The New Missal Translation is on the way!!!

News out today that the new missal translation for the english-speaking world has received the required 'recognitio' from Rome. Soon (hopefully not much more than a year) we will have a truly accurate, faithful and more obviously scriptural text with which to praise and worship the Lord at Mass in thevernacular of the Ordinary Form.

The Holy Father noted in his address to the Vox Clara commission - (an advisory body which has overseen the new translation - Bishop Philip Boyce being the Irish Episcopal Representative on it) that:

"I welcome the news that the English translation of the Roman Missal will soon be ready for publication, so that the texts you have worked so hard to prepare may be proclaimed in the liturgy that is celebrated across the anglophone world. Through these sacred texts and the actions that accompany them, Christ will be made present and active in the midst of his people."

He further noted: "A new task will then present itself, one which falls outside the direct competence of Vox Clara, but which in one way or another will involve all of you – the task of preparing for the reception of the new translation by clergy and lay faithful. Many will find it hard to adjust to unfamiliar texts after nearly forty years of continuous use of the previous translation. The change will need to be introduced with due sensitivity, and the opportunity for catechesis that it presents will need to be firmly grasped. I pray that in this way any risk of confusion or bewilderment will be averted, and the change will serve instead as a springboard for a renewal and a deepening of Eucharistic devotion all over the English-speaking world."

The entire address can be found HERE.

I have to say that I am delighted with this news and can't wait to use this new text in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice. The translation may not be to everyone's liking, but surely it will be better than the banal and uninspiring translation we currently use.

Prayer for the Holy Father

In these days when many attacks are being made upon the Holy Father, we should pray for Pope Benedict XVI that the Lord will pour out his blessing upon him abundantly and that he will sustain him from the attacks upon his person and upon the Catholic Church in general.





The text of the prayer in english reads:

Let us pray for Benedict our Pope.
May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. Amen

Email the Pope

Fr. Tim over at The Hermeneutic of Continuity makes the wonderful suggestion that we email the Holy Father to offer our support (and thanks) for all he has done and continues to do. His email address is benedictxvi@vatican.va. As his Pastoral Letter to Ireland has received some mixed reactions, (something the media seem to latch onto if it is in any way negative reaction), maybe it would be good for Irish Catholics to write to him and thank him for this wonderful pastoral intervention in our time of crisis.

All you who read this blog - please continue to pray for the Church in Ireland - as we attempt to steer a course through these troubled waters that surround us.

Benedict XVI - Prayer for the Church in Ireland

I wish to conclude this Letter with a special Prayer for the Church in Ireland, which I send to you with the care of a father for his children and with the affection of a fellow Christian, scandalized and hurt by what has occurred in our beloved Church. As you make use of this prayer in your families, parishes and communities, may the Blessed Virgin Mary protect and guide each of you to a closer union with her Son, crucified and risen.


God of our fathers,
renew us in the faith which is our life and salvation, the hope which promises forgiveness and interior renewal, the charity which purifies and opens our hearts to love you, and in you, each of our brothers and sisters.

Lord Jesus Christ,
may the Church in Ireland renew her age-old commitment to the education of our young people in the way of truth and goodness, holiness and generous service to society.

Holy Spirit, Comforter, Advocate and Guide,
inspire a new springtime of holiness and apostolic zeal for the Church in Ireland.

May our sorrow and our tears, our sincere effort to redress past wrongs, and our firm purpose of amendment bear an abundant harvest of grace for the deepening of the faith in our families, parishes, schools and communities, for the spiritual progress of Irish society, and the growth of charity, justice, joy and peace within the whole human family.

To you, Triune God,
confident in the loving protection of Mary, Queen of Ireland, our Mother, and of Saint Patrick, Saint Brigid and all the saints, do we entrust ourselves, our children, and the needs of the Church in Ireland.
Amen.

Pope Benedict's Letter to the Irish

Below are some significant excerpts from the Holy Father's Letter to the Church in Ireland. The Letter deserves to be read in full and can be read HERE.


Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Church in Ireland, it is with great concern that I write to you as Pastor of the Universal Church. Like yourselves, I have been deeply disturbed by the information which has come to light regarding the abuse of children and vulnerable young people by members of the Church in Ireland, particularly by priests and religious. I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them.

It is true, as many in your country have pointed out, that the problem of child abuse is peculiar neither to Ireland nor to the Church. Nevertheless, the task you now face is to address the problem of abuse that has occurred within the Irish Catholic community, and to do so with courage and determination. No one imagines that this painful situation will be resolved swiftly. Real progress has been made, yet much more remains to be done. Perseverance and prayer are needed, with great trust in the healing power of God’s grace.

At the same time, I must also express my conviction that, in order to recover from this grievous wound, the Church in Ireland must first acknowledge before the Lord and before others the serious sins committed against defenceless children. Such an acknowledgement, accompanied by sincere sorrow for the damage caused to these victims and their families, must lead to a concerted effort to ensure the protection of children from similar crimes in the future.

To the victims of abuse and their families
You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were courageous enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would listen. Those of you who were abused in residential institutions must have felt that there was no escape from your sufferings. It is understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be reconciled with the Church. In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel. At the same time, I ask you not to lose hope. It is in the communion of the Church that we encounter the person of Jesus Christ, who was himself a victim of injustice and sin. Like you, he still bears the wounds of his own unjust suffering. He understands the depths of your pain and its enduring effect upon your lives and your relationships, including your relationship with the Church.

I know some of you find it difficult even to enter the doors of a church after all that has occurred. Yet Christ’s own wounds, transformed by his redemptive sufferings, are the very means by which the power of evil is broken and we are reborn to life and hope. I believe deeply in the healing power of his self-sacrificing love – even in the darkest and most hopeless situations – to bring liberation and the promise of a new beginning.

Speaking to you as a pastor concerned for the good of all God’s children, I humbly ask you to consider what I have said. I pray that, by drawing nearer to Christ and by participating in the life of his Church – a Church purified by penance and renewed in pastoral charity – you will come to rediscover Christ’s infinite love for each one of you. I am confident that in this way you will be able to find reconciliation, deep inner healing and peace.

To priests and religious who have abused children
You betrayed the trust that was placed in you by innocent young people and their parents, and you must answer for it before Almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals. You have forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and brought shame and dishonour upon your confreres. Those of you who are priests violated the sanctity of the sacrament of Holy Orders in which Christ makes himself present in us and in our actions. Together with the immense harm done to victims, great damage has been done to the Church and to the public perception of the priesthood and religious life.

I urge you to examine your conscience, take responsibility for the sins you have committed, and humbly express your sorrow. Sincere repentance opens the door to God’s forgiveness and the grace of true amendment. By offering prayers and penances for those you have wronged, you should seek to atone personally for your actions. Christ’s redeeming sacrifice has the power to forgive even the gravest of sins, and to bring forth good from even the most terrible evil. At the same time, God’s justice summons us to give an account of our actions and to conceal nothing. Openly acknowledge your guilt, submit yourselves to the demands of justice, but do not despair of God’s mercy.

Pope Benedict & that case in Munich

The articles found HERE and HERE seem to clarify the accusations made against Pope Benedict XVI with regard to an abusive priest in the Munich Archdiocese while he was Archbishop there.

It seems that the then Cardinal Ratzinger allowed the priest to live in a parochial house while he was undergoing treatment, but did not give him any parish ministry. This priest was later assigned parish duties - but that was after Cardinal Josef Ratzinger had moved to the Vatican and was no longer Archbishop of Munich.

One wonders if the media will report these facts with as much zeal as they reported the initial (and inaccurate) story.

The Offering of Bread and Wine

Zenit has this scholarly article on the Offertory of the Mass, written by a porfessor of mine, Juan José Silvestre Valór, who teaches in the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce) in Rome. Here is just a small quotation from a much longer piece:

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"The bread and wine become, in a certain sense, the symbol of all that that the eucharistic assembly as such brings in offering to God and that it offers in spirit. This is the force and the spiritual meaning of the presentation of the gifts. In this light we understand the incensing of the gifts on the altar, of the cross and the altar itself, which signifies the offering of the Church and her prayer, which ascend like incense into the presence of God".

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One particular practice that is widespread in the Church in Ireland is an offertory procession (usually during a Requiem Mass for a deceased person) in which anything and everything connected to the person is brought to the altar in procession along with the Bread and Wine - sometimes with, sometimes without a commentary. It's something I strongly disapprove of, though often when I con-celebrate at a funeral it inevitably happens. I've seen lots of different things in my time that have made their way to the altar: curling tongs, toys cars, paintings, reading glasses - and the list goes on...! Never have I seen a bible being brought forward or a Rosary Bead, nor anything that points to the person having lived their faith. Oh for the noble simplicity of the Mass according to the mind of the Church!!!!

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But even if these things were acceptable for the offertory procession, they aren't really offered at all - since the family always takes these things back again after the Mass. So they aren;t really offered - more like given on loan and have absolutely nothing to do with the offertory and presentation of the bread and wine.

End of rant!

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For an excellent explanation of the elements of bread and wine which are used for the Eucharist this Homily by Pope Benedict XVI on Corpus Christi 2006 is well worth meditating upon.