New missal not the end-all, be-all in Denver

"If those three things are in place, they said, the most defective translation in the world won't prevent them from coming back."

The new translation isn't the most defective in the world, but it is defective.

Perhaps the problem, as one mother of three told me, is that those things can't be shaped from behind a desk or in a committee room, while translations can. Her message to church leaders? "If you think this is what matters, you need to get out more often."

I agree.

Has worship of God and the reception of Holy Communion lost its value? Sounds as though the people asked are Protestants. Hopefully, over time, they will learn to appreciate the Holy Sacifice of the Catholic Mass.

Perhaps an urban parish (away from the typical upper middle class mindset) would net you more thoughtful opinions. Suburban parishes seem to be bland and bereft of any depth, always trying to be busy. "Preaching, music and welcoming" indicate a creeping protestant attitude and are not good indicators of authentic Catholic spirituality. No, reverence to the Mass and the Eucharist would be the FIRST sign of a truly vibrant parish. Get that right first and the rest follows quite neatly. I'm sure the "church leaders" have seen too much horizontal out there and are ready for a return to the vertical dimension of God.

Preaching? Music? Community spirit? Are you sure you weren't at a Protestant church? Mass is not a camp sing-along. It is not about satisfying the fickle and sensual desires of man, but participating in the eternal sacrifice of the Incarnate Word. I'd be just as happy without any preaching, hymns, or gabbing.

As a young man, just 24, let me say that I am generally thrilled by the new translation. It is solemn, poetic, and pious. Young Catholics are hungry for orthodoxy and a return to authentic Church tradition.

The protestantization of the Mass has been finally and decisively checked. The anemic "Catholicism" espoused by modernists is waning. Those of us of the John Paul II and Benedict XVI generations are interested in a return to our roots. Let us read the fathers, study the doctors, reverence the saints, honor our clergy and bishops, and loyally spread the ancient and apostolic faith.

We want Catholicism, not jazzed-up Protestantism. And we are, ever so slowly, reclaiming our Church from those who sought reconciliation with the world. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen!

How about what keeps them coming back is the Real Presence of Christ??

Honestly, sometimes the NCR is SO ideological. The new translation isn't a big deal: it's simply a small improvement on the previous translation. But an improvement is a REAL thing, not a "non issue." Why are we Christians if not because we love the Truth? And the new translation gets closer to He that is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

How are "preaching, music, and community spirit" germane in any significant way to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? If this is a common concern at that parish in suburban Denver, it may not be politically aligned but liturgically it is American modernist. These concerns tend to prevail in liberal Protestant worship settings.

I believe that the areas of concern you mentioned above (preaching, music, and community spirit)is what many people may believe is important but these are not the most important things. The most important thing is that we give to God what is due - worship. I can actually go with the stated concerns if you are referring to preaching that actually challenges us to be virtuous in all areas of life and to avoid sin; music - if you are talking about music such as Gregorian Chant and sacred music and not music that profanes the liturgy and gets our feet stomping; and community, if the community realizes that it is in the reception of Our Lord in Holy Communion where true community lies and not the holding of hands during the celebration. The handshaking, backslapping, and hugging should be reserved for before or after Mass.

As creatures of God we must realize our dependence is on Him who saves. Our duty to Him first and foremost is to give Him worship. The revised translation is one helpful step toward achieving this end. A little silence in the Church before and after Mass so people can either prepare for Mass or give thanksgiving after Mass would be helpful toward that end as well.

I 've been a daily Mass goer for over a dozen years.. Usually I found myself at the parish Mass in town that fit my morning schedule and did not choose one vs another for any other reason. Or so I thought. Then, my own parish got a new pastor and as I listened to him preach, I found his sermons scholarly, clear, and very doctrinally focused. Before I knew it, I was re-arranging my mornings to go to his Mass more often. Then we got an assistant priest of similar ilk and now I try to go almost everyday at this Parish. The "welcoming feeling" is no different, the folks in the pew are the same, the music is nonexistent. But the Mass here is said with a bit more reverence and less jocularity than the other parishes, which I hadn't really noticed before. My point is that the priest and his focus do matter. It is a subtle difference I detect that these two priests seem to be acting "with" the church while the others seem to, perhaps, see themselves a bit like a "mom and pop" church. Unto themselves. It's probably not a coincidence that the new translation has gone seamlessly in my parish while the others have their priests stumbling and stammering and leaving the congregants more or less on their own to figure it out.

do we now decide based on what appeals to the ephemeral? Or do we have wise recourse to the ineffable, resolving to teach this to the sleeping affective senses?

I liked the article very much. I am a bit disturbed to find that some respondents consider good homilies (preaching if you will), good music and feeling welcome are somehow thought of as the exclusive property of Protestants. Where is it writen that we as Catholics cannot have the Sacraments as well as good homilies, good music and still feel welcomed in our own Church? The eucharist should be the center of our lifestyle. Good homilies, good music and feeling welcome can only enrich our experience of the eucharist - not detract from it.

Hi, just wanted to thank you again for your great talk on the future of the Catholic Church at Ohio Dominican University on 11/29. It was inspiring, entertaining, and lively. What's more, the content and the delivery really reached the audience. Students who worked with you in Dr. Lynch-Baldwin's class had a blast and really enjoyed the time your took to meet with them. You have many fans! Hope you'll come back. Best to you and yours for the holidays! Dr. Ann C. Hall, Professor of English, ODU

I am a card-carrying member of the National Latin Honor Society. I love chant. And Haugen. And Haas. And Joncas. And Taize. And liturgical clarity and humility and simplicity.

Liturgy has now become a near occasion of sin. The language is gaudy, self-conscious, awkward, and distracting. It may well help others pray better. It has the opposite effect for me, my family, and friends.

Add a gaudy fiddleback that gets ostentatiously flipped up and back over the rear of the presidential seat whenever Junior Father sits down . . . .

Remember, Anglophone bishops' conferences uniformly approved an ICEL translation that Rome overruled. Then came Liturgiam Authenticam. Bishops enforce downward. They do not see advocacy upward as their job. Sometimes bureaucratic/institutional church is wrong and local prophets are right.

We all know where blind obedience has landed us, recently.