Cardinal George Announces Vatican Approval of New Roman Missal English-Language Translation, Implementation Set for First Sunday of Advent 2011

 

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has announced that the full text of the  English-language translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, has been issued for the dioceses of the United States of America. 
           
The text was approved by the Vatican, and the approval was accompanied by a June 23 letter from Cardinal Llovera Antonio Cañizares, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The Congregation also provided guidelines for publication.
           
In addition, on July 24, the Vatican gave approval for several adaptations, including additional prayers for the Penitential Act at Mass and the Renewal of Baptismal Promises on Easter Sunday. Also approved are texts of prayers for feasts specific to the United States such as Thanksgiving, Independence Day and the observances of feasts for saints such as Damien of Molokai, Katharine Drexel, and Elizabeth Ann Seton. The Vatican also approved the Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life, which can be celebrated on January 22.   
           
Cardinal George announced receipt of the documents in an August 20 letter to the U.S. Bishops and issued a decree of proclamation that states that “The use of the third edition of the Roman Missal enters into use in the dioceses of the United States of America as of the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011.  From that date forward, no other edition of the Roman Missal may be used in the dioceses of the United States of America.” 
           
The date of implementation was chosen to allow publishers time to prepare texts and parishes and dioceses to educate parishioners.
           
“We can now move forward and continue with our important catechetical efforts as we prepare the text for publication,” Cardinal George said.
           
In the coming weeks, staff of the bishops’ Secretariat of Divine Worship will prepare the text for publication and collaborate with the staff of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), which will assist Bishops’ Conferences in bringing the text to publication. In particular, ICEL has been preparing the chant settings of the texts of the Missal for use in the celebration of the Mass. Once all necessary elements have been incorporated into the text and the preliminary layout is complete, the final text will go to the publishers to produce the ritual text, catechetical resources and participation aids for use in the Liturgy.
           
Receipt of the text marks the start of proximate preparation for Roman Missal implementation. Before first use of the new text in Advent 2011, pastors are urged to use resources available to prepare parishioners. Some already have been in use; others are being released now. They include the Parish Guide for the Implementation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, and Become One Body, One Spirit in Christ, a multi-media DVD resource produced by ICEL in collaboration with English-language Conferences of Bishops. Both will be available from the USCCB. Information on resources can be found at www.usccb.org/romanmissal
           
Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson, New Jersey, Chair of the Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship, voiced gratitude for the approval.
           
“I am happy that after years of preparation, we now have a text that, when introduced late next year, will enable the ongoing renewal of the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy in our parishes,” he said.  Msgr. Anthony Sherman, Director of the Secretariat for Divine Worship of the USCCB noted, “A great effort to produce the new Roman Missal for the United States, along with the other necessary resources, has begun.  Even as that work is underway a full–scale catechesis about the Liturgy and the new Roman Missal should be taking place in parishes, so that when the time comes, everyone will be ready.”

Benedict XVI Encourages Choosing a Special Saint

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 25, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is recommending that everyone have devotion to a particular saint -- he suggested, for example, a namesake -- so that the saint can offer closeness through intercession but also be a model to imitate.

The Pope said this today when he reflected during the general audience on the saints. He gave the audience address from Castel Gandolfo, where he is staying at the papal summer residence through next month.

The Holy Father said that it is important "to have 'travel companions' on the journey of our Christian life: I am thinking of a spiritual director, a confessor, persons with whom we can share the experience of faith, but I am also thinking of the Virgin Mary and of the saints."

"Each one," he said, "should have a saint that is familiar to him, to whom he feels close with prayer and intercession, but also to imitate him or her. Hence, I would like to invite you to know the saints better, beginning with the one whose name you bear, by reading his life, his writings. You can be certain that they will become good guides to love the Lord ever more and valid aids for your human and Christian growth."

The Pontiff noted his own closeness to St. Joseph and St. Benedict, as his namesakes, but also reflected on a saint who has "become a good 'travel companion' in my life and my ministry": St. Augustine.

Pursuit

Benedict XVI said that St. Augustine's teaching is particularly relevant today, since "relativism is, paradoxically, the 'truth' that must guide thought, decisions and behavior."

Augustine was a great seeker of truth, the Pope noted -- not '"pseudo-truths' incapable of giving lasting peace of heart, but that Truth that gives meaning to existence and that is the 'dwelling' in which the heart finds serenity and joy."

"St. Augustine understood that it was not he who had found Truth, but that Truth itself, which is God, pursued and found him," the Pontiff reflected.

Referring to a passage from Augustine's "Confessions," in which the saint is with his mother and both "for a moment touch the heart of God in the silence of creatures," the Holy Father said: "[C]reatures must be silent so that there will be a silence in which God can speak. This is also true in our time: Sometimes there is a sort of fear of silence, of recollection, of reflecting on one's acts, on the profound meaning of one's life. [...] [T]here is fear of seeking the Truth, or perhaps there is fear that the Truth will find us, will grip us and change our life, as happened to St. Augustine."

"Dear brothers and sisters," the Pope concluded, "I would like to say to all, also to those in a difficult moment in their faith journey, those who do not participate much in the life of the Church, or those who live 'as if God did not exist' that they not be afraid of the Truth, that they never interrupt their journey toward it, that they never cease to seek the profound truth about themselves and about things with the internal eyes of the heart."

"God will not fail to give Light so that one can see," he said, "and Warmth to feel the heart that loves us and that wants to be loved."

Memorial of St. Augustine

 From: www.saintvincentarchabbey.org

"In his holy name we trust."

Without trust there is no intimacy and very little relationship. Psalm 33 celebrates the trust of the Chosen People. The people God has chosen for his own inheritance is truly a blessed nation. It is from heaven that the LORD looks down upon all mankind, but his gaze of tender mercy is upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness. They have been delivered from death and preserved in the time of famine. Israel has been rescued again and again; she has countless reasons to trust the LORD at all times. Indeed her soul waits for the LORD, who is her help and her shield. In the Holy Name of the LORD Israel places her trust and in him all hearts rejoice. Saint Paul calls his brothers and sisters in Corinth to boast in the Lord Jesus. Though they seem foolish and insignificant to the powers that be, for them the Lord Jesus has become wisdom from On High. In today's parable the Lord Jesus reveals the joy of those who trust in him and are willing to risk everything for the benefit of the Kingdom. Here we renew our trust in the Lord Jesus who becomes our Daily Bread.

Saint Paul invites his beloved brothers and sisters to consider their call. He points out a socio-economic reality that could apply to many churches even today. Few of us are wise by the standards of our world. Not many of us have a great claim on economic or political power. Probably the number of noble births is even lower today, unless one considers entertainment nobility. God chose the foolish of this world to shame the wise, and He chose the weak of the world to shame the strong. Those considered lowly and despised of this world, those who count for nothing, were chosen to reduce to nothing those who are something. The LORD has done all this to reveal that no human being can boast before God. One bold critic of Mother Teresa of Calcutta claimed that she spent her life manipulating public opinion by using the poorest of the poor to make herself look good. A critic of the critic responded with this challenge, "Just try to live the way she did for one year and see how long you could take it." The truth silenced the lie. Indeed, it is Christ Jesus who is for us true wisdom of God. He is our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption so that we might make our boast in the Lord. This is our calling to reveal the wisdom of God in a life of self-sacrifice and compassion. Indeed, this is our true dignity.

This parable has been so misunderstood. Some claim that the Lord Jesus is trying to assert his love for the rich when he states, "For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Such an interpretation ignores the context of the Master's statement. This parable is about the joy of the Master that will enrich the lives of those who trust in him and live according to his teaching. The man who had five talents and the man with two talents trusted in the Master and used what was given to them to build up the Kingdom. The man who had only one talent was afraid and believed that the Master was demanding and harvested where he did not sow. It was his lack of trust that motivated him to bury his talent. Such fear only leads to real poverty. It is trust that leads to true wealth in the Kingdom of God. Indeed, talents are best seen as the gifts of faith that enable us to take risks and invest in life Eternal. It is our faith that makes us truly rich, even though we may be poor, weak and insignificant in the eyes of the world.