Joan Lucas, a semi-retired teacher and cradle Catholic, has repeated the prayers and responses of Mass so often over the years that she no longer needs to read from the Roman Missal.
But on Nov. 27, the first Sunday of Advent 2011, Lucas, a parishioner and Eucharistic minister at Holy Family Catholic Church in Marietta, will find herself going back to the missal to help guide her through the Mass.
The missal, the book that contains the prayers, parishioner responses and instructions for the celebration of the Mass, is being changed with revised English translations.
Officials at the Atlanta Archdiocese, which has nearly a million Catholics, say the liturgical changes reflect a more accurate translation from the Latin text.
"I think, for the most part, people are a bit frightened at first," said the Rev. Frank McNamee, rector of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta. He said the changes are "significant. People are used to Mass as it is now."
"It's the same Mass, new words but a deeper meaning. ... There will be a new adjustment for everybody but I think people will see the richness of this new translation."
McNamee said the main leaders of the church and school officials have been made aware of the changes. Later, workshops will be held to present the new translations to parishioners.
Lucas said she's heard very little about the change.
"I think change is hard for some people," she said. "If you get used to the wording, you don't have to use the missal anymore. This is not a huge change [though] and people will get used to it."
Overall, Kimberly Daniels, a parishioner at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Atlanta's West End, is comfortable with the changes, although she admits they may take some getting used to.
"I'm having to change words I've said all my life and that I really know by memory," said Daniels, an affordable housing developer from Smyrna. "I understand the intent -- they're trying to get back to the root of what was really meant and said in the early church -- but it may take a bit of a mental adjustment."
Some people take longer to embrace change. Daniels said her mother grew up going to Latin Mass and had a hard time adjusting to hearing the Mass in other languages.
At one time, all Masses were said in Latin. "That was great when everyone spoke Latin or could understand it," said the Rev. Theodore Book, director of the Office of Divine Worship for the Atlanta Archdiocese and pastor of St. Peter Catholic Church in LaGrange. "As times changed that was not the case any more. After Vatican II in the 1960s there was a decision made to begin to start praying in public worship in the language of the people, so that brought about a need to translate these texts."
Vatican II, also known as the Second Vatican Council, brought other changes as well, including participation by the congregation and getting the laity more involved in Mass and the sacraments.
"Some people still haven't gotten over those changes," said Phillip Thompson, director of Emory University's Aquinas Center of Theology.
Book said the current English texts worked, but "a lot of stuff got lost in the translation. A lot of the richness wasn't there."
In 2000, Pope John Paul II called for a new set of translations that were more closely aligned with the Latin texts. The new translations, Book said, will not only recapture the richness of the Mass but "make clearer some biblical allusions."
He knows some people may not be comfortable -- at first.
"My experience has been that both priest and people, when they first hear the changes, they're going to be a little perturbed. They're going to be a little disconcerted."
But, he said, the changes may help parishioners appreciate the traditions of the church.
"Preparation is really the key for people to appreciate what is there," he said, adding that it also will give people an opportunity to learn more about Mass, the way Catholics worship and the history of the church.
Book said currently only the English version of the missal is changing. There eventually will be a new Spanish-language version, he said, but the changes will be much more minor because the current Spanish translation is much closer to the Latin original.
The publishers of the hymnals are providing inserts until parishes buy new hymnals, according to the archdiocese. The missals in the pews are usually paper ones that run from Easter to Advent, so the new ones will contain the changes. The parishes are buying missals for the altar and the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s Office of Divine Worship is working with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to offer them at a reduced rate.
Some welcome the new translation. Cheryl Twickler, 64, who goes to St. Peter in LaGrange, remembers when Mass was celebrated in Latin. Over time, said Twickler, who was raised in New Orleans, she worried that the words have lost their "reverence."
"I just feel like the new changes are going to help bring some of that back. The young ones now just don't seem to get it and the older ones seem to have forgotten. Instead of just saying [the Mass from memory] now it's going to force us to think."
Some examples of upcoming changes in the Catholic Church's Roman Missal:
Ecce Agnus Dei
(Lamb of God)
Present
Priest: This is the Lamb of God
who takes away
the sins of the world.
Happy are those who are called
to his supper.
All: Lord, I am not worthy
to receive you,
but only say the word
and I shall be healed.
New
Priest: Behold the Lamb of God,
behold him who takes away the sins of the world.
Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.
All: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.
Greeting
Present (1970 translation)
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
New translation
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.
Nicene Creed
Present
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he was born of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son
he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic
and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the
resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
New
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit
was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one holy,
catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
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