First Mass in new translation: so how was it?

[HallamPhil]

I served two masses yesterday at the Cathedral. Morning with Choir and evening with Music group (alternatives in brackets)

Opening Song: God is here (Gather your people - Hurd)
Penitential Act: read with Confiteor
Glory to God: New Wine Mass - Jakob
Psalm: If today you hear God's voice - Farrell
Alleluia: New Wine Mass - Jakob
Prayer Response - sung
Ubi caritas - Hurd & Diverse in culture, nation, race (Lord, make me a means of your peace)
Euch Acclamations: New Wine Mass - Jakob with Memorial Acc 1 and plainsong Doxology and Jakob Amen
Lamb of God: New Wine Mass - Jakob
Communion Song: As the deer longs - Hurd
Post-Communion: New Wine Mass: What has passed our lips - Jakob
Recessional: Fantasia (& Fugue) in G minor - JS Bach (Improv on What has passed our lips)

We had used the Lamb of God for a while now and the Glory and Alleluia since July 17. The Eucharistic Acclams were taught before the service started and will be taught again next week also.

The choir had no rehearsal prior to this Mass so we relied on familiar material. Rehearsals start again this week as next week is the Dedication Solemnity in our Cathedral. It is also the last time we will hear the 1875 Lewis organ before it is dismantled for restoration.

We used diocese produced orders for the assembly texts and of course there were moments when mistakes were made as folk naturally reverted to the earlier text but this will improve in time. The Presider spoke about the Penitential Act after the Communion.

Our situation is one of still greater change than just texts for the Mass. The Cathedral closes for restoration and we will transfer to a local Anglican Church with changed Mass times! Pray for us.

Philip Jakob

[MaryR]

I’m in the same parish as PaulW so apologies if there’s some repetition of what he’s said, but I’d typed this before I realised he’d posted!

I was concerned a little earlier in the year that we weren’t doing enough preparation for the new texts in our parish. I now feel that our PP got it just about right. Over the summer months, he has incorporated some teaching during Mass each week, the rationale for this being that he had a captive audience whereas an invitation to a separate session or sessions would be ignored by many. He has guided us gently through the changes to the people’s parts, with explanation for why we are where we are today (whether we like it or not). We’ve looked at a section each week so as not to daunt our predominantly, er, more mature congregation. Over the past two weeks, we’ve used some of the new texts and, today, we went the whole hog, save for the Consecration prayers which will, hopefully, be introduced next week (if our PP can find a way of being able to easily see the Altar Missal which is a good deal smaller than the previous one, with correspondingly small print).

The choir regrouped after a summer break today, having had no practice. We began Mass with an entrance song and the greeting, followed by a rehearsal for everyone of the new Gloria (Psallite) and the new Holy (from the Belmont Mass). As this rehearsal took place during Mass, with the Priest in attendance and joining in, the congregation not only paid attention during the rehearsal but actually joined in! This is often not true of rehearsals before the beginning of Mass where people are too busy catching up on each other’s news to pay any attention. To incorporate the rehearsal after Mass had began was a stroke of genius on the part of either our PP or our MD, or both. Mass then continued with no further ‘teaching’ interruptions, save that during the homily the PP explained the changes to the Invitation to Communion and took us through the words.

How did it go? Remarkably well, I think. People made a real effort to join in with the new settings of the Gloria and Holy. Incidentally, NT, with the parts added, the Psallite Gloria is a simple effective chant IMO. Our PP said he felt that it was particularly helpful to have the choir sat in the body of the church, speaking the new texts boldly; he said he felt this gave a strong lead to the rest of the congregation. Good job we (mostly) got it right then!

I expected a shambles, but it felt like a powerful prayerful Mass.

[keitha]

We had a new PP (arrived Friday) so it was a bit of a baptism of fire for the poor man. We had not used the new translation before yesterday. Nevertheless, he went for it, and we had the whole thing (including the Eucharistic Prayer - sensibly EP2). Our former PP had provided catechesis as part of his summer homilies, and did it rather well IMHO. We also had separate sessions (jointly with another parish) for those who wanted to study further. We sang Fr Peter Jones's simple Parish Mass, from Glory to God, the copies of which also arrived on Friday. I thought that a simple setting for the next few weeks would be good, and then we will gradually introduce a larger setting in the run-up to Christmas. The rest was the normal stuff that we always do.

Our new PP did a great job in developing a feeling that 'we were all pulling together', and there were no major fluffs, but a few shared smiles as he or we drifted on to autopilot. We were going really well until the final prayers, by which time we had all forgotten to use our cards. We had a nice, friendly and relaxed atmosphere and there were no real problems. I spoke to a few parishioners afterwards, and no-one was unhappy, and they all felt that they would master the new Mass setting and the new translation within a couple of weeks.

The big test will be on Friday - we have the rededication of our City Centre Church, which has been closed for a major refurb for the last 16 months. New translation, a fair bit of Missal chant, Archbishop, two Bishops, two Abbots, many concelebrants! I can't wait to hear the Doxology!!

[alan29]

Well, in the event, none of the new texts were sung, and none of the new peoples parts were spoken. However the readers did end the readings with the ever-so-curt "The word of the Lord." And the gospels was ended in the same newspaper billboard manner. The priest gave a pretty half-hearted homily about the translation and used a new translation of EP2, so it was chalices and cups depending on whether it was clerical or lay etc.
Dismal. Quakerism seems ever so attractive at the moment.

[organgrinder]

I spent 10 minutes before mass introducing the people to the Belmont Gloria, the Peter Jones Parish Mass Holy (with acclam 2) and the Belmont Lamb of God. We’ve produced a music sheet for the pews with one revised and two new settings to keep us going up to Advent. The choir met on Friday evening to look at the music for the first time. We’ve gone for Belmont rather than Psallite (unlike others here), but felt that chant-style for everything would be a bit much, hence the melodic and simple Holy to get us started.

The response was encouraging but the support of the choir was necessary. We’ll do exactly the same thing next Sunday but then no choir for a few weeks. As others have mentioned, people did trip up over the changes to familiar texts but by the end most were realising that they had to concentrate and follow the script! I’m convinced that new music avoids this with the sung parts and won’t be using revised settings for a while. All in all a satisfactory start in Andover.

[Peter Jones]

I have just returned home from celebrating a Funeral Mass - so second Mass in new translation.
Say one for your priests coping with three separate books until Advent - the Altar Missal; the temporary Missal and the Funeral Rites.
The insert for the deceased in EPII is very powerful.

[quaeritor]

We did an adaptation of a Mass setting we have used since 1983( ! ) I spoke a few well chosen words when the bell for the entrance procession sounded (no use doing it before, in deference to the hallowed Catholic tradition of arriving at the last possible second). The congregation had new cards with the texts, the music of the Mass was on the old cards. "Lord have mercy" unchanged. The Gloria we took from the Lourdes Gloria (as mentioned on another thread). I stood at the lectern (very reluctantly - I loath the concept of the "animateur" - it's my natural shyness!") and explained the outline - and before each section the organist paused while I then mentioned the pitfalls to come: part of the music "missing" in the first section - short lines of text in the second - a long first line in the third - fourth as before. I then did the dreaded hand waving to mark the pointing. It seemed to go quite well. I felt it was terribly intrusive but reactions afterwards didn't confirm this. We said the I Believe. At the end of the Prayer over the gifts The PP paused while I again went to the lectern and (so as not to distract during the EP itself) explained the minor changes to the acclamations - "Lord God of Hosts" in the Sanctus, slight changes in "When we eat this bread . . " which fitted fairly intuitively into the "old" music.

The Assembly had had no prior instruction (although we cheated a bit in the choir by having a practice!) but all seemed to go without incident and without undue disruption or prolongation of the service.

Q

[dunstan]

Ours was said by our newly ordained ordinariate assistant priest. So in a few months he has gone from CofE eucharist to the old translation and the new translation. And the latter in the same week as his daughter starts school. And our PP is on retreat the next couple of weeks, so weekday masses have been brought forward so he can be at his paid employment punctually.

We live in modern times.

[NorthernTenor]

Ours was said by our newly ordained ordinariate assistant priest. So in a few months he has gone from CofE eucharist to the old translation and the new translation. And the latter in the same week as his daughter starts school. And our PP is on retreat the next couple of weeks, so weekday masses have been brought forward so he can be at his paid employment punctually.

We live in modern times.

He'll soon have the Ordinariat form of the Rite, too

[alan29]

Ours was said by our newly ordained ordinariate assistant priest. So in a few months he has gone from CofE eucharist to the old translation and the new translation. And the latter in the same week as his daughter starts school. And our PP is on retreat the next couple of weeks, so weekday masses have been brought forward so he can be at his paid employment punctually.

We live in modern times.

He'll soon have the Ordinariat form of the Rite, too

That'll be the Roman one with the Prayer of Humble Accession (re-written into Yoda speak, of course) shoe-horned in, then.

[Nick Baty]

the Prayer of Humble Accession

You've taken me back to my Anglican days – that used to make me cringe!

[NorthernTenor]

That would be Nick's days as a Catholic organist working for an Anglican Parish (not quite the same thing).

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

In its resonance, biblical allusion and devotional power, this is a marvellous example of English liturgical prayer; though not a translation of a Roman or Sarum original.

[alan29]

What I liked about it was that it sneaked in a bit of theology of the body.

[musicus]

Ah! Happy memories. (I was an Anglican.) By the way, it's 'Prayer of Humble Access' ('accession' is something else).

Back to the topic now, please. Your various accounts are fascinating and a useful contribution to the historical record.

[Nick Baty]

What I liked about it was that it sneaked in a bit of theology of the body.

I'm not sure our rector would have approved of me explaining that to the junior choir!
And that's what I found so difficult about it – explaining a language I didn't understand to children. Our organist, much better educated than I, had similar problems.