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**Bishop comments on the proposed Mass changesBy Bishop Michael O. Jackels“We fear change.” That is the unofficial motto of the Villa Stritch, the residence for American diocesan priests working in the Vatican. Some of the residents, hearing that others describe them as reactionaries who board up the Church’s windows against the winds of change, adopted the very tongue-in-cheek motto “we fear change.” Some people do in fact fear change. It takes away what is familiar. It strips people of their comfort zone. If you’re one of them, brace yourselves for another blast of change (though I would rather describe this one as a welcome and balmy breeze). On June 15 the Bishops of the United States approved a new Latin-English translation of what is called the Order of the Mass, those parts which are used for every Mass. I hasten to assure you that there’s no reason for concern or fear. First of all, there aren’t substantial changes, though just enough to require the priest and people to have to read the printed text until it becomes more familiar. Plus, the approval still has to be recognized (recognitio) by the Vatican before it can be used. Lastly, it will probably be a while before the new translation is actually used in the parishes. That’s because the rest of the Missal -- the prayers for each day and saints’ feast, the prefaces, the various Mass commons, etc. -- are still in the initial stages of translation. Given that the process for what was just approved took around nine years, well, don’t throw away your Missal just yet. Why a new translation? Well, it is now admitted that the English translation we’ve been using for the past 35 years was a rush job. As a consequence, and because of the principle guiding the translation, not much attention was given to being faithful to the Latin text or to traditional prayer language. The new translation is more faithful on both counts. I promise, before we begin to use this new translation of the Missal, to carry out a thorough explanation of the parts of the Mass and the changes made, especially the links to Sacred Scripture and the writings of the Church Fathers. This will hopefully help to make the text more familiar and to make it part of our comfort zone. In conclusion, I want to assure you that there’s no reason to fear this change. This is truly a case where change is for the better. This is a positive response to the call of Pope John Paul II, at the beginning of the third millennium, to continue in the direction set by the Second Vatican Council of the way we celebrate the Sacraments, and especially Holy Mass (cf. Novo millennio ineunte 35). (6/23/06) **Bishop calls the faithful to pray for more vocationsBy Bishop Michael O. JackelsIsn’t it true that we pray out of our need? For example, we gather for worship at Mass out of our need to give thanks to God for his mercy, to be instructed by the Scriptures, to be fed by the Holy Eucharist, to be supported by others who have similar struggles and ask the same questions. Likewise, we pray for vocations to the priesthood out of our need for more priests to serve us. We do need priests. We need priests to bring us to new birth as children of God in Baptism. We need them to forgive our sins and restore us to God’s life in Confession. We need priests to accompany us in sickness and to prepare us for death with the Sacrament of Anointing. We need them to lead us in worship at Mass, to preach and explain the Good News to us, and most of all to feed us with the Bread of Life in the Holy Eucharist, without which we cannot have God’s life within us (cf. Jn 6:53). A priest and his ministry is a bridge for us from earth to heaven. We cannot live fully our Christian lives without the ministry of priests; they are God’s precious gift to continue his love and care for us. Sunday, May 7, is the “World Day of Prayer for Vocations.” Therefore, given our need, I ask you, indeed I beg you for your own sake, for the sake of our diocese and that of the universal Church, to pray for more priests to serve us. In addition, I ask you to show appreciation for our priests and seminarians, and to support them in various ways, especially by laboring with them in the mission of the Church, for the honor of God and the salvation of souls. The number of priests to serve us is like garlic in cooking and incense at Mass -- more is better. So, pray more, and pray harder for more priests. (5/05/06) **As the Body of Christ, we care for immigrantsBy Bishop Michael O. JackelsThe Catholic Church has a role to play in the current public debate regarding the undocumented immigration of people from countries such as China, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Mexico and Pakistan, just to name a few. As the mystical Body of Christ, the Catholic Church first of all cares for the immigrants and refugees in our midst, believing that Jesus takes personally how we treat them (cf. Mt 25:38). The help offered them is not dependent on whether or not they are in our country legally. This aid is a work of mercy inspired by the teaching and example of Jesus: “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you” (Mt 7:12). The Catholic Church also serves as a teacher, helping people form a correct conscience, even on social issues like immigration. In this role the Church reminds people that respect for the dignity of every human person is the basis for a just society. This respect establishes a right to life and to those things needed to live with dignity. These needful things include productive work and fair wages, food and shelter, education and health care, and protection from harm. Moreover, if these things are not available in one’s homeland, there exists a right to migrate in order to find them elsewhere. This role of teacher also involves raising a prophetic voice to call for the defense of human rights and for the reform of unjust laws. Therefore, in light of respect for human dignity, the Catholic Church asks for conscientious political action on the part of voters and legislators. The goal should be to bring about the reforms needed to establish an immigration policy that enables people to enter our country legally, in a safe, orderly, and dignified manner, in order to find protection and the things needed to live with dignity. Also, in the course of this process we should never lose sight of the fact that immigrants are human persons just like the rest of us and so deserve to be treated with dignity, whether they are here legally or not. We can rightly expect that immigrants learn English, obey laws, pay taxes, and work towards legalizing their status. This would benefit all concerned parties. But this process would be more attractive and less threatening if they received from us a welcome and a helping hand. For many of us it wasn’t too long ago that our forbearers found themselves in similar straits. Indeed, the Bible exhorts us to treat immigrants with kindness on the basis that our spiritual ancestors were once strangers in a strange land (cf. Ex 22:20). The message given by the lady of liberty in New York harbor leads immigrants to believe they can expect welcome and help here: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.” Let’s hope our laws and behavior towards immigrants doesn’t give a contrary message. (4/28/06) **Catholic Diocese of Wichita home page |