Jogging our memories, I’m sure we can recall the liturgical branding for the new translation of the Mass. “New words, deeper meaning, same Mass.” Initially prepared to go with the flow, after a little while I found the cognitive dissonance became too apparent. What we got were old words with foreign meanings and a Mass Read more
When Pope Francis issued his motu proprio on liturgical translation (Magnum principium) in September, most of the commentary that followed was focused on the change in Canon Law this enacted, which strengthened the role of bishops’ conferences. The 2001 Vatican instruction on translation, Liturgiam authenticam, had strongly centralized authority in Rome and diminished the role of the bishops’ conferences. Read more
The Bishop of Palmerston North Charles Drennan says the clunky sentence construction and often awkward vocabulary in the six-year-old translation of the Mass have tested us all, “Notwithstanding the introduction of some evocative language.” Writing in Welcom, Drennan made a plea for patience in regard to what action may be taken in New Zealand as a consequence Read more
Pope Francis has changed Catholic Canon law – and met with some intense reactions. At stake here is the language used for the Mass and the question of who has the responsibility for translating the Catholic liturgy into regional languages. So why should this issue be so very controversial in the 21st century? Early history As a Read more
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI says “obscuring” God in the liturgy is the root cause of the current crisis in the Church. In the preface to a new Russian edition of his book “Theology of the Liturgy”, Benedict writes that a widespread misunderstanding of the liturgical reform led to people placing their “own activity and creativity Read more
“Magnum Principium” is one of the major documents of Francis’ pontificate. For this reason it deserves an analysis that is not only one of historical-theological context—and not just from the point of view of its possible consequences for the liturgical texts in English—but also an analysis of the institutional context in which it was decided and published. Read more
It is not news that the liturgy has been a contested field in Catholic life over the past few decades. Opposition to liturgical reform began even before the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, and increased from 1964 onward, when reforms like the use of English and the practice of the priest facing the people Read more
Fr Harrison Ayre is a priest in the diocese of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. On his Twitter account he describes himself as “Priest for the theologian. canucks fan. vintage jazz enthusiast. beer snob. reader of books. He is pretty impressed with his godson’s two-year-old liturgical knowledge. Have a look and see why
Sacramental altar wine used to need ecclesiastical approval. It sort of still does. In 1995 the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference decided that, “Given the more frequent practice of Holy Communion under both kinds, it seems opportune to assure priests that it is no longer necessary always to use ‘ecclesiastically approved’ wine”. A widespread practice Read more
Today in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, we go back to Ordinary Time. At first, the designation might seem a bit peculiar, since the word “ordinary” is oftentimes associated with things that are unimportant, insignificant, or just downright boring. The Church couldn’t possibly mean these types of things when speaking of the liturgy Read more