Scottish Catholic Observer

Human nature is often to fear change, to favour the status quo and be suspicious of any variation from the norm. Yet, as Bishop Joseph Toal, president of the Scottish Bishops’ Liturgical Commission, so eloquently writes this week, ‘the new English translation of the Roman Missal encourages us to leave behind some of our Liturgical comfort zones and challenges us.’

And there may indeed be a lesson in humility in store as parishes in Scotland begin using the new translation of the Roman Missal for the first time this weekend, ahead of its formal introduction at the start of Advent. We live in a secular world that champions individual rights and preferences over the collective or common good. Those of us who have a vested interest in one particular aspect or dimension of the Church or the Faith can sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture. Our preferences for a particular hymn, parish, priest or Mass can cloud the fact that we are of the one Faith, in the one Universal Church.

David Kerr writes this week that the calibre of young Catholics at World Youth Day proved that parishes and diocese around the world have prioritised an ‘intelligent Catechesis of the young in recent years’ and that, as the Holy Father now consistently promotes ‘dynamic, orthodox figures,’ it is a trend that is likely to gather pace in coming years.

He may well be correct but his point brings up a burning question: If each generation of Catholics shows its own characteristics, such as the ‘BXVI Generation,’ what does it actually mean to be Catholic? What are the universal standards that define and unite us, regardless of our age, nationality or our introduction to the Faith? This is an issue the SCO will return to but for now, in the words of Archbishop Mario Conti on the new Missal translation: “This is a marvellous opportunity for us to revisit our celebration of the Liturgy, to see its great beauty, to love it as an expression of our Catholic Faith. Throughout the world and throughout time we have been prepared to make sacrifices in order to show not simply our unity of purpose in our worship, but also our harmony of expression.”

We keep the parishioners who have been made ready for this preparation period on the new translation before its Advent introduction in our prayers. Reports coming in suggest that some Scottish parishioners have been made aware of the coming textual, posture and gesture changes in homilies over the last month while others await their parish beginning the process. Let us hope that any disparity is but temporary as we all transition to the revised way of celebrating Mass together.