Beginning on the first Sunday of Advent (11/27/2011) the words you hear and say at Mass will change. There are many reasons for this, and over the next few weeks you will be given information in the weekly church bulletin. These changes have been mandated by the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
The Mass will remain the same, but it will sound different.
The book that the priest uses to celebrate Mass is currently called the Sacramentary. When the chances commence, this book will be referred to as the Roman Missal (3rd Edition), published in Latin in 2002.
In short, many of the prayers we say at Mass will have a more exact translation from the Latin language. For example, if we translate some of our dear Polish hymns into English, the meaning would be the same. However, the elegance and nuances of the Polish language would be absent.
The revised Roman Missal will try to retain all the subtleties of the Latin language and make our prayers more meaningful.
(This series is courtesy of Larry Maguda, Director of Music Ministery at St. John Kanty Church, and Judy Felski, Parishioner/Choir Member.)
