After three Masses, I have to say that chalice comes off as fussy and clunky. It’s the wrong word, pure and simple.
As for the orations, they will have to be prepared with more diligence than your usual Pauline pericope. A minority of priests will do this, and in some of their parishes, it might not be an obstacle. But the end result in most places will be the marginalization of orations in the awareness of the laity. Just another hoop to get through before the first reading or the announcements.
Unlike great phrases in the Eucharistic Prayers (like “that we may live no longer for ourselves”) orations don’t get as much repetition, coming up once a year. The Lectionary will be even more important in the ears of the laity. People might find more inspiration in the texts of vernacular songs than before. That might or might not be the texts of the psalms. I know I’ll be attending even more carefully to the texts of new music. Those will catch attention even more today than yesterday. These will be the sparks for religious imagination in the future.
People have noted that archaic English carries the Lord’s Prayer pretty well. No denying it. But the advantage of the Lord’s Prayer is that it is always invoked by the assembly at Mass, and many Catholics say it several more times a day. I could see a fussy vernacular working in the Eucharistic Prayers. The orations far less so. While these prayers are required for the celebration of Mass, they just don’t serve the same purpose as the anaphora, acclamations, or readings. Think of them as being on the periphery of the essential elements. I suspect they will remain so until MR4 at least.
29 November 2011 at 12:12 pm
Hmmm. I hear the word “chalice” like a gentle peal of a bell, rung three times in fairly close proximity.
No clunky sound to my ears.
29 November 2011 at 1:21 pm
To be honest Todd, after admittedly only one Mass I was amazed at how much of a non-event this is going to be – in our little parish at least.
Considering that the Mass was said in its entirety except for the sung Gospel Acclamation, it came across mostly as “Blah,blah,blah..Amen” – unless you had your nose stuck in a prayer card or Missalette. It’ll be pretty easy to hit the snooze button, so I doubt that there will be much concern about this new translation. “Meet the new gloss, same as the old gloss..”
I assume our pastor did it right as he never looked up from the Big Book once. The only thing I remember is that he had to consult the BB for a minute or so at the end before saying: “Go forth the Mass is ended.” with a smile.
My wife looked at me and said: “Go forth and do what?” I wasn’t sure what answer to give her.
29 November 2011 at 7:38 pm
New gloss? Old dross.
Go with your many spirits – but not all. Under my roof? Probably not but I’ll be consubstantial about it all.