Only Begotten Son

Excerpts from the book, A Guide to the New Translation of The Mass written by Edward Sri, S.T.D. and printed by Ascension Press in 2011.

In the new translation, Jesus is addressed as “Only Begotten Son”. This more closely follows the theological language used in the early Church to highlight how Jesus is uniquely God’s Son, sharing in the same divine nature as the Father. This also reflects the biblical language in John’s gospel, which uses similar wording to describe Jesus’ singular relationship with the Father.

While all believers are called to a special relationship with God as his sons and daughters through grace, Jesus alone is the eternal, divine Son by nature. He is the “only begotten Son” of the Father.

Begining on the 5th of November, I'll present an indepth look at the Mass in a new section below the Written Assignments section in the right hand column. For now, I'll continue presenting short weekly posts detailing some of the more obvious changes.

Discussion Group

Tonight the students in our class were divided into four groups, that met along with a trained facilitator, to discuss the topic of our next paper. These discussion groups will meet four times during the year on one of our regular Wednesday evenings. To promote cohesion in the group, we will be part of the same group and have the same facilitator for each session.

Two questions are assigned at the beginning of each module that should be the basis for the conversations. The goal of this process is integrative learning. It is not simply to help us write good papers, but is part of a process to help us understand the readings and lectures by applying content to practical situations. We are to bring an outline for our paper, but the final draft of the paper should be written after the meeting and it should include any insights learned from the discussion.

During these meetings we will be asked to consider the theological and pastoral implications of our papers. The goals of these sessions are: 1) To help us clarify and probe the material more deeply, especially by seeing how it applies to concrete, pastoral situations. 2) To see the significance of what we are studying for parish life and to develop skills in analyzing pastoral situations, and 3) To develop the people skills necessary to work with and lead others in improve our pastoral capacity.

Through my own fault

Excerpts from the book, A Guide to the New Translation of The Mass written by Edward Sri, S.T.D. and printed by Ascension Press in 2011.

In the prayer known as the Confiteor the new translation better reflects the Latin text of the Mass and helps us cultivate a more humble, sorrowful attitude toward God as we confess our sins. Instead of simply saying that I have sinned “through my own fault”, as in the old translation, we will now repeat it three times while striking our breasts in a sign of repentance, saying “Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault”.

This repetition more fully expresses our sorrow over sin. When we are at fault over something small we might simply say “I’m sorry”. But if it is a more serious matter and we deeply feel sorrow over our actions, we would apologize several times. This prayer in the liturgy helps us recognize that sinning against God is no light matter. We must take responsibility for whatever wrong we have done and whatever good have we failed to do.

Begining on the 5th of November, I'll present an indepth look at the Mass in a new section below the Written Assignments section in the right hand column. For now, I'll continue presenting short weekly posts detailing some of the more obvious changes.

Sacrament of Penance

The church is incredibly blessed. What we pray is what we believe, and what we believe is what we pray. It is up to each and every one of us to be a symbol of God's love for us; it’s the primary ministry of the church. Every Sacrament celebrated by the church makes Jesus’ Passover sacrifice real for each of us here and now. God is timeless, and although he saved the world once and for all 2000 years ago, we make it real here and now because we are the body of Christ, his Church.

God is seen most fully in and through Jesus' Christ, who was both fully human and fully divine. Jesus is the sacrament of God and the church is the sacrament of Jesus; the Church is the sacrament of salvation. Each of us is meant to be living sacraments of salvation. Unfortunately, sin separates us from God and community, and reconciliation is meant to bring us back to God and community. Officially, sin in general is anything that damages charity (love). Mortal sins destroy charity and take us away from God, while venial sins wound charity and turn our attention away from God.

Signs tell us what to do, like stop or go, but sacraments actually do what they say, like the Baptismal gift of the Holy Spirit. The rite of reconciliation is all about the love of God. Jesus is the source, agent, and goal of the sacrament of healing or penance. Sin is committed against the community, which is us, and the priest is the representative of the community. The object of penance is grace, which comes from the idea of gratitude. It is “an offer from God that we cannot refuse”, and invitation to a loving relationship with our God. A life of grace is ultimately a union with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is a loving relationship between us and the Triune God.

It’s important to remember that sin isn’t complicated; it’s simply choosing to do the wrong thing. Sin isn’t simple however, because it is anything that separates us from God. It’s different for everyone; money, fame, cars, or even that new TV can each contribute to our occasion of sin. Anything that turns our attention away from God is a sin, and it not only affects us personally but it affects our community, because we are the body of Christ.

Jesus gave the ritual of penance to the church in community, not to individuals. A personal confession of sin is missing the ritual component of community which is suggested in the lines, "wherever two or more are gathered in my name". Confession requires intention. An authentic celebration of penance requires a personal sense of sorrow, the communal prayer of absolution, and a personal willingness to conversion.

Public penance was practiced by the early church, during which the penitent was excluded from Eucharist for a period of time, while they performed works of penance. Private penance eventually became the norm, and may involve a spiritual director who can help us live a more conscious reflection of our baptism. Thankfully, our priests are graced with amnesia; they rarely remember the subject of another’s confession.

We the people are the "Body of Christ" and when we miss a Sunday the body of Christ is not complete. You cannot stay at home and pray with the family because it dislocates the body. It denies the ministry of the church, and you are unable to “take this bread and take this wine” as commanded in the Last Supper. We live in a “me first” world, but Christians know that it’s not about the world helping me; it's about me helping the world. Part of our ministry is to pray for our brothers and sisters,and one of the greatest heresies in our world today is the "I'm only human" excuse. To be fully human is to realize our divinity as the sons and daughters of God.

And with your Spirit

Excerpts from the book, A Guide to the New Translation of The Mass written by Edward Sri, S.T.D. and printed by Ascension Press in 2011.

One of the most noticeable changes in the Mass is the people’s response to the priest’s greeting, “The Lord be with you.” This new response more adequately reflects the Latin text of the Mass and the language of St. Paul (see Galatians 6:18; Philippians 4:23, and 2 Timothy 4:22). It also more fully expresses an important theological point. When we said, “And also with you”, our response seemed to express an exchange of personal greetings or reciprocal good will.

There is much more to this response. When a man is ordained a priest, the Holy Spirit comes upon him in a unique way, enabling him to perform the sacred rites of the Mass and consecrate the Eucharist. By responding, “And with your spirit”, we acknowledge the Spirit’s activity through the priest during the sacred liturgy.

Begining on the 5th of November, I'll present an indepth look at the Mass in a new section below the Written Assignments section in the right hand column. For now, I'll continue presenting short weekly posts detailing some of the more obvious changes.

An Evening of Prayer

Tonight we didn't have the usual class, instead we met at Most Holy Trinity Church for an evening of prayer. This was an opportunity for us to be attentive to another area of our formation - our spiritual formation. The invitation said, "We have gathered for class and now we pause to gather as a community of faith, to give thanks and praise to God".

We sang a gathering song called "O Love of God" which is one of the songs that I really like. It begins, "Oh Love of God, gather us, amor de Dios, haznos uno, that we may share the gifs we are given; para construir la comunidad, para constuir la communidad". The first reading was from Ephesians 3:14-21 which begins, "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strenghtened with power through his spirit". It was actually read three times, slowly, Lecto Divina style, by different readers who put emphasis on different words and phrases.

The Psalm was also the theme for the ILM Evening of Prayer, "Let my prayer be incense before you". "Even before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it all. Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me". After this there was a prayer for the faithful, then an Our Father, a conluding prayer, a blessing and dismissal.

Why is The Mass Changing?

From the time of the apostles, the Mass has been the central act of Christian worship. On the night before he died Jesus instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and resurrection, and as a pledge of his love. When Jesus said, “Do this in memory of me,” he was commanding the apostles to make present as a biblical memorial the sacrifice offering his body and blood at the Last Supper.

Although the Mass itself is not changing, some of the wording within the Mass is. When Vatican II authorized Mass in the common language, the Liturgy was translated from Latin into English which was then printed as the Missle we have been using since 1972. Unfortunately, unlike other languages, the English translation included wording that fails to accurately convey the meaning behind our Catholic traditons or the Biblical references from which the Liturgy comes. This is being corrected in the New Translation of the Missle, which we will begin using the first Sunday of Advent (November 27th, 2011). This New Translation better aligns the English to the original Latin and to other non English translations.

The Mass is, and will remain, nothing less than the celebration of the Eucharist that Jesus instituted at the Last Supper. The saving mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection is foreshadowed and concentrated forever in the gift of the Eucharist. Jesus, at the Last Supper, was already anticipating his sacrifice on the cross when he referred to his body and blood being offered like a Passover lamb being sacrificed.

Begining on the 5th of November, I'll present an indepth look at the Mass in a new section below the Written Assignments section in the right hand column. For the next few weeks, I'll present a few short posts detailing some of the more obvious changes.