When we finish exchanging the sign of peace with each other and singing or speaking the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God prayer, the faithful kneel in preparation to receive Communion. Since 1975, the year when the current Sacramentary became normative for the Masses offered in the United States,
priests have prayed the following words:
“This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper.”
The priest is joined by the faithful in the response,
“Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”
HERE IS WHAT IS CHANGED (words in italics):
On November 27th, the First Sunday of Advent, we will begin to pray from the Roman Missal, Third Edition, the following revisions. The priest will begin with the prayer:
“Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.”
Then the priest will be joined by the faithful and together they will pray,
“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
Again, as with the other prayers in the Roman Missal, Third Edition, the bishops of the Church have attempted to provide more precise English translations from the official Latin texts. With the new translations of these two prayers,
three separate biblical passages are referenced. In the declaratory invitation by the priest, the first sentence is the testimony of St. John the Baptist to the people that have come to him, identifying who Jesus is (John 1:29). The second
sentence spoken by the priest is borrowed from one of St. John the Evangelist’s dialogues with the angel in the Book of Revelation (19.9). Our participation in the Sacred Liturgy is our participation on earth, through the mediation of the
sacraments, in the Sacred Liturgy of heaven, “the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
In the second prayer, “Both priest and people respond scripturally, speaking to Christ after the example of the good centurion who, upon seeking the Lord’s favor in healing his servant, says: ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not
worthy to have you enter under my roof . . . but say the word and let my servant be healed’ (Luke 7:6-7)” (Mystical Body, Mystical Voice 221). Fr. Douglas Martis and Mr. Christopher Carstens, authors of Mystical Body, Mystical Voice, further explicate the reality of the Church’s action at this time in the Sacred Liturgy: “The Roman Rite has adapted the centurion’s words to the present liturgical context, changing ‘my servant’ to ‘my soul’ (anima mea), and when the Lord ‘says the word’ it is healed and filled with grace. Left unchanged, however, is the word roof (tectum), signaling our own personal abode into which the Lord will enter (even though the Lord never did enter the centurion’s house)” (ibid.). If you want to dig deeper, or review what has been explained in the bulletin since the beginning of October, please refer to www.stjohnwellesley.org. In addition, a rich resource available to all is offered through Boston College School of
Theology and Ministry: www.bc.edu/content/bc/schools/stm/c21online/resources/RomanMissal.html
The Parish Liturgical Commission has been meeting on your behalf to help prepare us all for the changes that will be inaugurated on the first Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011. Please contact any of the following if interested in
finding out more: Steve Brown, Pat Colton, Pat Feige, Svea Fraser, Jerry Kehoe (PLC@stjohnwellesley.org)
