Wednesday, June 21, 2006

"'Dew' Is Done"

As in "gone." As in "Don't expect to hear it at your liturgy come Implementation Day."

That's the word from a canvassing of good folks who've been keeping an eye on things liturgical in the wake of last Thursday's vote on the new translation of the Order of Mass.

The American "White Book" -- the text of the translation with its 62 amendments approved by the USCCB -- is headed to Rome, where it'll come up at the meeting of the Vox Clara committee of the Congregation for Divine Worship in mid-July. The committee, an advisory body specifically on English translations, will review ICEL's progress on the Proper of Seasons and most likely be asked for its input on the USCCB's approved changes to the original text presented them in Los Angeles.

Given the campaign to gain the affirmative vote of the American bishops, odds are that the US amendments will remain "substantially intact" in the text granted Rome's recognitio are quite high. And the approval might just be coming sooner than expected.

However, questions remains on the timetable for its implementation. VC will likely be drawn on the question of whether the Ordo Missae should be implemented while the 1970 calendar prayers remain, or if it should all be bound in one completed volume, with the new Proper, to be introduced to the liturgical celebration in one fell swoop at some later date.

Once the text is approved by Rome -- with whatever changes CDW decides to make, if any -- it will be publicly released in full for the first time. Having received questions about why the "Gray Book" presented to the USCCB was not made available for public consumption in the run-up to the LA meeting, the Holy See has apparently requested that the text not be made public before its final confirmation to avoid the appearance that the various drafts were definitive liturgical texts. As you all know, no Vatican document is ever presented before its finished form, so the same rule applies here.

Oh, and keep an eye on "consubstantial." I'm just sayin'....

-30-