MAYNOOTH, Ireland, APRIL 21, 2011 (Zenit.org).- With a view to the introduction of the new edition of the Roman Missal in November, the Irish bishops are launching resources to help the faithful prepare.
The new English translation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal will be implemented this Advent, beginning Nov. 27.
The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference is offering several resources, including videos and books, to help the faithful become familiar with these text changes.
An informational pamphlet on “Introducing the New Missal” will be distributed to the parishes before the Second Sunday of Easter.
The bishops’ conference announced that the updated versions of the prayers and responses will be used during Mass beginning Sept. 11, to “make the change to the new missal as smooth as possible” in November.
The conference noted that this is “an opportunity to deepen our understanding of all that we are doing as we, the Christian community, gather to worship.”
It continued: “The use of a new edition of the missal is not simply about words or translation. The new missal will enable us to come to a deeper understanding of the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of the life of the Church.”
The bishops affirmed that this new edition “will bring a freshness and beauty to the language used at worship, capturing the biblical resonances of our prayers more clearly and the rich words and phrases of the prayers, many more than 1,200 years old.”
They noted that it will “provide priests and faithful with the opportunity not only to explore further the changes in words but also to continue to make our celebration of the Eucharist ever more reverent and beautiful, as the worship of God in thanksgiving for the gift of Jesus the Lord should be.”
They observed that this process of preparation is also under way in the context of Ireland’s readying for the International Eucharistic Congress in June 2012.
Diocesan teams have already attended workshops in Maynooth in preparation for the missal changes, and local initiatives will be under way in the next few months.
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On the Net:
Resources: www.liturgy-ireland.ie
