New words to debut in Sunday Mass

One of the most commonly used greetings in the Catholic Mass is getting a makeover.

The greeting “And also with you” will no longer be used. Instead, “And with your spirit” will be the response, as the Catholic Church prepares to change the way it celebrates Mass. The change will begin on the first Sunday of Advent.

Although the structure of the Mass will remain the same, the Catholic Church will be using a revised English translation of the Roman Missal that includes changes in the text of some of the prayers, phrases and songs.

A Vatican directive ordered the new translation in 2000 to provide a better translation of the Latin text, Catholic leaders said. The current translation used has been in use for about 40 years.

“It (The Vatican) felt that the translation that was done in the late ‘60s was rushed. ... It didn’t seem like a style of language worthy of worship,” said the Rev. Greg Labus of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Mercedes.

The phrase “And also with you” will be changed to “And with your spirit” because that is what the Latin phrase “Et cum spiritu tuo” actually means, leaders said. The prayers also will have a better connection to passages in the Bible.

“There were a lot of inaccuracies and it was felt that some things were watered down in some areas and, while they weren’t incorrect, they weren’t getting the fullness of what the Latin text really was trying to get at,” Labus said.

Advent begins Nov. 27, and because it is also the start of the new liturgical year, the church chose to implement the changes then.

Labus’ parish has been getting used to the new songs, but he admits it was rough going at first. Now, his congregation has adjusted to the changes and is getting ready for the next step — dealing with the prayers and other instructions of the Mass.

“I have been laying the groundwork here in the parish for quite awhile,” Labus said.

At this year’s annual United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, held in June, bishops agreed that in September, churches could begin implementing the parts of the Mass sung by the people, so that they could start to adapt to the changes.

“All of us, myself included, will have to make an extra effort during Advent and after to look at a book or card during the Mass when we say or sing the Gloria, the Creed, the Holy, Holy, Holy and other prayers,” writes Bishop Daniel E. Flores of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, in his monthly column. “If we do not make the extra effort, we will naturally fall back to saying the prayers from our memory of the previous translation.”

The people’s sung parts are not the only changes in the Mass. There also are changes in certain prayers and phrases. For example, “We believe in one God” has been changed to “I believe in one God.”

At Mary Mother of the Church parish in Brownsville, the new translations are displayed on a Power Point screen during Mass to help parishioners get used to the changes.

Parishioner Evelyn Cantu said parish leaders have provided guidance for the congregation in introducing the changes and explaining why they are occurring. The priests and deacons also have held workshops for the liturgical ministers, altar servers and parents, to prepare them for the new Mass.

“It gives us a better understanding of the faith that we share. It is the laid foundation for vernacular worship upon which the Catholic Church is building anew,” Cantu said.

“It will give us a better understanding. The prayers will sound more humble and it will be more modest in the presence of God,” she added.

Danny Lucio, a youth minister, said he has been discussing the changes with the youth to prepare them for the new missal. Like adults, they question the changes and why they are necessary, Lucio said.

Lucio compares Mass to life. If you go through the motions, you miss out on the important things.

“It’s the same thing with Mass. If you just go through the motions, you are missing out on the miracle and the beauty of the priest bringing the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ,” Lucio said.

With the help of technology, the parish is helping the congregation adjust to the changes and become more involved in the Mass.

“Mass needs to be a little more relevant. We all go in with our busy lives and busy schedules and treat Mass like it was just a meeting or a TV show, and just kind of sit there. With these changes, it is kind of refocusing our entire parish, all the way from the oldest to the very youngest. They have to relearn, which is really good,” Lucio said.

Lmartinez@brownsvilleherald.com