August 5, 2008 at 12:23pm
by Andrew Casad On his second anniversary of installation as Bishop of Raleigh, Michael F. Burbidge promulgated new General Norms for the Celebration of the Sacred Liturgy of the Mass
in the Diocese of Raleigh. On the same date, August 4, 2008, the USCCB, under Bishop Serratelli, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship, issued a letter sharing the recognitio now received from Cardinal Arinze, Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on June 23 for the new English translation of the Mass. While not yet promulgated, this so-called White Book will soon become the official text of the Mass in English throughout the United States. This will replace the translations made available in the years following the Second Vatican Council (1963) and, as a result, mean that communities will need to learn new texts, previous musical arrangements of the texts will either need to be amended or replaced, and missals, hymnals, and other published aids to worship will no longer be considered valid. In order to assist communities with this forthcoming transition, the USCCB is now providing materials for our priests and the faithful which can be used for catechesis and preparation for the eventual implementation of the revised texts.
The General Norms for the Celebration of the Sacred Liturgy of the Mass
for the Diocese of Raleigh will also make some changes in the how the community is to pray together, most of which consist in a narrowing down of the range of celebration permitted in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. Professionally, I am bound by obedience to implement both those norms specific to the Diocese of Raleigh and the forthcoming changes in the texts of the Mass. I am not, however, convinced that either set of documents reflects the idea that in the sacred liturgy…full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else…the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit
(Sacrosanctum Concilium 14). Needless to say, I am entering into a trying time in my career as a pastoral liturgist. Please stay tuned for future reflections and I would ask for your continued prayers as I endeavor to continue helping other people to pray.
