Notes from class on 12/14

Question for the comment box at the end!!!! Don't miss it! 

Last night, we had 5 out of 12 students present.  'Tis the season for Christmas Concerts at middle schools!  During class time, we went to confession and learned how to use the missalettes in the church to follow along with the words of the Mass.  If you were absent from class, please make sure you get to confession.  The confession schedule at St. John's is: Sunday through Saturday after the 7 PM Mass and Saturdays 1-2 PM.

As we were going through the missalettes, one of our students asked why the words of the Mass were different now.  She wondered, "Why do they change the words all the time?"

The fact is that the words of the Mass hadn't changed in over 500 years.  Then, in the 1960's the words changed-from Latin into English.  Then it was over 40 years before the changes of 2011 happened.

The videos I'm posting below explain the reasons for the new translation of the Missal well.  But to summarize:  Pope John Paul II, in the year 2000, called for a new translation of the roman Missal, one that would be standard throughout the whole English-speaking world.  He also wanted it to be a more exact translation of the original Latin that the Mass was written in.  The new translation captures the basic truths of the Catholic faith in a more full way.  There's an old saying: "Lex orandi, Lex credendi" (We believe what we pray).  We need the Mass to present the fullness of the truth of Catholicism so we can really believe.


New Roman Missal for Middle School Youth - Word for Word by Life Teen from Life Teen on Vimeo.

We also talked about identity: what makes Catholic Christians, well, Catholic?  Answer in the comment box below: How can people tell that someone is Catholic? How could someone tell if YOU are Catholic?