Oakland cathedral joins churches worldwide in adopting changes to Catholic mass

On Sunday, English-speaking Catholics from all over the world tried to adapt to the changes in The Order of Mass as they also celebrated the first Sunday of Advent.

On Sunday morning at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, the sounds of high-pitched singing, a ringing organ and a mumbling congregation filled the huge cathedral as people tried to catch on to the new version of the Catholic Mass. Sunday, also the first day of Advent, was the first time the updated Mass text was used at English-speaking Catholic churches across the world.

The new version of the Mass came from The Roman Missal, Third Edition—the ritual text that contains prayers and instructions for the celebration of Mass. At the Oakland cathedral, the audience stumbled through new words during the Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Communion Rite and the Concluding Rites as they tried to not automatically reply with passages that they have been reciting for decades. “I had a hard time keeping up,” said David Raju, 31. But, he said, as a candidate for confirmation, “I haven’t had a chance to get used to the old [version], so I think I’ll catch on with everyone else.”

Hundreds of words were added and deleted from the revised Mass, including a new greeting response. Since the early 1970s at English-speaking churches, the priest has greeted the congregation with “The Lord be with you.”  The congregation’s response has been, “And also with you.” But not anymore. Now the congregation will respond “And with your spirit,” which is supposed to be a closer translation to the original Latin text.

Read the rest of the story from Byrhonda Lyons at OaklandNorth.net.