticed that the "art of the day" was a 16th-century depiction of the Tower of Babel. Someone has a sense of humor! I thought that I would include it with the post.

The U. S. Bishops' Committee on Divine Worship has really gotten out ahead of the third edition of the Roman Missal and their website has a lot of good information. Today they issued an updated version of FAQs.

In our own diocese we began our series of introductory workshops today. This morning about 70 pastors, liturgists, musicians, catechists and other parish leaders met at the O'Connor Center to discuss the Roman Missal. We had a lively meeting with some good suggestions and many questions raised. We have a lot of corporate wisdom among the priests, deacons and lay leaders of the diocese. The longer I am here the more I have grown to respect that!

Perhaps the most insightful question was this: What do I say to the parishioner who asks me how this will make him/her a better Catholic?

That's really the heart of the matter. How do we become better Catholics, more Christlike, through our participation in the Sunday Eucharist?

It reminded me a bit of one of my own family stories. Several years ago, when my oldest child was three, we attended Easter Sunday Mass at our (pro)cathedral. The bishop likes to chant the Pater Noster in Latin on many major feasts and we did so that day.

Later that afternoon, while coming off a sugar buzz, my daughter said, "Daddy! We didn't pray the Our Father this morning at church."

"We did," I said and explained that we chanted it in Latin. "Why?" she asked.

I was caught off guard a bit (I am embarrassed to say). I couldn't really say, "Well, dear, article 36.1 of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy says that Latin is to be preserved in the liturgy." Or even, "Pope Benedict encouraged the use of Latin in the liturgy in his apostolic exhortation, Sacramentum Caritatis (no. 62)."

So I sought, and found, the perfect answer: "Ask your mother."

Anyway, while our congregations are made of adults (who deserve to be treated as adults), it won't fly with too many Americans to say that our translation is changing because of Liturgiam Authenticam, or because we wish to capture the unique structure of the beauty of the Latin or any other such answer. The translation will change...will our hearts? How will this new translation help all of us worship God with a fuller heart, mind and voice?

I have my ideas on the matter and will share as time goes on. Any ideas from you? Post a comment.