Tuesday, 29 March 2011

The New Missal...

The Catholic Truth Society is well on track to have the new Missal ready for Advent 2011. The new Missal is needed simply because the previous English translation of the Latin was pretty dire, there is no change to the Mass itself.

To allow us all to get used to the corrected translation, there will be interim Altar Missals available to cover the period from September to Advent. In addition, the current publications produced by the CTS which have the order of Mass, such as The Simple Prayer Book will have the corrected translation from June.

I'm delighted to hear that the CTS are planning to bid for the rights to publish  the hand Missals in time for Advent as well - the previous hand Missals had horrible artwork and the paper was so thin you could see the type on the other side as well. The bindings were terrible as well, and fell apart at the drop of a hat.

The CTS has a wonderful attitude towards liturgical books:

Since the new Missal is to have a more accurate and beautiful translation of the sacred texts, CTS felt that the volume ought also to reflect that beauty in its design and materials. We felt it important that this book of the altar be more than functional. The nature of the liturgy requires that it have a beauty and a presence which assists priests and faithful to worship within a sacred environment. The Congregation for Divine Worship’s own instruction on the Missal states that it “should be marked by such a dignity that the exterior appearance of the book itself will lead the faithful to a greater reverence for the word of God and for sacred realities” [Liturgiam Authenticam, 120]

It's incredibly encouraging. I realise that many people are of the opinion that, if the Mass would just be said in Latin there wouldn't be the need for the arguments over a "corrected" translation, but, since Mass is available in the vernacular, and the majority of people attend the Novus Ordo in the vernacular, it is important that the translation is accurate... as well as not sounding like a conversation one might hear anywhere on the street - Liturgy is supposed to be sacred!

Details about the timetable for producing the Altar Missals and People's Missals can be read on the CTS website.

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