Cardinal George on the New Missal

In John Allen's latest Word from Rome column, he recalls having a conversation with Cardinal Francis George of Chicago and discussing, among other things, the new English translation of the mass and the new Roman Missal:

On liturgical matters, George said that English-speaking Catholics will indeed one day be saying "and with your Spirit" rather than "and also with you" when the celebrant says "The Lord be with you" during Mass.... He conceded it may be tough for some Catholics to swallow.

"People possess the English texts in a way they never possessed the Latin," he said. "For some, it will be a difficult habit to break." For precisely that reason, George said, the preference among most bishops is to leave the rest of the "people's parts," meaning those phrases spoken aloud by the faithful, alone.

I myself have often wondered how difficult it will be to instruct the faithful on saying new things. I recall the chaos over the implementation of the 2000 GIRM, where some parishes spent a great deal on education, while others, like my own parish, did absolutely nothing to educate the faithful. Then there are others who will refuse to change or adapt. It will take time. Allen goes on:

Still, George predicted it will be at least another three years before work is completed on the new Roman Missal, the book containing the prayers for the Mass. He said roughly 40 percent of the work is done, and that the rest could be completed within that time "with a lot of hard work by a lot of people."

... Some liturgists, I noted, feel that what's happened is not so much about content as about power, specifically Rome's desire to take control of liturgical translation away from local churches.

"The challenge Rome put to the local bishops was to take possession of the process itself, to have bishops involved in every step," George said. "Maybe it's more accurate to say that control has been taken away from the experts and given back to the bishops."

"Canonically, I don't believe it's any more centralized than before," George said. "The structures are intact, but with a different cast of characters."

It will be interesting as it unfolds.