After the Thanksgiving Mass at my parish, some of us spent an hour putting the new Vatican II hymnals and the Mass response cards from the diocese in the pews. tick...tick...tick...
Hm: I have to figure out where to attend Mass in the lame-duck translation for the last time. I suppose I'll go to a place that does it as well as possible.
I almost can't believe it. Last Sunday I tried to muster up some sense of loss, some sense that as bad as it was, it was our translation and it shaped our lives. I tried but could not manage such feelings. This coming Sunday is a dream come true.
This Sunday I plan on returning to my home parish (an Anglican Use one) after a brief (that is, since June) sabbatical in the Eastern Catholic churches (with occasional visits for the "specials", such as All Saints) in order to start the first day of the Latin year in a Latin church. Perhaps I should attempt to find a decent sounding English OF parish in order to celebrate the arrival of the new order of the New Order of the Roman Mass (as well as to rehearse my role there in case in the future I should find myself stuck in one without other options for divine worship)?
My diocese is having its ordination to the transitional diaconate tomorrow at 11am. As far as I know, that'll be the last Mass in my diocese using the old translation.
Couldn't find an Orthodox church when I was in Galway (googlemaps steered me wrong, I fear), so I went to Mass in the Galway Cathedral. no music at the Mass I picked but afterwards an organist came in and started playing a prelude to the next Mass which was nice.
um, digression aside, they've been using the new translation, it seems, already. Besides a confused "andalsowithyourspiritwithyou" kind of mumbling during the dialogues, the gloria, creed, et alius have been printed, disseminated, and used.
so I guess it was a much more gradual transition over here rather than old translation | new translation over the course of one week.
I played a funeral this morning with the old. I warned the funeral choir to be ready when they came back for Sat. evening Vigil mass. They seemed excited and they knew I was. And this group is made up of 75 year old women. "Life is always ever-renewing" one of the ladies said.
The Latin church year is quickly winding down here in Texas/Central Time zone.......as far as I can guess, the first Mass (vigil) of Advent will be sung very soon......
It was a very surreal feeling today. I served Mass this morning, and after I cleaned up with the sacristan, I finished by carrying the old sacramentary to the back of church to place it on the sacristy counter for the pastor to deal with (who happened not to be celebrating that day, it was a guest priest celebrating). Very surreal as I realized I will never hear this translation again. Not that I'm going to miss it or anything. :)
And now to think that they're preparing for Mass right now with the new translation. I wish I could go tonight just to hear the entire thing in use!!!
It's so weird to think that, except for the months in the womb and a few months outside it, I too have had the old translation all my life. And now the forty years are over, and all I have to do is worry about missing my cue a few times. :)
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