Reflections on the New Mass

Reflections on the New Mass
Travelling Across Space and Time
We have been publishing periodically reflections on the new Mass translation and have provided you with some side-by-side comparisons of the old and the new words of the Mass. You may be asking yourselves “Why?” Why do we need, or want, to go to a new translation that is truer to the original Latin and Greek words? Why do we want to go back and speak like ancient Greeks, Romans and Jews, after all we do not share in their cultural heritage or customs? We need to remember, however, that when speaking of liturgical language we are inexplicably tied to the religious culture that produced it. The language of our liturgy is not so much Latin, Greek, or English. The language is Christian. It is the language we use in the liturgy of the Mass that connects us in the here and now with the ancients. It is also this common language that connects today’s Catholics across the country and the world. Isn’t this awesome? Our Mass has travelled across space and time to unite us in Christ. Our translation of the Mass is a living translation that grows with our love and understanding of our faith heritage. Let us open our hearts and minds to the new translation. Picture our brothers and sisters in the ancient holy lands speaking the same words we speak today. Can you feel their heartbeats? Can you feel Jesus connecting us all in infinite love no matter what language we are speaking? Let us thank God for our family in faith.