The publication of the new edition of the Roman Missal, the book of prayers used at Mass, is an opportunity to deepen our understanding of all that we are doing as we, the Christian community, gather to worship.

The use of a new edition of the Missal is not simply about words or translation.  The new Missal will enable us to come to a deeper understanding of the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of the life of the Church.  The new text is the result of the work of many people over the past ten years.

Since it was published in 1975, much has been added to the Missal currently prayed at Mass.  Bishops welcome the new edition to be published later this year as it will provide Mass prayers, the Masses of our National Calendar and three Eucharistic Prayers which have all been approved since the current edition was published.  Some of this material has been available but the new edition gives us an up-to-date Missal.

While the order or structure of the Mass is not changing, and readings remain the same, the edition of the Missal will be in a new translation.  It uses new norms for translation which call for a fuller and more faithful translation of the Latin.  The new edition of the Missal will bring a freshness and beauty to the language used at worship, capturing the biblical resonances of our prayers more clearly and the rich words and phrases of the prayers, many more than 1200 years old.

 

The text changes for the new the Missal will begin to be introduced in many dioceses at Mass from Sunday, 11 September.  Missalette publishers and parish bulletins will include these changes by way of explanatory inserts.  These are also available on the websites above.

Over the ten weeks from 11 September, all the changes in the prayers and responses of the congregation will be used at Mass, for example: the greeting, “The Lord be with you” and response, “And with your spirit”; the Apostles Creed; the longer Nicene Creed; and, the acclamations of the Eucharistic Prayer.

From 27 November 2011, the First Sunday of Advent, the new edition of the Missal will be used in its entirety for the prayers of the Mass throughout the country and the English speaking world.