Resources for Implementing the New Roman Missal

By Mark G. Boyer - The Priest, 12/1/2010

As we head into implementation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, on the First Sunday of Advent, Nov. 27, 2011, various publishers are providing resources to assist us in this catechetical process.

Not only does the implementation of the third edition of the Roman Missal offer the opportunity to teach about the various parts of the Mass, but also it means that the faithful will have to unlearn most of their parts and learn the newly-translated prayers. Because many of the responses have become rote, it will, for example, take catechesis, time, and practice to replace “And also with you” with “And with your spirit.” The time to begin is now.

Liturgy Training Publications (Chicago, Ill.) offers Understanding the Revised Mass Texts (2010) by Paul Turner with additional material by Kathy Coffey. The material for the people can be purchased as eight leaflets or as one booklet. The leaflets/chapters in the booklet are: “Why and How Are the Mass Texts Being Revised?” “The Introductory Rites,” “The Gloria and the Liturgy of the Word,” “The Profession of Faith,” “The Liturgy of the Eucharist,” “The Eucharistic Prayer,” “The Mystery of Faith,” and “The Communion and Concluding Rites.” Both the leaflets and the booklet give side-by-side translations from the current Sacramentary with those that will appear in the new revision. This makes it very easy for all to see where the changes are made.

Also available is a “Leader’s Edition,” which provides outlines for eight sessions. The leaders’ edition offers suggestions as to welcoming all, an opening prayer, an icebreaker, hints as to how to present some of the material, other remarks from the authors, places for the leader to write his or her notes, a group activity, questions for discussion, and points to ponder. In other words, the leader’s edition serves as a teacher’s guide through the material.

Preparing Your Parish for the Revised Roman Missal: Part I (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2010) is collection of articles aimed at pastoral ministers to aid the process of implementing the third edition of the Roman Missal. The articles provide valuable information on communicating the need for the people to be catechized, the need for good communication, the need for a budget, and the need to plan a calendar for the process of implementation. The 32-page booklet is complete with questions and answers, a glossary of terms, and a list of other resources that are available. Contact Liturgy Training Publications, 3949 South Racine Ave., Chicago, IL 60609, 1-800-933-1800, (fax 1-800-933-7094, orders@ltp.org, or www.LTP.org.

The Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (Washington, D.C.) offers what it calls the “Parish Assembly Kit,” three leaflets titled, “A History of the Roman Missal,” “Questions and Answers About Changes to the Mass,” and “Liturgical Participation of God’s People.” The kit also includes downloads for parish bulletin announcements, website announcements, and liturgy announcements.

The Mystery of Faith: A Study of the Structural Elements of the Order of Mass, a 152-page book, and With One Voice: Translation and Implementation of the Roman Missal (by Gerald Kicanas, John Foster, Mark Francis and Paul Turner), another book, are also available from the FDLC, along with all types of other pamphlets and electronic resources. Contact the Federation of Liturgical Commissions, 415 Michigan Ave., NE, Suite 70, Washington, D.C. 20017, 1-202-635-6990, www.fdlc.org.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has published Parish Guide to Implementing the Roman Missal, Third Edition. It contains a 12-month planning calendar that presents a possible scenario for introducing the revised translation of the Roman Missal.

Contact USCCB, 3211 Fourth St., NE, Washington, D.C. 20017-1194, www.usccb.org/romanmissal.

The Genius of The Roman Rite: On the Reception and Implementation of the New Missal by Keith F. Pecklers (Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500) is a 117-page book that presents valuable background for understanding how the Roman Rite “has evolved over the centuries in very diverse contexts and situations.” Pecklers, a Jesuit professor of liturgy at the Pontifical Gregorian University and professor of liturgical history at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome, says that the Roman Rite “has endured to our own day precisely because of its capacity to adapt and be shaped by the distinct culture where it has been celebrated.” He treats the Roman Rite under the topics of its evolution, Vatican II’s recovery of the tradition, the process of translation, the 2002 General Instruction of the Roman Missal, and reception and implementation of the third edition of the Roman Missal. The book is designed to be an instrument of catechesis to help clergy and laity better grasp the rationale for the implementation of the new translation within the context of the history of the Roman Rite.

Pecklers states that Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy “reveals three fundamental basis in [the] reform of the Roman Rite: first, a historical consciousness and desire to return to the sources.” Second, according to Pecklers, “there was a recovery of liturgical theology and spirituality — that the heart of Christian liturgy is always the paschal mystery of Christ.” The third fundamental basis was “a strong pastoral desire to promote ‘full and active participation,’ drawing the faithful out of their passivity into the action of celebrating the Roman Rite.” Concerning this latter point, Pecklers argues that “the assembly is more than individuals in the same place at the same time; and ... that corporate worship is not simply another form of private prayer carried out in common.” In some parts of the United States those Protestant concepts have invaded Catholic worship.

The Genius of the Roman Rite: Historical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspectives on Catholic Liturgy (Chicago, Ill.: Hillenbrand Books, 2010), edited by Uwe Michael Lang, is a collection of papers from the 11th International Colloquium of the International Center for Liturgical Studies held in Merton College, Oxford, Sept. 13-16, 2006. This collection is aimed at the liturgical scholar. While some of the articles present helpful background to understanding some minute part of the Roman Rite — such as poetry in the Latin Liturgy — this book does not help in implementing the changes in English translation. The chapters are like articles one would read in Worship magazine.

Understanding the General Instruction of the Roman Missal by Gerard Moore (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 2007) presents the principles of interpretation for the GIRM along with theological themes, some reflections on ecclesiology and the hierarchical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, and how these are present in the celebration of Eucharist.

Editors Edward Foley, Nathan Mitchell and Joanne Pierce present A Commentary on the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2007). The GIRM is presented in Latin and English in parallel columns with commentary below. Where appropriate, the book illustrates the changes that have occurred since Vatican II in the various editions of the GIRM.

Listen to the Word: Commentaries on Selected Opening Prayers of Sundays and Feasts with Sample Homilies by Daniel McCarthy (London: The Tablet, 2009) is a collection of articles that originally appeared in The Tablet in 2006 and 2007. In the introduction to the book, McCarthy writes that the opening prayer “has received little notice, although the scholarship behind it is as solid as its tradition is broad and profound.” He invites the reader to reflect upon “the literary structure of the opening prayer, a structure well honed over more than 1,400 years of our written prayer tradition.” He continues, “By appreciation of the structure of these prayers, we can begin to unfold their complexity, appreciate their synthesis and prepare ourselves to make the prayer our own in the hearing.”

After presenting in tabular form what McCarthy calls the “literary genre of an opening prayer” and “the performative stages of an opening prayer,” he presents analysis and reflections on the opening prayers for Masses during Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and many of the Sundays in Ordinary Time along with selected solemnities and feasts. The beginning of every analysis and reflection presents the current English translation of the opening prayer alongside its Latin original. Even though the current English translation will be out of date as Nov. 27, 2011, the Latin originals and McCarthy’s excellent presentations can inspire the presider as to how he might pray the prayer as it will be found in the third edition of the Roman Missal. A copy of the 145-page book can be purchased from St. Benedict Abbey, Atchison, KS 66002-1402, by e-mailing sfitzmaurice@kansasmonks.org. TP

Mark G. Boyer, a priest of almost 35 years, writes the Book Review column for The Priest. His latest books are: These Thy Gifts: A Collection of Simple Meal Prayers (Chicago: ACTA, 2010); Day by Ordinary Day: Daily Reflections on the First Readings, Year One (New York: St. Paul’s / Alba House, 2010).