Last Sunday?!

Fitting, no?

I can't believe I had forgotten it was the last Sunday I'd get to pray the "old" Mass.  I didn't realize it until after I'd come home to the online banter of folks lamenting their as-yet-untested "new" missals.  Sheesh.  I realize that change does funny things to folks, but really?  I'm surprised by the backlash some are whipping out against these translations. 

It seems there are two groups of us.  On the one hand, there are those who are super angry about every change and are loathe to pick up a new missal because it may burn off their hands.  On the other, there are those who are only too happy to "toss the old aside because it was never really all that good to begin with."

I'm serious.  I get that super-traditionalists have always felt a bit... cheated... post Vatican II.  However, I don't believe that the Mass after Vatican II was somehow turned into fool's gold, forcing us to endure lackluster worship for the last few decades. 

I also don't believe that our celebration of Mass is all that it should / could be, and it does have a lot to do with the effects of Vatican II. 

It is my hope that these new translations focus our attention on the awesomeness of all God's mysteries.  It's also my hope that these new prayers force us to re-examine our faith system and ask questions about doctrines that have heretofore been ignored, misunderstood, or unknown.  Finally, it is my hope that this reinvigorated thrust to pay proper respect and honor to God through our most prized prayer, the Mass, serves as the catalyst to rekindle our fire of evangelization. 

After all, in relearning these prayers, we must examine the meanings behind them.  In teaching these new words to our children, we must understand them ourselves.  In understanding these words and prayers, we come to find a deeper connection to their mysteries, and in finding that connection, shouldn't we wish to share such love and knowledge with others?

Oh, I certainly pray that is the end result of this set of changes.  So while I'm not exactly looking forward to bumbling my way through the prayers over the coming weeks, I am VERY excited about the potential for revitalization.  I really, really am.

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