Journal
1212 L Wed 30 Jan 2002
On Sunday I bought "The Order of Mass With a Congregation". It was published in December 2001 by St Pauls and has the Imprimature of Bishop Manning, of Parramatta.
I think it is an improvement over the "Young People's Mass Book" published in 2000, since it more closely follows the Roman Missal.
According to Canon 826.2:
To republish liturgical books or to publish translations of all or part of them, it must be established, by an attestation of the Ordinary of the place in which they are published, that they accord with an approved edition.
The "Young People's Mass Book" had this "Concordat cum originali" of Tom Elich. "The Order of Mass With a Congregation" has that of Peter Williams. I believe Bishop Manning, as the "Ordinary of the place" should be the person attesting that it accords with the approved edition.
Unfortunately the "Young People's Mass Book" did not accord with the Roman Missal very closely. Words were changed, options and rubrics were omitted. For example in the Penitential Rite the only option presented in the "Young People's Mass Book" was:
My dear people, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins.
In fact "My dear people" does not appear in the Roman Missal. So it is a significant improvement that new book provides all three options, using the wording in the approved translation for Australia.
Some of the rubrics that were omitted in the Young People's Mass Book, but which have been restored are:
"All strike their breast" during the I confess
"All bow during these three lines" in the Profession of Faith
The Young People's Mass Book had glossy paper, colours and photos. So I expect it would have been more expensive to produce.
Perhaps neither will be used for long when the Third Edition of the Roman Missal is published. But it is encouraging that an accurate publication can now be expected in Australia.
Copyright J.R. Lilburne, 30 January 2002.
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