Survey Shows Deep MR3 Divisions

And it shows a lot of silence.

Three our of five priests don’t like the English MR3. Four out of five think the language is awkward and distracting. The higher-ups are silent:

When a majority of priests are unhappy about something as important as the Missal, the situation calls for creative leadership and constructive responses. It is not clear, however, whether those in positions of authority are ready or willing to respond.

Those declining to comment:

• Msgr. Rick Hilgartner, director of the office of the BCDW at the USCCB
• Bishop Gregory Aymond, chair of the BCDW
• Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, incoming chair of the BCDW

Not replying to a request for comment were:

• Bishop Arthur Seratelli, former chair of the BCDW and current chair of ICEL
• Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the USCCB
• Cardinal Francis George, former USCCB president under whom the implementation date was set
• Cardinal George Pell, chair of Vox Clara
• Msgr. Jim Moroney, executive secretary of Vox Clara
• Fr. Dennis McManus, advisor to Vox Clara

Those who did comment can be read here.

The goal, of course, is not a 51-49 majority. This is not a popularity contest. It is not a political campaign. Vatican II documents generated a broad consensus for unity, a near unaminity among two thousand bishops. The advent of the vernacular in Roman Catholic worship was hailed worldwide as a positive development.

My prediction is that those who dislike the results of this study will resist. They will criticize the methodology. They will say that the sample size is too small. They will make these and other assertions without much expertise in statistics. They will resist simply because they do not like unwelcome news. They will be annoyed by it.

My own sense is that blindness insists on its position. The English-speaking bishops are in a John 9:40-41 moment. We’re all waiting. And watching. And so are 81% of your clergy who use MR3 every day and think that on some level, this is a botched job.

 

MR3 Skin Deep

I had an interesting observation last night at Mass. But first, some backstory …

Our parish’s third MR3 Mass setting is a revision of Steven Janco’s Mass of Angels and Saints. The Sanctus has been a bit rough. The “learning” to overcome is to sing the old words instead of “Lord God of hosts.” People at my parish don’t sing “lamb of God;” they are still used to the invocation. It makes me think that the revised Mass settings probably aren’t the best idea. But I’m keeping an open mind.

We had a small incident last night getting into the Sanctus. Our high school pianist, who is really a competent accompanist, got a bit distracted and played the wrong introduction on the piece. She stopped, got her bearings, and restarted with some nervousness. I noticed practically everyone sang the old words to the Sanctus. Seems like when folks were a tad nervous and distracted, they went with what they once knew.

Lots of discussion at PrayTell this week on the new Missal. For something that has been received, there sure seems to be a lot of lingering angst over it.

 

Love Litany

Liturgy News, the quarterly organ of the Brisbane (Australia) Liturgical Commission, had a brief look at this clunker from the new Roman Missal.

(I)t remains doubtful whether a revised translation (of the Rite of Marriage) along the lines of the new Missal will be helpful. Look what has happened to thse favourite lines from one of the Prefaces for marriage:

Love is our origin,
love is our constant calling,
love is our fulfillment in heaven.

The new translation in the Missal reads:

For those you created out of charity
you call to the law of charity without ceasing
and grant them a share in your eternal charity.

I’m sure the Latin original is caritas, but there’s no doubt the MR1 is superior in this instance. A threefold repetition of a three-syllable word is just too much. It begins to border on caricature. That’s especially true given the frequent attendance of the unchurched at weddings. Charity has shifted significantly in meaning, and in the Western culture, is not always associated with something positive.

Losing this miniature litany is lamentable. Another casualty of the CultureWars(TM). Another turn off/tune out moment for the Roman Rite, just when we needed a stronger dash of evangelization.