It was the Associate Pastor’s first Sunday in his new assignment. He was counseled (or cautioned) by the pastor that the congregation was somewhat unenthusiastic during Mass. The idea came to him to begin Mass with a joke or humorous story as a way of engaging them. As the choir concluded what seemed like their Broadway debut, he tapped the microphone to test its sound. Nothing! He panicked and tapped it again this time speaking apologetically to the congregation, “Something’s wrong with the mic.” To which everyone dutifully responded, “And also with you, Father!”

Ah, the familiarity of the Mass responses!  We could say them with our eyes closed--and perhaps sometimes many of us early risers do! Yet familiarity can be a good thing, for it allows us to   concentrate on the symbolic gestures during Mass and to ponder the depth of their meaning. However, come November 27, 2011 when the Church begins to use the revised translation of the 2002 Roman Missal, some of this familiarity will diminish, and for many Catholics this will be a challenge. Even if priests spend the recommended year preparing their congregation for the new texts, it is most certain that for a few Sundays following November 27, 2011, some in the congregation will continue to profess proudly their faith in Christ who is “one in being” with the Father, instead of “consubstantial.”  Habits are hard to change--especially prayerful ones.

This first challenge, however, is really minuscule compared to the second and deeper challenge which I believe is facing the People of God with regard to this liturgical development.  Already I have heard and read much of the discussion and debate surrounding it. Though the Lord cautioned us not to do so, many are receiving this development in the liturgy in a manner that is exactly the opposite of our Lord’s counsel: “Do not put new wine into old wineskins, least the skin burst and you lose the new wine” (Luke 5:33-39). The real challenges regarding the revised translations are more interior: that of creating within our hearts and minds new wineskins as it were, so that we might receive the Church’s new wine of liturgical renewal. This is an area to which catechists, and those of us who are catechetical leaders, would do well to turn our attention.

Often our struggles with change--especially in the area of Church discipline or teaching--result from misunderstandings, which in turn can lead to camps or “extremist ideology.”   At one extreme we can find a certain “dogmatic fundamentalism” or “traditionalism” that views change, especially liturgical change, as a “rupture from the past.” At the other extreme lies a kind of “enlightened progressivism” that sees reality in “continuous flux” and theology in a state of “process.”  Yet, neither is correct as Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman demonstrates insightfully in his magnificent work, The Development of Doctrine.  Jesus Christ is the same “yesterday, today and forever;” but, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church’s understanding regarding the full meaning of His words and actions is always deepening. Organic growth in doctrine is always rooted in the unchanging reality of Jesus Christ, even as it matures or develops into fuller expression. Throughout the ages, the Church’s liturgical expression has experienced such faithful and organic development.

From the time of Saint Paul and the Early Church Fathers, through the work of Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Council of Trent, the liturgy and liturgical renewal have been of sincere interest, and at times, of great concern to the Church. Why? Because the liturgy is the fountain from which all graces flow into our hearts, into our parishes, into the whole world! For this reason, our full and active participation in the liturgy is of monumental importance. The Church understands this. Therefore, her efforts to reform and renew liturgical expression are always and only for the purpose of leading her children to drink deeply from that fountain of grace.

In modern times, Pope Saint Pius X set us on the course of renewal drawing attention to liturgical sacred music.  Pope Pius XII followed the course with Mediator Dei.  Pope John XXIII brought liturgical reform and renewal to conciliar consideration which resulted in Pope Paul VI’s promulgation of Sacrosanctum Concilium.  In 2001, Pope John Paul II contributed to the full implementation of the Council’s reforms with the document, Liturgiam Authenticam, published by the Sacred Congregation Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.  Our current Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has repeatedly invited us to a deeper reflection upon the mysteries celebrated in the Divine Liturgy, especially in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Cartitas.  With the implementation of the new translation, he continues this invitation to pray these mysteries with words that convey more clearly the theology they contain.

As a faithful steward of these sacred mysteries, the Church is always striving to express more clearly, celebrate more richly, and thus lead the People of God to participate more faithfully in the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice, so that we might receive the fullness of His grace. In this time of the great renewal, the Church is offering us an opportunity to catechize the People of God about the nature, gift, and purpose of the Divine Liturgy. Our Catholic faith tells us that when we come to Mass, we are truly present at the sacrifice of Christ, and we truly receive His Precious Body and Blood as the Apostles did in the Upper Room. Surprisingly, there are many Catholics who have not been fully catechized on that essential point of doctrine. 

The revised translation is not a question of being anti-conciliar or post-conciliar, conservative or progressive. It is about conveying in accurate language the richness of the Mystery so that we may drink more deeply from the fountain of grace--the wellspring of worship that flows from the pierced side of Christ. If we place our parish and diocesan efforts within this context, we will help our people to rise above the useless polemic that only divides the Body of Christ.  To embrace the changes presented to us from the Church requires a certain docility of heart and right understanding to see that the Liturgy is not “ours.”  It is the Lord’s, and He has entrusted it to His Bride the Church. She is the steward of the liturgy, and she has guarded this mystery with Her own blood preserving it from corruption.

At this time of renewal, let us strive to receive this new translation as “new wine” of grace and deeper participation in the sacrifice of our Lord. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to awaken in us and in those whom we serve, the gifts needed to understand and embrace the Church’s current efforts to lead us to fuller participation in the mysterium fidei!