November  27, 2011

Today is the First Sunday of Advent and it means that it is the start of the new liturgical year of the Church.  Today also marks the implementation of the use of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, the ritual text containing prayers and instructions for the celebration of the Mass. It also "contains prayers for the observances of recently canonized saints, additional prefaces for the Eucharistic Prayers, additional Votive Masses and Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions, and some updated and revised rubrics (instructions) for the celebration of the Mass. The English translation of the Roman Missal will also include updated translations of existing prayers, including some of the well-known responses and acclamations of the people."1
The revised version of the Missale Romanun was announced by Pope John Paul II during the Jubilee Year 2000.

I have to admit that there is resistance in me using this new Roman Missal. But then again, I am challenged to put my trust in the wisdom of the Church hierarchy for this. Just when I feel so comfortable with the old ways that the Lord may be asking me to get out of my comfort zone and do something that is not part of my usual ways.

Here is a prayer that I love, attributed to Sir Francis Drake (c. 1577), who circumnavigated the earth when most people still believed that it was flat.

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.




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1 "USCCB - Roman Missal." United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. <http://old.usccb.org/romanmissal/>.