Praying the Mass

My local diocesan newspaper, The Monitor of Trenton, had a "Special Report" section on the new English translation of the Roman Missal, three pages of articles about it. A local reporter for the paper, David Kilby, had interviewed me back in June, and this morning after Mass I was delighted to see the article/interview on Page 4!

Until the article goes online, I'll just include a brief excerpt here:

When antiquity and modernity meet in the Catholic Church, you get a book on the new English Mass translation sold trough Amazon.com and written by a computer programmer who emphasizes the importance of Scripture and Latin.

That is the paradox of Jeffrey Pinyan's first book, "Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the People." ...

"The Catholic Church isn't about language. It's about Jesus Christ," he said. "Language is important, but not as important as the Eucharist." Pinyan emphasizes how every change in the new Mass translation doesn't change the essence of the Mass. If anything it makes the realities of the Mass more forthright. ...

"Sometimes we need to be reminded of our message and mission. I think something like this book can help [faithful Catholics] see things they've never seen before."

This just in from the USCCB:

Cardinal George Announces Vatican Approval of New Roman Missal English-Language Translation, Implementation Set for First Sunday of Advent 2011

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has announced that the full text of the English-language translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, has been issued for the dioceses of the United States of America. ...

Cardinal George announced receipt of the documents in an August 20 letter to the U.S. Bishops and issued a decree of proclamation that states that “The use of the third edition of the Roman Missal enters into use in the dioceses of the United States of America as of the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011. From that date forward, no other edition of the Roman Missal may be used in the dioceses of the United States of America.”

The date of implementation was chosen to allow publishers time to prepare texts and parishes and dioceses to educate parishioners.

“We can now move forward and continue with our important catechetical efforts as we prepare the text for publication,” Cardinal George said. ...

The USCCB Roman Missal web site has already been updated to reflect this final edition of the translation. Volume 1 of the Praying the Mass series, The Prayers of the People, has undergone another slight revision, but I will not be releasing it just yet. Volume 2, The Prayers of the Priest, which is still in production, has already been adjusted to reflect the new texts.

I had ordered this book in the hopes of sharing with cradle Catholics some of the depth of understanding of the mass that I, as a convert, had learned through my RCIA studies. But what a surprise! Instead of a 'once over lightly' of the rubrics and a few of the reasons for them, I found a veritable FEAST. As I read, I must stop every few verses and digest, much like the 'Selah' of the Psalms. While Scott Hahn's work on the Mass, The Lamb's Supper, whisked my mind and heart away into the heavenlies, this work rends the curtain between the two sanctuaries, allowing a synthesis that will forever change my experience of the mass - perhaps as much as Dr Hahn's book has! God bless both authors for their gifts to the Church. (from Amazon.com)

I received an email this morning asking me about the charities I support with the proceeds from book sales.

There are two charities which receive 10% of each book sale.  The first is the Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations, which assists men and women in paying off their college debt so that they can enter religious life.  The second is WFJS 1260-AM, my local Catholic radio station in Trenton, NJ.