Third Edition of the Roman Missal

Letter to the Community from Dominic Bruno, CFF:
Did you stumble over your prayers today? While we have known the 3rd edition of the Roman Missal has been coming out for months, foreknowledge doesn't help the words flow any easier. Despite the difficulty of learning new prayers, I am excited about this change. I'll list two reasons below.

Not only do we hear the Word of God proclaimed at Mass in the Readings, Psalm, and Gospel, many of the Mass prayers are Scripture based. The revised Roman Missal will make these allusions and references clearer. For example, as you pray "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed," you will be nearly quoting the Roman Centurion's words to Jesus found in Matthew 8.

The prayers that we say at Mass are declarations of our Catholic belief. Though the new translation may seem more formal and technical, take heart that when you say the Son is "consubstantial" with the Father, you are proclaiming an essential truth that the Church has protected from repeated heresies for 1700 years.

Hopefully the bulletin inserts of the past months have helped you understand the changes. If you would like more resources, please talk to me. Also, I have a few web links that I’d be happy to give you if you email me.

In Christ,
Dominic Bruno, Coordinator of Faith Formation
November 27, 2011