Roman Church Moves Forward

One particular criticism often leveled at the Roman Catholic Church is that it never changes. When you are the "front man" so to speak for the uncreated, unchanging God, that attribute begins to make sense.

But in actuality, the Roman Church does change and it does respond the to the worship and pastoral needs of Roman Catholics around the world. The latest example of this is the release of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal. From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops comes this explanation of how the new Missal has come about.

"The Roman Missal is the book containing the prescribed prayers, chants, and instructions for the celebration of Mass in the Roman Catholic Church. Published first in Latin under the title Missale Romanum, the text is then translated and, once approved by a recognitio by the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, is published in modern languages for use in local churches throughout the world. In 2002, Pope John Paul II introduced a new edition of the Missale Romanum (editio typica tertia, the “third typical edition” [since the Second Vatican Council]) for use in the Church. Soon after, the complex work of translating the text into English began. As the Church in the United States and throughout the English-speaking world prepares to introduce the new edition of the Missal, so does the Church in other countries as the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia is translated into other languages. The process of implementing a new edition of the prayers of the Mass is not new, but has occurred numerous times throughout the history of the Church as the Liturgy developed and was adapted to particular circumstances to meet the needs of the Church."

For many of us in the Anglican Communion, we have found the Roman Eucharistic Mass to be dry and devoid of the richness of the Latin Mass and a mere shadow texturally of the Anglican Rite. This new Missal restores the personal presence of God to those worshipping and should prove a popular change around the world.