On November 27, 2011, The First Sunday of Advent, Roman Catholics throughout the English-speaking world will begin using a new translation of the texts used at Mass. This will be the first time in history that English-speaking Catholics will share the same common Missal. The new Missal, which is the culmination of almost 20 years of work involving historians, linguists, theologians and liturgists, will alter in which the way we articulate our common faith at the Eucharist.
Through Faith Formation, parents play a vital role alongside other members of the community. Catechesis is not just for children! Every Catholic is invited to walk with Christ in his or her daily life, to learn to love the richness of our Catholic tradition, to cultivate a life of prayer, and to grow in the virtues of compassion and mercy.
The new texts will be printed in the missalettes we use at Mass. Catechesis will be offered through Faith Formation and Our Lady of the Valley School. Materials will be provided at church and sent to the homes of our parishioners. Periodically, articles will be printed in the parish bulletin pertaining to the changes. Below is some background on one of the biggest changes we’ll notice at Mass.
Now we say, "I confess to almighty God and to you my
brothers and sisters that I have sinned through my own fault in my
thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have
failed to do."
Beginning November 27, we'll say: I confess to
almighty God and to you my brothers and sisters that I have
greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have
done and what I have failed to do, through my fault, through
my fault, through my most grievous fault."
First, it is important to remember that the revised translation more faithfully renders what's already been there for centuries in the original Latin. The phrase, mea cupla, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa literally means, "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault."
Secondly, the revised text invites us to reflect on some theological truths. The phrase, "that I have greatly sinned," is taken directly from the scriptures. They are the words spoken by King David in the Old Testament. King David's life was far from perfect. He nonetheless, trusted in God's mercy. We who pray the Confiteor make King David's words our own. We may have failed in big and small ways. We are invited, however, to trust in God's mercy as he trusted.
Also, the repetition of "through my fault," three times echoes other moments in the liturgy when words and phrases are repeated three times: the "Holy, Holy, Holy" during the Eucharistic prayer, the "Lamb of God" during the Communion Rite, the "Alleluia" before the Gospel. A good rule of thumb: when a word or phrase is repeated at a specific point during the liturgy it means that the Church through the liturgy is proclaiming an important theological truth about God's relationship to us and vice versa.
The Confiteor ("I Confess") prayer is not meant to make us think badly about ourselves. It's there to make us think rightly about ourselves. We are all somewhat different from each other: young and old, male and female, rich and poor. Yet we all share something in common before God. We're all flawed and broken human beings. We're all (without exception) in need of God's gracious help. Honestly, before God we stand as beggars.
In the journey to holiness, humility is a must. Often today, humility is misunderstood. People think it's about allowing oneself to be treated like a 'doormat' or a pushover. But humility is really about being honest with ourselves. It's about recognizing who we are and who we are not. Even the ancient Greeks understood that. "Know thyself," said the Delphic Oracle. Christians recognize humility as the first rung on the ladder to holiness. The final rung is charity.
It is for this reason that we are called to begin the Mass acknowledging where we stand and being swilling to go (or climb!) where Christ calls us.