The words of the Catholic Mass are changing..what do you think about that?

Because my parents were raised Catholic – but did not raise me as a Catholic – the times that I visited Catholic churches during the first 52 weeks of My 52 Weeks of Worship were especially memorable. In my soon to be published book, My 52 Weeks of Worship: A Journey of Healing, Connection, and Remembrance, I share the following:

Like my father, I also learned to love Catholic mass: the liturgy and the ritual. I still haven’t mastered it all. Sometimes I don’t know what to say when during the mass, when to sit or stand and why. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I don’t. In addition, in my efforts not to be a hypocrite, there are certain gestures I don’t make, mostly because I don’t know the depth of their meaning, and I wonder if others notice that I don’t make the sign of the cross, or kneel next to the pew before sitting down. Catholic churches have been an awkward yet familiar worship experience.

Well, it appears that even for lifelong Catholics, there might be some moments of confusion in upcoming masses. A Chicago Sun Times article shares that the words of the Catholic Masses are changing. Some excerpts from the article:

“You get into a rhythm of saying the same thing every day for 42 years, so we’re going to have to be careful,” said the Rev. Hilary Mahaney, moderator at St. Mary of the Angels, 1850 N. Hermitage. “We’ll probably make mistakes, but that’s no big deal. It’s going to take awhile to get used to the readings.”

Watching the evolution of a worship practice is interesting to me- who decided it was time to change? And why? What impact will this have on the faithful – and on those who discount religion entirely?

What do you think?

Photo Credit: http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/link/e-litur.html

To read the entire article: http://www.suntimes.com/9032375-417/words-of-mass-are-changing.html