As I write, at 9:00AM this Saturday morning, Mountain Standard Time for us in the US on the last day of the Church year, Advent has already begun for our friends in New Zealand. And this is no ordinary First Sunday of Advent for them.
New Zealand has already implemented the new translation of the Roman Missal.
I am told by a priest friend and fellow summer student at the Liturgical Institute who is a pastor in Christchurch that the new translation of the Order of Mass only is being implemented. The rest of the texts remain in the 1973 translation. A missalette has been produced that contains all of the new texts which are used by people and priest alike.
I hope to get a full report on how things went to share on the Chant Café. So far there are no reports of riots or any other apocalyptic occurrences. In solidarity with our brothers and sisters in New Zealand let us rejoice in this beginning of a new era of liturgical renewal in the English speaking world!
It's a glorious thing! Let's pray that final bumps in the road toward the release of the final Missal itself, including the propers and orations, can be ironed out so that there is good news all around this time next year.
I'm not sure I'd be too overjoyed about a premature implementation, especially if the preparation is limited to merely saying a different set of words. Anyone who has studied the new translation knows that there is more involved than that, or this blog would have half as much to write about.
There is also the matter of typographical errors in the final texts which are being corrected, or so it has been reported. Those countries which started early will simply end up having to revise their texts again in a couple of years, if only in little things here and there.
Confusion, in the course of pursuing a good thing, is not always a good thing. You don't always get where you're going.
Actually, this is a great sign. Remember, the Ordinary pretty much escaped unscathed. In fact, the composers have had their hands on the text since 2008. This is a moment of great joy for everyone.
This reminded me of my anticipation over watching the small pacific island of Kiribati celebrate the new millennium and…..it did not apocalyptically blow up. Hooray! May God continue to prosper the work of our hands.
We have been using the 'New Translation' in South Africa for I guess about three years now. Naturally we had some speed bumps and the inevitable complaints from amongst us lay people and possibly more so from the Clergy. We are now quite used to it and it works very well.
Here is a link to the missalette as approved and distributed to every parish by our Bishops Conference. http://www.trinityjhb.co.za/neworderofthemass.pdf