Coming To A Parish Near You

I know you have been waiting for it.

You're going to have to wait just a little bit longer for it.

That's right, the new English translation of the Roman Missal will debut in Advent 2011!

It looks like Rome has done an excellent job with this one.

How do I know? Because there are already people complaining about it before it is even released! Here's the article for you to read.

I love the complaints that appear in this article.

Here's a few quotes:

"It will impact every Catholic in every parish because they will have to learn new responses in place of the ones they have been using since Vatican II," Reese said. "I believe that the new translations are a step backwards and confusing to the people in the pews."

Critics contend the translation is too literal and includes too many theologically complex terms.

I really enjoy the rationale behind this as well:

Critics like Bishop Trautman argue that Jesus Christ taught in the language of the common man and, further, that Vatican II reforms that first allowed the Mass to be translated from Latin to the vernacular are being unraveled by the more complicated words used in the new translation.

What are some of these big changes?

Those who have reviewed the translation say it requires new responses from church members in about a dozen places in the Mass. Generally, those responses are relatively simple, as when members will respond "And with your spirit" after the celebrant says, "The Lord be with you." The current response is, "And also with you."

Yikes! I don't know if your average parishioner will be able to handle that!

Enough about the people. What difficult things will the priests have to change and say?

Currently, priests dismisses the congregation by saying, "The Mass is ended; go in peace." Priests will now have four more specific options, including two suggested by Pope Benedict XVI: "Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord" and "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life."

Prayers offered by the priest will include more complex terms such as "consubstantial," "inviolate," "oblation," "ignominy" and "suffused."

If the priest doesn't know what those words mean, and if they cannot explain them to their parishioners, maybe there needs to be an investigation by Rome as to what is being taught at their seminaries in the United States.


That's right, Jesus didn't use big words, let alone complex thoughts, nor did the authors of the Bible. Or the early church. I guess we shouldn't either when we worship.

Just For Fun

I came across this blog and I feel compelled to share.

Maybe you can find out what your pastor is hiding under his clerical!

Enjoy!

Lutherans Ashamed of the Mass?

While following a news story regarding upcoming changes to the missal of the Roman Catholic Church, I found myself wandering around the Archdiocese of Milwaukee website. The image above caught my eye. Of course I clicked on the pretty picture and was taken to this site.

Wow! Why can't our synodical district websites look like this? Furthermore, looking at the Living Our Faith initiative, there is more substance there than "the-program-that-cannot-be-spoken-unless-you-want-to-get-sued-by-the-LCMS". The message is so simple, "See You At Mass." It looks like they're a sacramental church body.

Here's the question - Why is the LCMS afraid to be sacramental?

Look at your district's website. Is there a something there to let the average person know that the LCMS puts the sacraments as a central part of its beliefs? On a congregational level, it may be a different case. Right now, I am focusing on the district level and higher.

Look at the Lutheran Confessions, specifically the Apology to the Augsburg Confession XXIV - The Mass. The section is titled, The Mass! The first paragraph states, "At the outset we must again make the preliminary statement that we do not abolish the Mass, but religiously maintain and defend it. For among us masses are celebrated every Lord's Day and on the other festivals, in which the Sacrament is offered to those who wish to use it, after they have been examined and absolved. And the usual public ceremonies are observed, the series of lessons, of prayers, vestments, and other like things." (Italics mine.)

Why do some in Lutheranism prefer an a la carte approach when it comes to the Lutheran Confessions and Lutheran doctrine that are believed, promoted, and taught?


I'm not at the banks of the River Tiber. I'm not looking to cross over, nor am I promoting such things. I am just asking a question that needs a serious answer.

Why are Lutherans ashamed to publicly proclaim the centrality of the Mass?