Prudence Rants. But yay Roman Missal!

We're two weeks into the use of the NEW ROMAN MISSAL and I have to say - I'm still giddy as all get out because I just LOOOOOOVE it. Although, I would personally like to hear another Eucharistic Prayer: Each Mass I've been to (and I typically go to Daily Mass so... it's more than just the 2 weekend Masses) since the implementation of the revisions has used Eucharistic Prayer II which employs the wording: "Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall..." Now, don't get me wrong, I love it too... but can I get a little "from the rising of the sun to it's setting..." (Eucharistic Prayer III) or, better yet, THE (revised) ROMAN CANON?! The only way us regular lay folks are going to get used to all these "changes" is to be exposed to them. JUST SAYIN'...

 
Which brings me to: CRITIQUES OF THE REVISED ROMAN MISSAL. There's always been this notion, especially among Conservatives, that our media here in the United States is a bit liberal. And...being somewhat of a media junkie... I agree (which is real close to blasphemy in my line of work). But.. I really think you can see this here. Grad School-Friend shared a link with me this morning that she'd seen on a news report on CBS Sunday morning. The story is primarily a two-year old non-story about a nun in Phoenix who was excommunicated for giving the go-ahead for a team of doctors at a Catholic hospital to perform an abortion in 2009. (The excommunication was lifted recently which I guess makes this story somewhat worth reporting on...but this post isn't about that!)

The story tries to tie too many things together [in my humble opinion] and gets an awful lot wrong. Vatican II is mentioned as a mere "advisory council" that became known as the Second Vatican Council that implemented some changes that allowed people to really "make their own decisions about their faith." [Um... not exactly, CBS people. The basic beliefs and tenets of the Faith have NEVER changed. Ever. Period. 2000+ years. A faith instituted by Christ Himself.]

But to get to the meat of the matter here, the news report goes on to suggest "another reform hallmark of Vatican II [was the] use of the English-language Mass" [Okay.... yes... Mass in the VERNACULAR would be more accurate but... continue...]

"...The Vatican has now directed American churches to institute a new mass featuring an English translation more faithful to the original Latin - a mass critics say is harder to understand, less English-speaker friendly." [Totally wrong. The Vatican has directed Churches in ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD to use a REVISED Mass featuring an English translation more faithful to the original Latin - a Mass that is NOT harder to understand if you just LISTEN with your EARS and... that last part is dumb. Can you read? Then just read the responses off of the Mass cards or from the Missalette. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.]

What really burns me about this is that alot of people see this on CBS (one of the original big three networks and still a relative powerhouse in the grand scheme of the American media landscape) and take it as Gospel truth. I mean, it has to be, right? The media wouldn't lead us astray, would it?! Yeah... about that. I've only copied and pasted TWO SHORT paragraphs from a much longer news story.. and you can see how many things they got wrong in just those two short paragraphs. Where's the oversight? Where is the TRUTH!?

Photo Cred: Quick Meme

Sigh. This is what we're fighting, folks. Secularism. Lukewarmness. A people who think they can make decisions about their own faith. As the article points out, it IS a critical time for the Church... but NOT for the reasons that it points out. It is a "battle between Catholic and Catholic [I would argue that that should be "Catholic"], between past, present and future..."

Yes. It is. But the battle is more about gaining control of and telling OUR OWN story as Catholics - and not letting a secular news source twist it into the dramatic piece that was produced for Sunday Morning news on the Second Week of Advent.

And in case you were wondering, I'm still giddy as all get out about the revisions. The media can't rain on this parade!