You gotta love this!

I came upon this as I was preparing my talk for our Pre-Cana session today...Providential????

Anyway, since Monmouth Park is just 5 minutes away, I thought y'all would enjoy this.

Come to the Parish Campout and the Bonfire Mass tonight! A great night to gather for some end of summer fun!

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has 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, and the approval was accompanied by a June 23 letter from Cardinal Llovera Antonio Cañizares, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The Congregation also provided guidelines for publication.

In addition, on July 24, the Vatican gave approval for several adaptations, including additional prayers for the Penitential Act at Mass and the Renewal of Baptismal Promises on Easter Sunday. Also approved are texts of prayers for feasts specific to the United States such as Thanksgiving, Independence Day and the observances of feasts for saints such as Damien of Molokai, Katharine Drexel, and Elizabeth Ann Seton. The Vatican also approved the Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life, which can be celebrated on January 22.

Cardinal George announced receipt of the documents in an August 20 letter to the U.S. Bishops and issued a decree of proclamation that states that “The use of the third edition of the Roman Missal enters into use in the dioceses of the United States of America as of the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011. From that date forward, no other edition of the Roman Missal may be used in the dioceses of the United States of America.”

We've received word from Rome that the new English translation of the Roman Missal has been completed and we can begin the process of catechizing American Catholics to prepare to receive this new translation of the Mass in English. Pictured above is a photo of a Mass being celebrated in the chapel of Moreau Seminary on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. I have been thinking a lot about scenes like this, and how they reflect the values of full, conscious, and active participation in the Liturgy. Back in July at the NPM convention (National Association of Pastoral Musicians), Sr. Kathleen Hughes, RSCJ gave a wonderful keynote address, reflecting on some of the current fears and hopes people have about the upcoming new translation. Check it out at: http://www.rscj.org/node/1212


I think Sr. Kathleen, (the first woman to receive a Doctorate in Liturgical Studies from the University of Notre Dame, and the first religious sister) is a voice of reason...at a time when lots of greatly religious people, are being drawn into the "liturgy wars" and polemics between, and among religions.

A treat for Assumption Day

Thanks to Fr. Austin Fleming over at A Concord Pastor Comments, I found this video from Busted Halo. Enjoy!

This past Tuesday and Wednesday, I attended a workshop for priests and diocesan leaders on "Receiving the Roman Missal" held nearby at Monmouth University. As you can imagine, lots of old friends from around the region showed up for the workshop, and I was very impressed by the great numbers of Trenton priests who showed up for the workshop.

The workshop was sponsored by the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (FDLC) and the Bishops' Committee on Divine Worship (BCDW) of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). This workshop is part of the national effort by the Cattholic Bishops to prepare the priests, laity, and others for a smooth reception of the new translation of the Roman Missal. As of this writing, we still do not have an official date for the Offical Implementation of the new Missal translation. The presenters at this workshop, being very good cheer-leaders, were giving us the message that we'll begin using the new book on the First Sunday of Advent, 2011. My friends from FDLC and I are not so optimistic....we think it may take another year to actually get a new book.

I have heard from friends in Rome and elsewhere that there are, even now, changes being made to the text of the translation that will be coming to us very soon. In point of fact, even the Bishops of the U.S. don't know what these changes will be. NOBODY knows what the text looks like at this point:....not the Bishops, not the publishers, and certainly not the liturgical advisors to the bishops.

This is certainly an interesting time for the American Church....keep singing, keep praying!