Da Mihi Animas

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Vatican approves new English translation of the Mass

The following comes from CNA:

After eight years of work, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has approved a new translation of Roman Missal that contains the new text of the Mass in English. Once the missal is published in English, it will be gradually incorporated into parishes across America at the discretion of the local bishops.

During the Jubilee Year 2000, Pope John Paul II called for the revision of the English translation of the Missale Romanum. Since then, the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) has been drafting a translation out of the original Latin.

In November of last year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved the draft, which was then sent to Rome for the Vatican’s “recognitio.” While the Vatican is still making its final edits, the missal is expected to be forwarded to the USCCB for publication later this spring.

In addition to the new translation of the Roman Missal, a series of adaptations and proper texts were also approved by the Vatican.

The USCCB explained in a press release that each bishop will be in charge of gradually implementing the changes in his diocese.

“A great effort to produce the new Roman Missal for the United States of America is underway now among the publishers of liturgical books, along with the other necessary resources by publishers of liturgical music and catechetical resources,” said Msgr. Anthony Sherman, Director of the USCCB Secretariat for Divine Worship.

“Even as that work is underway a full–scale implementation of catechesis for the new Missal should be taking place in the parishes, so that when the time comes, everyone will be ready,” Msgr. Sherman added.

But even before the first Mass out of the new missal is celebrated, a numerous resources will be available to bishops, pastors, and liturgists. The USCCB has prepared a special section of their website with resources, while a DVD called “Become One Body, One Spirit in Christ” has been created to help understand the changes. The Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions is also offering a series of workshops for clergy and lay parish leaders.

The new edition of the missal, which is the third such translation, follows the release of the 1975 edition. In a Wednesday meeting with the Vox Clara committee of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Pope Benedict prayed that “the change will serve instead as a springboard for a renewal and a deepening of Eucharistic devotion all over the English-speaking world" and that it would cause neither confusion nor bewilderment.

Bishop Arthur Serratelli, Chair of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship, received news of the approval with gratitude, saying, “I am happy that after years of study and review, the Congregation for Divine Worship has concluded its work and provided us with a text that will enable the ongoing renewal of the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy in our parishes.”

Cloister Call

Saturday, May 1, 2010

"Crossbearer" Joe Eszterhas

Joe Eszterhas knew a lot about darkness. Growing up in refugee camps and then in America’s back alleys, he used this knowledge, first as a journalist, and then as a wildly successful screenwriter of sexually graphic and violent films like Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge, and Jade.

Then, on a hellishly hot day in 2001, desperately battling to survive throat cancer and his addictions to alcohol and cigarettes, Joe Eszterhas found God. Or God found him. And he came from darkness into light.

He is currently working on a project about Our Lady of Guadalupe!

Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman

K-LOVE - Steven Curtis Chapman "Cinderella" LIVE from K-LOVE Radio on Vimeo.

Past hurricane victims look to gulf oil spill with 'great anxiety,' archbishop says

The following comes from the CNA:

Responding to the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Catholic archbishops in the region have called for prayers for those affected. Many people are watching the spill with “great anxiety,” one prelate notes, because they have barely recovered from Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina and don’t need “a man-made disaster.” The spill began last week when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, creating three leaks in a pipe and killing eleven people.

The oil company BP has been trying without success to activate a valve on the well to cut the flow of oil, Nola.com reports. Meanwhile, the oil slick had made landfall in parts of Lousiana as of Friday afternoon.

The Archbishop of New Orleans Gregory Aymond in a Friday letter to all the parishes of his archdiocese asked for prayers for all the victims of the blast. He encouraged prayers for those who died, those injured, and their families, that “God may give them peace in their time of crisis.”

“Pray too for those working to clean up the oil spill and for those that will be adversely affected by the effects of the spill.”

“At these times of tragedy, it is important that we remain focused on God’s love and that we are witnesses of hope,” Archbishop Aymond added.

A Catholic prayer service for those affected is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at the Breton Marina Sound in Hopedale, Louisiana, according to the archdiocese.

The spill threatens the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile spoke about the oil spill in a Friday phone interview with CNA / EWTN News.

He said people in Alabama are watching the developing spill “very intensely” and with “great anxiety.”

“Our fishing industry and tourism industry are just recovering after Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina,” he said. “People have been able to rebuild lives and livelihoods. This can cause considerable damage.”

“We hope that it is not going to,” he added. “People in the seafood industry have had a number of natural disasters. They do not need a man-made disaster.”

He pointed out that the summer tourist season is about to begin, during which hotels and other rental properties are usually filled with tourists.

“We are hoping that the tourists will still come. It remains to be seen whether the oil will impact our beautiful beaches.

“Otherwise the damage to people’s livelihoods and to the environment will be considerable.”

Asked about how the archdiocese will reach out to those affected, he told CNA / EWTN News the archdiocese in the past has given “considerable help” to those affected by hurricanes.

“If people suffer financially because of this man-made situation we’ll do our best to assist people.”

Addressing Catholics and the United States as a whole, he implored, “Please join with us in praying that the efforts underway right now will be successful in containing this oil spill.”