Back to the Future.

[Matilda]

Our church is introducing the "new" Mass translations bit by bit - a Kyrie one week, a Gloria the next. A good idea, but I just wish they wouldn't persist in the lie that it's a new translation - it isn't, most of it is simply lifted from the 1962 translation of the Tridentine Latin Mass. No creativity involved, no imagination, no scholarship. Just adherence to the old pre-Vatican II Mass. Hardly surprising, given that Cardinal Pell was in charge. He's such a troglodyte, still hankering after the certainties of the rigid church of his childhood – everything set in stone, so as not to frighten the horses.

We certainly needed a better-quality translation, but this isn't it. I've visited a few conservative Catholic websites, and they're crowing – "last nail in the coffin for those liberal/progressive Vatican II types". Anyone who thinks this isn't a plot to turn back the clock is totally wrong.

We've been singing the "Kyrie" for a few weeks, and it's literally "Kyrie" - back to the Greek. I have no particular objection to the Greek, just to the fallacy that it's somehow new. And it's in Gregorian chant - nice, but we'd go hopelessly wrong without our very strong cantor to lead.

Mr Matilda sings with the choir, and they've been practising the new Gloria, to be introduced next Sunday. Again, it's Gregorian, and he says it's difficult to sing, and he's a trained singer. Good old Benny; loves his Gregorian chant. Apparently we are now allowed only a choice of five versions of sung responses, so no more playing around with the music.

Also next Sunday will come the new/old version of the "Confiteor" - remember the straightforward "I have sinned ... through my own fault..."? Now it's back to "through my fault, through my fault, through my own most grievous fault", hitting the breast three times as we say it. Just like everyone did back in the sixties. Bugger that - I am not going to do that whole breast-beating "I am a miserable worm" thing. John XXIII taught us that we weren't a miserable lot of sinners, that we were all - Christian and non-Christian - worthy of love and respect, and I'm a child of John XXIII. I'll hold my head up, thank you; I've got used to it over the last thirty years.

So, what is your church doing? And how do you like it?

[hedgehog]

1. I agree with the attempt to return to the entire "I'm a miserable worm thing."

We're getting a lot of sermons (not homilies!) about how we all need to go to Confession and "get right with God". Of course, this has nothing to do with the fact that this puts the priest in the judgment seat!
I am in favor of personal confession when the sinner is in need of counseling - that's how it all started back in Ireland while folks on the Continent were still condemning sinners to sackcloth and ashes. But to suggest that we're all in a state of mortal sin is nonsense!

[Matilda]

2. There's a definite move from the Vatican to bring back "the sense of sin".

I agree - individual confession, when needed, is very cathartic, and a regular examination of conscience is something we can all benefit from.

It's the idea that we are all unworthy of God's grace that no longer sits well with me; that we should continually beat ourselves up over our failings. Recognise that we regularly fail to meet even our own standards, seek counselling when necessary,work to become better people -all these are necessary for a Christian life. But nobody should ever encourage us to think that we are not worthy of God's love and mercy, which is infinite.

Vatican II focussed less on the sense of sin and more on the sense of life and love, and I prefer the positiveness of that way of thinking. John XXIII's arms were big enough to embrace everybody – never did he engender a sense of fear or retribution. I truly believe that is what God's love means – "Do not be afraid".

I think Benedict wants us to be afraid - very afraid.

[rug]

3. It will be introduced on the first Sunday in Advent in the U.S.

I think it's going to be introduced in its entirety, not piecemeal. Each Sunday they're placing an insert into the bulletin explaining it and contrasting selected trasnslations.

You're right, much of it sounds very familiar.

[Matilda]

4. Given the difficulty of the music,

I think it's a good idea that our p.p. has chosen to introduce it bit by bit; otherwiseI think it would be a shambles. Even the Kyrie we sang last Sunday was tricky, and that's short.

Even with the words up on the screen in front of us, everybody replied to "The Lord be with you" by saying "And also with you" - it's going to take time.

[hedgehog]

5. I wonder if people are not seeing the new words or deliberately

not saying the new words!

[Matilda]

6. I have to say, speaking personally,

the old words just popped out!

The brain clearly wasn't engaged.

[hedgehog]

7. That's something the Vatican never took into consideration. It's one

thing to switch from Latin to English, but it's quite another to switch from one English phrase to another. I think this goes deep into the speech centers of the brain.

[Matilda]

8. Today, with the words on the screen again,

it was probably 50-50 the old and the old/new. You could clearly hear both.

But at the end of the mass, when the priest raised his hands for the blessing, with nothing on the screen, and said "the Lord be with you", it was 100% "And also with you". I couldn't help laughing to myself.

You're right - the responses have become ingrained, and it takes more than a command to get them out of our heads. Similarly, if I heard a priest say "dominus vobiscum", I'd automatically say "et cum spiritu tuo". I'm programed to do it, even though we haven't used those phrases for about forty years. It's easier to learn something new than to forget the old familiar phrases.

[Matilda]

9. Update on where we are now.

In the running order, this is what we have now:

We don't say the Confiteor, because nobody wants to do the breast-beating thing. Many of our priests dropped it long ago anyway, but now nobody says it, and if we have a visiting priest, there's no way the congregation are going to carry out the instructions.

Although our 10.30 mass is sung, we just say the Gloria, because the version in the mass we've been using is too awful. It was very happy-clappy Hillsong stuff; the men's choir hated it, and when the p.p. heard it, he decided it had to go. So the congregation never even got to hear it.

We now say the Apostle's Creed rather than the Nicene Creed because the priests are unhappy with the word "consubstantial" in the Nicene.

We let the choir sing the Sanctus, because in our version, it's very tricky, with lots of legato. Ditto with the Agnus Dei - even the choir haven't quite got that one down.

Part of the problem we have is that being a Jesuit community, they chose the mass written by a Jesuit, but quite possibly one of the other four approved might be better, and perhaps in time we'll be allowed to try something different.

We still don't always remember to say "And With Your Spirit", unless it's on the screen in front of us, and the same goes for the other changes. Some people get it right; some don't.

I have yet to speak to anybody who likes the changes - some of the congregation don't care one way or the other; they'll just do whatever they're told, but others dislike them intensely and think they're stupid. Nobody thinks they're an improvement, and many are just bewildered.