On the Horizon--More Changes

This will create quite a firestorm when it happens, but it is my hope that it might lead to a real renewal of liturgical life in this country.



From The Tablet:



"The first draft translation of ICEL's new Missal is being sent out to bishops' conferences this month. From a copy obtained by The Tablet , it is clear that the change in approach is startling. The Confiteor , for example, begins: "I confess to Almighty God/and to you, my brothers and sisters/that I have sinned exceedingly." At the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer, the celebrant says: "The Lord be with you" to which the congregation replies: "And with your spirit." He says: "Let our hearts be lifted high." They reply: "We hold them before the Lord." He says: "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God." They reply: "It is right and just." Preparing the altar, the priest says: "By the mystery of this water and wine / may we be made partakers in his divinity / who deigned to share in our humanity." At the consecration he says: "Who on the day before he was to suffer / took bread into his holy and venerable hands." The Creed, perhaps surprisingly, says "For us and for our salvation", but in Eucharistic Prayer IV gender-inclusive language is jettisoned: "You formed man in your own image / and entrusted the whole world to his care".