|
Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan announced today that the Canon, the
most sacred part of the Mass, will be said in English beginning Sunday, Oct.
22.
He said the move resulted from the 90 per cent majority of
American bishops who voted by mail this month to put the new Canon to immediate
use. It is now the “sole permitted text,” the archbishop said.
The date was set by the vote, and is about six weeks earlier than
the first Sunday of Advent, the date rumored for several months.
Archbishop Hallinan, chairman of the bishops’ liturgy
commission, said the inserts of the new international English text are being
printed by three Catholic book publishers and will be delivered shortly after
Oct.1.
A conference of all archdiocesan priests has been scheduled for
Oct. 17, Father Henry Gracz, priest-secretary of the Archdiocesan Liturgy
Commission said.
The new version has been in preparation for about a year by a team
of scholars from the ten participating English speaking hierarchies, the
archbishop commented.
He said no new books are necessary since the inserts will fit the
present missals and sacramentaries. No further changes are anticipated until
the Apostolic Synod and Pope Paul VI authorize the newly-revived form of the
Mass.
The archbishop said, “The English Canon has been prepared by
a team of excellent scholars from many fields. It has now won the overwhelming
approval (90 percent favorable) of the American bishops. Soon it will be heard
in every church.”
For the first time since Vatican II opened up the possibility of
the vernacular liturgy, the ancient and consecratory prayer of the Eucharist
will be heard in our native tongue throughout the land.
What does this mean? It means that the Church was not engaged in
double-talk when the Liturgy Constitution insisted on full, conscious and
active participation of the people.
It reminds us of the first bishop of the United States, Archbishop
John Carroll of Baltimore, who begged that English he permitted in this new
country. It reminds us of Ricchi and the other Jesuit missioners to China in
the 16th and 17th centuries, their noble work frustrated by Roman
refusal to permit vernacular and other native rites. Council Fathers will
recall Oct. 24, 1962 when the learned Cardinal Eugene Tisserant reminded them
that many languages have been used, Hebrew, Greek, Chinese and Slavic,
depending on the needs of the people.
Latin served us well in Western Europe during the centuries of
consolidation, just as Greek served the Church in its formative stage. Now with
the urgency of modern languages, it is certainly time for our people to speak
to God, and Him to them, in a language they can understand.
This translation is the first published project of the
International Committee on English in the Liturgy, and Archbishop Hallinan
praised the committee for its efforts.
“I hope it is clear,” said the archbishop, “that we
need no new liturgical books for this welcome development. The translation is
on a temporary basis and we expect it to be supplemented in the near future by
alternative eucharistic prayers already prepared by the postconciliar
liturgical commission or Consilium. Since the present change does not require
any new texts or responses to be said by the people, books and booklets for
congregational participation will not be affected.”
The final point made by the archbishop was pastoral: “This
reform places a new responsibility on priests—first, to recite this
central prayer of the Mass effectively and deliberately, without hurry or
routine; next, to help people to appreciate the profound meaning of each phrase
of the present Canon of the Mass. It is only when these texts are in our own
language that we can appreciate them in the setting of the eucharistic
celebration.”
The text (Copyright 1967, International Committee on English in
the Liturgy) follows:
We come to you, Father, in this spirit of thanksgiving, through
Jesus Christ your Son. Through him we ask you to accept and bless these gifts
we offer you in sacrifice.
We offer them for your holy Catholic Church. Watch over it and
guide it; grant it peace and unity throughout the world. We offer them for Paul
our pope, for Paul our bishop, and for all who hold and teach the catholic
faith that comes to us from the apostles.
Remember, Lord, your people, especially those for whom we now
pray: N. and N. Remember all of us gathered here before you. You know how
firmly we believe in you and dedicate ourselves to you. We offer you this
sacrifice of praise for ourselves and all who are dear to us. We pray to you,
our living and true God, for our well-being and redemption.
In union with the whole Church we honor the memory of the saints.
We honor Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus Christ our Lord. We honor Joseph, her
husband, the apostles Peter and Paul, Andrew, James and John, Thomas, James
Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon, and Jude, Linuse Cletus, Clement, Sixtus,
Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian,
the martyrs and all the saints. May their merits and prayers gain us your
constant help and protection. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Father, accept this offering from your whole family. Grant us your
peace in this life, save us from final damnation, and count us among those you
have chosen. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bless and approve our offering: make it truly spiritual and
acceptable. Let it become for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ, your only
Son, our Lord.
The day before he suffered he took bread, and looking up to
heaven, to you, his almighty Father, he gave you thanks and praise. He broke
the bread, gave it to his disciples and said: Take this and eat it, all of you:
this is my body.
When supper was ended, he took the cup. Again he gave you thanks
and praise, gave the cup to his disciples and said: Take this and drink from
it, all of you; this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and
everlasting covenant—the mystery of faith. This blood is to be shed for
you and for all men so that sins may be forgiven. Whenever you do this, you
will do it in memory of me.
So now, Lord, we celebrate the memory of Christ, your Son. We,
your people and your ministers, recall his passion, his resurrection from the
dead, and his ascension into glory. And from the many gifts you have given us
we offer to you, God of glory and majesty, this holy and perfect sacrifice: the
bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation.
Look with favor on these offerings. Accept them as you did the
gifts of your just servant, Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in
faith, and the offering of your priest Melchisedech.
Almighty God, we pray that your angel may take this sacrifice to
your altar in heaven. Then, as we receive from this altar the sacred body and
blood of your Son, let us be filled with every grace and blessing. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Remember, Lord, those who have died. N. and N. They have gone
before us marked with the sign of faith, and are now at rest. May these, and
all who sleep in Christ, find in your presence light, happiness, and peace.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
For ourselves, too, we ask a place with your apostles and martyrs,
with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Bartnabas, Ignatius, Alexander,
Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecelia,
Anastasia, and all the saints. Though we are sinners, we trust in your mercy
and love. Do not consider what we truly deserve, but grant us your forgiveness,
through Christ our Lord.
Through him, in him, with him, in unity of the Holy Spirit, all
glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever, Amen.
SPEICAL SEASONAL PRAYERS
1.Christmas
In union with the whole Church we celebrate the day (night) when
Mary, ever a virgin, gave this world its savior. We honor the memory of the
saints…
2. Epiphany
In union with the whole Church we celebrate the day when your only
Son, sharing your endless glory, showed himself in human flesh. We honor the
memory of the saints…
3.Holy Thursday
In union with the whole Church we celebrate the day when Jesus
Christ, our Lord was betrayed for us. We honor the memory of the saints. We
honor Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus. We honor Joseph, her husband…
Father, accept this offering from your whole family in memory of
the day when Jesus Christ, our Lord, gave the mysteries of his body and blood
for his disciples to celebrate. Grant us your peace in this life…
The day before he suffered to save us and all men, that is today,
he took bread and,….
4.Easter
In union with the whole Church we celebrate the day (night) when
Jesus Christ, our Lord, rose in the flesh. We honor the memory of the saints.
We honor Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus. We honor Joseph, her husband…
Father accept this offering from your whole family and from those
born in the new life of water and the Holy Spirit, whose sins are now forgiven.
Grant us your peace in this life…
5.Ascension
In union with the whole Church we celebrate the day when your only
son, our Lord, took his place with you and raised our fragile flesh to glory.
We honor the memory of the saints. We honor Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus.
We honor Joseph, her husband…
6. Pentecost
In union with the whole Church we celebrate the day of Pentecost
when the Holy Spirit appeared to the apostles in countless tongues. We honor
the memory of the saints..
7.Episcopal consecration
Father, accept this offering from your whole family and from me,
chosen for the order of bishop. Protect the gifts you have given me, and let
them yield a harvest worthy of you. Grant us your peace in this life…
8.Episcopal consecration –Easter and Pentecost
Father, accept this offering from your whole family and from those
born in the new life of water and the Holy Spirit, whose sins are now forgiven.
And accept this offering from me, chosen for the order of bishop. Protect the
gifts you have given me, and let them yield a harvest worthy of you. Grant us
your place in this life… |
