Coming at you: the Ballistic Missal

Saturday, the twenty-sixth of November 2011, is a day that I will never forget; and I say this before the unforgettable moments will occur.  I am referring, of course, to the implementation of the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal with its changes in the translation of the Holy Mass.

I will approach this as a remarrying widower approaches his new bride.  As with the one before--the one he loved with his whole heart--he will approach with hesitation, with self-consciousness, with eager expectation.  Yet the one he approaches now, he will also love with his whole heart.  Unlike the irreplaceable human being, this new translation indeed replaces the old one.  I knew that one all my short life.  

Adjustment to the changes in language will not be instantaneous--not for me, and not for you, dear flock.  We (priest and people together) reviewed the congregational responses, but we have not begun to consider the priest's parts.  So we will be considering them in the recitation and in the hearing.  Be patient and fair in your judgment, as I must be in mine.  While I have known many of these changes for months, this will be the first time I say them aloud in public.

Let us journey together.