The New English Translation of the Roman Missal

Introduction

Before leaving England last September, Pope Benedict XVI asked the Bishops of England and Wales to prepare for the introduction of the new translation of the Roman Missal. Work on this new translation has been ongoing since the publication of the new Latin edition of the Missal in 2002.

The translation of the Roman Missal is now complete and the Holy See has given its recognito on the text. Following the Holy Father's encouragement that this new translation is an opportunity for in-depth catechesis on the Eucharist and renewed devotion in the manner of its celebration, our Bishops have decided that from September 2011 the Order of Mass in the new translation will be used in parishes in England and Wales. Cards and booklets for the people's parts will be available from June, and the official texts are already available on websites, as is the music of the Missal which all English-speaking Catholics are expected to use, and for which we will be preparing after Easter.

Then, for 3 months, from September 2011 until the start of Advent in December 2011, there will be catechesis in parishes both on the new translation and on the Mass itself. This will precede the publication of the new Missal which is expected by Advent 2011. Some parishes, rather than leaving it so late, when people are returning from holiday and starting school, will be embarking upon explaining and teaching during this coming Season of Lent and Eastertide.

Our own National Liturgical Commission has said Here is a great opportunity. Let's take it! We hope that as many members of the parish as possible will take advantage of the catechetical sessions to be offered in the coming months - wonderful opportunities for us to open and welcome the gifts of spiritual and liturgical theology contained within the Mass.

Pope Benedict in his recent book, Light of the World says:

The place where the Church is actually experienced most of all as Church is the Liturgy. And that is as it should be. At the end of the day,the point of the Church is to turn us toward God and to enable God to enter into the world. The Liturgy is the act in which we believe that He enters our lives and that we touch Him. It is the act in which what is really essential takes place. We come into contact with God. He comes to us - and we are illuminated by Him.

The Liturgy gives us strength and guidance in two forms (His Word and the transformed Bread). ... The essential point is that the Word of God and the reality of the Sacrament really occupy centre stage...

For Catholics, to improve our celebration of the Eucharist is not a secondary matter, it is absolutely central to all we do and are. While all of us will find it hard to adjust to unfamiliar texts are nearly forty years of continuous use of the previous translation, nevertheless the essential point is to take the opportunity offered - by adopting the new translation to deepen our encounter with God, and to grapple with the mysteries of the faith with a renewed biblical and doctrinal understanding.

Bishop Arthur Roche, Bishop of Leeds and Chairman of our Department for Christian Life and Worship said: The new translation is a great gift to the Church ... in which we find a text that is more faithful to the Latin and therefore a text which is richer in its theological content and allusions to the scriptures but also a translation which, I believe, will move people's hearts and minds in prayer.

This is a tremendous opportunity to learn about the Mass and to deepen our Faith so that these changes will serve as a springboard for a renewal and a deepening of our Eucharistic devotion.

Meanwhile, priests and beginning to use some of the texts which do not directly affect the people's part, so as to accustom the laity (and themselves) to the richer language which will draw us deeper into the mystery of the Mass, expand our Faith, help us to appreciate the beauty of the Sacred Liturgy and the truths which have been partly obscured by the over-simple version which we have had in recent years. You can expect to hear and begin to recognise these richer, authentic texts, more full and faithful to the Latin original which we have been denied until now.