Liturgy Changes in 2011

Religion News Service reported yesterday that changes in the liturgy of the Mass, specifically the awkward translations of certain prayers, are slated tentatively for late 2011. The date was announced by Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville, Ill., a former member of the U.S. bishops' liturgy committee. He indicated that the date is not firm, but "it is very possible, however, that the date will be the First Sunday of Advent 2011."

Just to put this in context, these are the translations of various Mass texts that many US Catholics -- bishops and liturgical experts alike -- oppose, and are likely to raise a lot of questions in the minds of folks in the pews. (The questions, in fact, are already being asked. My fellow blogger, Dennis Coday, passed on last week a request from a reader looking to join a group or alliance working to postpone the new translation.)

I’ve followed this story as it developed, and it boggles my mind that translation questions are not left to native speakers of a language ... in this case, English.

This development may actually spur the growth of “intentional Eucharistic communities” across the country where there is respect for lay participation, including language. For more information, visit: http://www.intentionaleucharisticcommunities.org/