Irish bishops announce timetable for introduction of new Missal

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The new edition of the Roman Missal will be introduced at Masses in Ireland from the first Sunday of Advent, 27 November 2011. The Irish Bishops say: "the changes to the current text that affect the congregation are relatively small in number but Mass will sound different."

The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference has developed a number of resources to assist the faithful in familiarising themselves with the new text.
 
These resources are now available on: www.catholicbishops.ie and www.liturgy-ireland.ie

An information leaflet entitled Introducing the New Missal, will be available in parishes before the 2nd Sunday of Easter. Brief video clips which explain the introduction of the new edition of the Missal, addressing: what is the Roman Missal? Is the Mass changing? Why are we getting a new edition of the new Missal? Is what we have been praying up to now wrong?

The text changes for the new the Missal will begin to be introduced in many dioceses at Mass from Sunday, 11 September. Missalette publishers and parish bulletins will include these changes by way of explanatory inserts. These are also available on the websites above.

Over the ten weeks from 11 September, all the changes in the prayers and responses of the congregation will be used at Mass, for example: the greeting, "The Lord be with you" and response, "And with your spirit"; the Apostles Creed; the longer Nicene Creed; and, the acclamations of the Eucharistic Prayer.

From 27 November 2011, the First Sunday of Advent, the new edition of the Missal will be used in its entirety for the prayers of the Mass throughout the country and the English speaking world.

The Bishops say: "The publication of the new edition of the Roman Missal, the book of prayers used at Mass, is an opportunity to deepen our understanding of all that we are doing as we, the Christian community, gather to worship.

"The use of a new edition of the Missal is not simply about words or translation. The new Missal will enable us to come to a deeper understanding of the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of the life of the Church. The new text is the result of the work of many people over the past ten years.
 
"Since it was published in 1975, much has been added to the Missal currently prayed at Mass. Bishops welcome the new edition to be published later this year as it will provide Mass prayers, the Masses of our National Calendar and three Eucharistic Prayers which have all been approved since the current edition was published. Some of this material has been available but the new edition gives us an up-to-date Missal.
 
"While the order or structure of the Mass is not changing, and readings remain the same, the edition of the Missal will be in a new translation. It uses new norms for translation which call for a fuller and more faithful translation of the Latin. The new edition of the Missal will bring a freshness and beauty to the language used at worship, capturing the biblical resonances of our prayers more clearly and the rich words and phrases of the prayers, many more than 1200 years old."
 
"Bishops are acutely aware of the impact of these changes in prayers that have been used and loved for almost forty years.
 
Source: Irish Catholic Communcations Office