‘Communion Rite’

A Faith Connection

By Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.

IN THE PRAYERS of the Communion Rite, we see one area where the positive aspects of the new translation come together. All Catholics are familiar with the moment when the priest takes the host and, holding it up with the plate or above the chalice, says “Behold the Lamb of God.” Like many of the prayers of the Mass, this text is rich in Scriptural references, and the new translation helps to bring them alive.

There are in fact three different Scriptures which you can meditate on as you hear the priest say,

Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.

And together we pray:

Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.

How many Scripture

passages can you find?

The first is from the Gospel of John 1:29. John the Baptist sees Jesus coming toward him and points out Jesus with those first words, “Behold the Lamb of

God, who takes away the sin of the world.” This proclamation by John precedes one of my favorite Bible stories. The day after John’s introduction, he again says, “Behold the Lamb of God,” and this time two of the Baptist’s disciples follow after Jesus.

This initial encounter leads to three more followers who “come and see” Jesus, and become his disciples. I think it’s a great story of how one person’s curiosity, interest and faith leads to another’s, and another’s. Isn’t that how our call to be Christians works? It’s all right here in the Communion Rite!

Next, the priest says, “Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” If you’re paging through your Bible, let me help. These words are a reference to the “wedding feast of the Lamb,” described in Revelation 5:19. Early Christians, experiencing struggles in living their faith in the Roman Empire, found hope in the vision of a heavenly banquet. That vision fits perfectly with what we’re about to share at Mass—the Eucharistic meal which is a sign of what we hope to share forever in heaven, the fullness of God’s reign. The third Scripture story embedded in the Communion Rite is found in the section of our prayer where you’ll probably most easily notice the new translation:

Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.

Let’s look at the New Testament passage:

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority. . . . ” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. . . . ” And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour (his) servant was healed.

(Matthew 8:5-13)

Think of the centurion’s faith-filled protest, full of humility: Don’t confuse the roof of his house with the roof of your mouths as they receive Communion! This is a moment where the liturgy wants us to connect our own story, to think of our unworthiness before God, and the great grace given us at Eucharist. We are welcomed, forgiven and we find healing.

The Communion Rite offers us an opportunity to link our personal stories with the stories of salvation—like the centurion’s or the disciples of Jesus or the Christians whose struggles in the early years of our faith gave us the Book of Revelation.

Greg Friedman, O.F.M., is pastor of St. Francis Seraph in Cincinnati, Ohio. He presents

daily video homilies at USCCB.org and is host of the national weekly program, American Catholic Radio. He has produced numerous video programs, including Assisi Pilgrimage and the Catholic Update ST. ANTHONY

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Liturgy

It’s How We Pray

By Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.

A lot has changed in the way we communicate. It’s taken some of us years to adjust, to cope with the fast pace of change. The same is true about change in the Church. The most recent changes started about 50 years ago—

some reading this will remember the sometimes chaotic changes of the 1960s and 70s!

Most of the changes have been helpful; some weren’t. Sometimes, we just didn’t get a good explanation of what was happening and why. Like my fellow pastors in parishes around the country, I’ve been pondering the changes to the prayers which we all pray at Mass, and how we can avoid another round of confusion.

Even though the forthcoming changes in the prayers of Mass are relatively small, some understanding of what’s behind the changes will help all of us make the adjustment.

We talked about how the missal has changed over the centuries in the first issue of this series. The changes happen from time to time, yet, when change happens in the parts of our life which are very important—like our Sunday worship—it can be difficult to embrace.

But we’re all passionate about our liturgy. As a priest, I’m passionate to find ways to explain the meaning of liturgy to ordinary Catholics like you and me. This series of handouts is designed to help you understand the new translation of the Mass in a way which I’m hoping will help you adapt to the change. For each issue, I’ve tried to imagine how my own parishioners will react to the changes in the Mass prayers, and what they might want to know about them. Let’s begin by looking at how we pray.

Prayer: public vs. personal

The place to begin understanding the

changes in the prayers at Mass is to

appreciate that our prayer in Church is

different than our personal prayer. Our

personal prayer is just that: personal.

I remember watching my Italian

grandmother fingering her rosary beads as she sat in her rocking chair. I also recall that after my father died, I found a prayer book full of holy cards. I realized that he had dutifully prayed from that book, and probably had used some of those holy cards, with devotional prayers from various saints.

Both my grandmother and my father freely chose their style and their

texts, to pray as God moved them. My personal prayer and yours might be similar to theirs, or it might be different. As long as we’re taking time to pray, the style, the words, the method of personal prayer is secondary.

Public Prayer

When we gather for Eucharist, and for other communal prayers, our prayer takes on a different character. Now, the prayer must bear the burden of expressing common faith in a way that will help to bring all those in attendance together in unity. Our communal prayer expresses our unity as the Body of Christ. But since the

Eucharist is a sacrament, with the power to actually bring about the unity which the prayers and rituals express, that holy action must be carefully structured.

The Church has learned from 2,000 years of practical experience! Human communication depends on language and gesture, with language being so critical to good communication. The public prayer of the Church—the liturgy—needs to be structured and organized.

The texts, the very language of worship, must be carefully written. They must be mastered by those praying the words. We depend upon the carefully written and proclaimed text. As the priest proclaims the prayers and the assembly responds, the common texts enable us to pray together well, to focus. The texts teach us, hopefully move us. The prayers of the Mass are a vehicle for the Holy Spirit to work in us.

So we must have common texts—carefully written and translated well—so that they may be prayed in many languages.

I invite you to reflect on your own experience of celebrating Eucharist. What does it mean to join with parishioners each Sunday? Have you had the experience of Mass in another language or culture? What was that like? How do the familiar prayers of the Mass help to focus your own personal prayer and presence?

If you start there—with the way we pray at Mass—you’ll have taken the first step to begin understanding the new translation of the Roman Missal’s prayers for the Eucharist.

‘And With Your Spirit’

THIS CHANGE IS PREDICTED

to be the toughest to make: The

deeply familiar response is used

frequently in the liturgy. It’s

perhaps the change which will

prompt Catholics to ask, “Why?”

In a word, greater fidelity to the

basic Latin text.

Those of my age and older who

served Mass when it was in Latin,

know the Latin response well:

“Et cum spiritu tuo,” literally, “And

with your spirit.” That translation

expresses a little more than the

words we use today.

Greg Friedman, O.F.M., is pastor of St. Francis Seraph in Cincinnati, Ohio. He presents daily video homilies at USCCB.org and is host of the national weekly program, American Catholic Radio. He has produced numerous

video programs, including Assisi Pilgrimage and the Catholic Update

Video series. This brief handout series is adapted from the 18-segment video, Catholic Update Guide to Changes in the Mass, produced by St. AnthonyMessenger Press and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER PRESS

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PERMISSION TO PUBLISH: REV. JOSEPH R. BINZER, VICAR GENERAL, ARCHDIOCESE OF CINCINNATI, DECEMBER 13, 2010

1. It is not a new Mass; it is new translation for a new edition of the Missal. Because a new edition of the Missal Romanum, the Latin Roman Missal, was promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 2000, it was necessary for all the countries of the world to translate this missal into the various local languages. The new missal has added features: prayers for the celebration of recently canonized saints, additional prefaces for the Eucharistic Prayers, additional Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Intentions, and some updated and revised rubrics (instructions) for the celebration of the Mass. In the case of the English-speaking world, a common translation of the common text was sought through the International Commission for English in the Liturgy (ICEL) to ensure uniformity.

2. Vatican guidelines for translation. The translation of the New Roman Missal was carried out under the newest Vatican guidelines for translating prayers into modern local (i.e., vernacular) languages. These were given in the instruction Liturgiam Authenticam, published in 2001, urging a stronger adherence to the original Latin wording and structure than earlier directives. In the new translation, unique style of the Roman Rite is closely maintained. The texts are marked by heightened style of English speech and grammatical structure that follows closely the Latin text. In addition, many biblical and poetic images—such as “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…” (Communion rite, taken from Matthew 8:8) and “…from the rising of the sun to its setting” (Eucharistic Prayer III, taken from Psalm 113), that were last in the 1973 translation—have been restored.

3. Particular adaptations to the U.S. are included. The new English-language Missal also includes Vatican-approved adaptations requested by the Bishops of the United States as well as the U.S (Such as the prayers for the Memorial of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and prayers for Independence Day and Thanksgiving Day).

4. “And with your spirit.” The translation of several phrases in the Order of Mass has been previously decided by the Vatican in the instruction Liturgiam authenticam. Among these are “certain expressions that belong to the heritage of the whole or of a great part of the ancient Church as well as others that have become part of the general human patrimony…”Such is the case of the response “Et cum spiritutuo.” What had originally been translated in 1973 as “And also with you “becomes now “And with your spirit” This places the English translation in line with the way this has always been translated in most other languages, including Spanish, French, German and Italian.

5. Change in the people’s parts. In addition to the response to the greeting, “The Lord is with you,” people are going to find a number of other changes in the translation of common prayers throughout. This includes the various parts of the Penitential act (“I confess to Almighty God…”), the Gloria, the Creed (both in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed), the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy), the Mystery of Faith, and the invitation to communion. (Samples of comparative texts for the new and old responses can be found at the USCCB Roman Missal website: http://old.usccb.org/romanmissal/samples-people.shtml

6.      “For many.” One of the points that has generated more discussion is the translation of qui pro vobis et pro multis effundétur in remissiónem peccatórum, presently translated “which will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven.” In the new edition of the Roman Missal, “for all” will be changed to “for many.” There are several reasons for this change. First, “for many” is a more accurate translation of the Latin phrase pro multis than the present translation. This is also the wording used in the Biblical narrative account of the Last Supper found in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Even though it is a dogmatic teaching of the Church that Christ died on the Cross for all men and women, the expression “for many” is reflective also of the fact that this salvation is not brought automatically, without one’s own willing participation, but rather is a gift to be accepted. Also, in the context of the Last Supper, Jesus was speaking to the Twelve, extending the reach of his sacrifice beyond the boundary of his closest disciples. In the context of the celebration of the Eucharist, the phrase “for you and for many” connects the particular gathered assembly with the larger sense of the Church in every time and place, as if to say “not only you gathered here, but many more as well.”

 7.      Gradual implementation for musical settings. Though official implementation is set for the First Sunday of Advent 2011, diocesan bishops may permit the gradual implementation of various musical settings of the people’s parts in the Order of Mass starting in September to allow the congregation time to learn them. This applies only to the Glory to God, the Holy, Holy, Holy, and the Memorial Acclamationó.  Composers have readjusted previous musical settings and new compositions that are also being prepared. New musical settings of the Amen and the Lamb of God, the texts of which are not changing, can be introduced at any time.

8.      What’s not changing? The structure and rite of the Mass itself is not changing, so the Mass will look and feel the same. Some texts of the Mass are not changing, including the Lord’s Prayer and the Lamb of God. The translation of Scripture readings used at Mass will remain the same, so those who proclaim the readings (lectors and deacons) will not be affected in their ministry by the introduction of the new Missal. Much of the hymnody and other chants sung at the Mass will not be affected by the changes, although many hymnals and other participation aids are being revised to reflect the changes in the parts of the Mass.

9.      Symbolism of posture and gestures.  The symbolism of some traditional gestures has been recaptured in the new missal. The gestures themselves have always been prescribed, but the introduction of the New Missal provides an opportunity to teach about these longstanding customs. One such example is striking oneself over the chest during the Penitential Act (Confiteor) while reciting the words “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault,” (mea culpa), as a show of remorse, a tradition that had not always been followed in the U.S. Another example is the reverent bow during the recitation of the Creed. After the words “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven,” at the words that follow up, “and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man” all bow as a sign of reverence for the mystery of the Incarnation.

 (reprinted from the Beacon, the newspaper of the Paterson Diocese, Oct. 6, 2011)

Daily Roman Missal

Word for Word [Teens] from Life Teen on Vimeo.

From US Catholic Bishop Site on the New Roman Missal