Revised Roman Missal Resources

Vatican Approved Revised English-Roman Missal Translation 

Implementation Set for First Sunday of Advent 2011
-U.S. Adaptations to Mass Prayers Also Approved
-Parish Education Efforts Begin
-Catechetical Resources Available

Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), announced that the full text of the  English-language translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, has been issued for the dioceses of the United States of America. The text was approved by the Vatican  in a letter on June 23.  Cardinal Llovera Antonio Cañizares, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, issued the approval.  

Click here for free resources available now.

The Roman Missal

The revised Roman Missal for English speaking nations was approved by Rome August, 2011.  Pastoral leaders are checking out resources to catechize parishioners and get them ready. See www.usccb.org/romanmissal; www.icelweb.org/news.htm; www.fdlc.org; www.liturgy.nd.edu/webcatechesis; http://www.becomeonebodyonespiritinchrist.org/; www.revisedromanmissal.org; www.wlp.jspalauch.com; and www.ltp.org/.  (There are, of course, many more links and resources to explore). 

None of the revised texts may be used in weekday or Sunday liturgies until the entire English-speaking world implements the revised Roman Missal on November 27, 2011, the First Sunday of Advent.  These countries include, and are not limited to, Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Gambia-Liberia-Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Singapore, Malawi, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, USA, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Scheduling Mass for 2010-2011 Christmas Season

The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) have clarified the use of the liturgical calendar in December and January in the BCDW Newsletter:

1.  Our Lady of Guadalupe:  The First Sunday of Advent has precedence over Our Lady of Guadalupe so the feast may be transferred to Saturday, Dec. 11, or Monday, Dec. 13, "in those places where the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe has very special significance."

2.  Christmas and Holy Family:  Christmas occurs on Saturday, and Sunday, Dec. 26, is the feast of the Holy Family.  Christmas has precedence in the liturgical calendar over the feast of the Holy Family so the BCDW has stated that "any Mass celebrated on the evening of Dec. 25 is a Mass of Christmas, not the Holy Family. . .  Pastors and other priests should not feel obliged to schedule a Mass with the people on Christmas evening, even if a Saturday evening Mass is usually on the parish schedule.  On a night when families (and many priests themselves) gather at homes for Christmas dinner, a Christmas Mass on Saturday evening would likely not be attended by many people," the BCDW observed and noted the practical problem of locating liturgical ministers for such a Mass time.

3.  Solemnity of Mary and Epiphany:   The solemnity of Mary, Mother of God falls on January 1 and the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (officially January 6 but celebrated in the United States on the first Sunday in January) occur on the same weekend.  As a result, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God is not a holy day of obligation for 2011 because it falls on a Saturday.  The BCDW noted that "Although both are ranked at number 3 in the table of liturgical days, as a solemnity of the Lord, the Epiphany outranks the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God . . . (and) just as the mother of God points the way and leads us to her Son, her solemnity gives way to the Epiphany."  As a result, Masses on the evening of January 1 are to be celebrated as the vigil of the Epiphany.

LITURGICAL CALENDAR
2010 TO 2014


2010/2011 – Cycle A, Year I

1st Sunday of Advent – Sunday, November 28, 2010
Immaculate Conception – Wednesday, December 8, 2010 (Holy Day of Obligation)
Our Lady of Guadalupe (Observed) - December 11th (instead of 12th), 2010
Christmas Eve – Friday, Dec 24, 2010
Christmas Day – Saturday, December 25, 2010 (Holy Day of Obligation)
Mary, Mother of God – Saturday, January 1, 2011 (Holy Day Obligation abrogated – obligation to participate in Mass is lifted however, daily Mass will still celebrate the day.)
Ash Wednesday – Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Palm Sunday – Sunday, April 17, 2011
Holy Thursday – Thursday, April 21, 2011
Good Friday – Friday, April 22, 2011
Holy Saturday – Saturday, April 23, 2011
Easter – Sunday, April 24, 2011
Ascension (Observed on Sunday) – Sunday, June 5, 2011
Pentecost – Sunday, June 12, 2011
Body and Blood of Christ (Observed on Sunday) – Sunday, June 26, 2011
Assumption of Mary – Monday, August 15, 2011 (Holy Day Obligation is abrogated)
All Saints Day – Tuesday, November 1, 2011 (Holy Day of Obligation)

2011/2012 – Cycle B, Year II

1st Sunday of Advent – Sunday, November 27, 2011
Immaculate Conception – Thursday, December 8, 2011 (Holy Day of Obligation)
Christmas Eve – Saturday, December 24, 2011
Christmas Day – Sunday, December 25, 2011 (Holy Day of Obligation)
Mary, Mother of God – Sunday, January 1, 2012 (Holy Day of Obligation)
Ash Wednesday – Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Palm Sunday – Sunday, April 1, 2012
Holy Thursday – Thursday, April 5, 2012
Good Friday – Friday, April 6, 2012
Holy Saturday – Saturday, April 7, 2012
Easter – Sunday, April 8, 2012
Ascension (Observed on Sunday) – Sunday, May 20, 2012
Pentecost – Sunday, May 27, 2012
Body and Blood of Christ (Observed on Sunday) – Sunday, June 10, 2012
Assumption of Mary – Wednesday, August 15, 2012 (Holy Day of Obligation)
All Saints Day – Thursday, November 1, 2012 (Holy Day of Obligation)


2012/2013 – Cycle C, Year I

1st Sunday of Advent– Sunday, December 2, 2012
Immaculate Conception – Saturday, December 8, 2012
Christmas Eve –Monday, December 24, 2012
Christmas Day – Tuesday, December 25, 2012 (Holy Day of Obligation)
Mary, Mother of God – Tuesday, January 1, 2013 (Holy Day of Obligation)
Ash Wednesday – Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Palm Sunday – Sunday, March 24, 2013
Holy Thursday – Thursday, March 28, 2013
Good Friday – Friday, March 29, 2013
Holy Saturday – Saturday, March 30, 2013 (Civil Twilight in Atlanta: 8:22 PM)
Easter – Sunday, March 31, 2013
Ascension (Observed on Sunday) – Sunday, May 12, 2013
Pentecost – Sunday, May 19, 2013
Body and Blood of Christ (Observed on Sunday) – June 2, 2013
Assumption of Mary – Thursday, August 15, 2013 (Holy Day of Obligation)
All Saints Day – Friday, November 1, 2013 (Holy Day of Obligation)


2013/2014 – Cycle A, Year II

1st Sunday of Advent – Sunday, December 1, 2013
Immaculate Conception – Sunday, December 8, 2013 (Holy Day of Obligation)
Christmas Eve – Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Christmas Day – Wednesday, December 25, 2013 (Holy Day of Obligation)
Mary, Mother of God – Wednesday, January 1, 2014 (Holy Day of Obligation)
Ash Wednesday – Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Palm Sunday – Sunday, April 13, 2014
Holy Thursday – Thursday, April 17, 2014
Good Friday – Friday, April 18, 2014
Holy Saturday – Saturday, April 19, 2014
Easter – Sunday, April 20, 2014
Ascension (Observed on Sunday) – Sunday, June 1, 2014
Pentecost – Sunday, June 8, 2014
Body and Blood of Christ (Observed on Sunday) – Sunday, June 22, 2014
Assumption of Mary – Friday, August 15, 2014 (Holy Day of Obligation)
All Saints Day – Saturday, November 1, 2014 (Holy Day of Obligation abrogated)

JOIN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

When a person joins a club, there is usually a time of orientation about the group, a tour of its home base, and a fee.  If one is willing to pay the fee, however stiff it might be, that is usually the sign that you have been accepted as a member. 

The "normal" way to join the Catholic Church today involves a process that occurs over time.  For the cradle Catholic, initiation into the Church occurs over a period of seven to 15 years.  For one who is six years or older, the initiation process occurs over one to three years.  What is the difference?  The cradle Catholic is nurtured by Catholic parents in what is considered the "domestic Church" or the Catholic home.  The child is baptized as an infant but does not receive the other sacraments of initiation (confirmation and first communion) until the child absorbs Catholic habits from the parents.  Usually, that means the child learns formula prayers, goes to Mass every Sunday with the family, and learns how to read and ponder the Bible at home.  Catholic parents have help from the local parish through catechetical programs geared to the child during his/her developmental years.  By the time the child graduates from High School at age 18, Catholic habits of prayer, study, and weekly Eucharist are ingrained and the child has received the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and first communion.

In other settings, people over the age of seven want to join the Church, too.  Their initiation process is different from the cradle Catholic.  Since they are not born into the the "domestic Church" where they can absorb Catholic habits from parents, they need sponsors from the Catholic community to guide them.  They need to learn Catholic formula prayers, how to read the Bible every week to prepare for Sunday's liturgy, and how to make Sunday Mass a weekly habit.  They go through a period of apprenticeship in the faith called the catechumenate (or for baptized Christians, candidacy).  During this time they learn how to pray, study, and carry on the mission of Jesus with compassion and charity.  The Church wants them to spend at least one, at best, two years, walking the journey of life as a Catholic with other Catholics.  This gives them time to celebrate the life of Jesus through the Liturgical Year and Sunday liturgy (Word and Eucharist).  Because Catholics believe that faith is created through the proclamation of the Word, Sunday celebrations are key.  Because Catholics believe that they respond to the faith created in the Word through their weekly response in the celebration of the Eucharist where Catholics become what they eat and drink, the Body and Blood of Christ for the world, Sunday Eucharist is central to the rhythm of life.

To mark their growth in this apprenticeship to Catholicism, the Church gives them liturgical "mile markers" or rites.   These rites mark their growth in faith.  They are the Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults or RCIA.

Diocesan Worship Offices Meet

Every October, Offices of Worship from dioceses throughout the USA gather together under the title, Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions or FDLC.  The group was started by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) as an implementation arm of their Bishop's Committee on the Liturgy (now renamed Bishop Committee on Divine Worship or BCDW).  Their guide, in the early days, was Monsignor Frederick McManus who served as consultor to the Pontifical Preparatory Commission on the Sacred Liturgy for the Second Vatican Council and was a peritus (expert) at the Council. He had served as a consultor to the Consilium for the Implementation of the Constitution on the Liturgy that resulted from the Council. While on the faculty at Catholic University teaching canon law, Msgr. McManus served a term of ten years as the Director of the Secretariat of the Committee on the Liturgy of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. He nurtured the development and growth of the FDLC until his death in 2005.

This month, the FDLC is meeting in Alexandria Louisiana for it's annual meeting.  Setting aside its usual meeting format, the directors of diocesan Office of Worship have called in liturgical scholars to lead their study of the implementation of the revised Roman Missal.  Msgr. Anthony Sherman, today's USCCB secretariat on Divine Worship, will address the group regarding most recent issues.  (Watch subsequent LITURGY AND LIFE blogs for a report on his presentation.) 

Msgr. Kevin Irwin and Father Paul Turner will lead directors in further study. 

Msgr. Irwin has been a consultant to the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship since 2004 and is a member of the Leeds Group which was founded by Bishop Arthur Roche of the diocese of Leeds, England to prepare materials for the implementation of the third edition of the Roman Missal. 

Father Paul Turner is a former president of the North American Academy of Liturgy and is a team member for the North American Forum on the Catechumenate.  He has also served as a translator for the International Commission on English in the Liturgy  (ICEL) and will update diocesan directors on the latest status of the revised translations. 

Later in the week, Fr. Andrew Wadworth, a priest of the Archdiocese of Westminster, England, will address the assembly regarding the work of ICEL.  In 2009, he was appointed General Secretary to ICEL and will offer an update on the work of the commission. 

Father Paul Colloton will do a session on singing the liturgy as envisioned by the revised Roman Missal.