Catholics in Iowa will see some major changes in the liturgy and hymns as they attend mass this weekend. The Director of Liturgy for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Peggy Loverien says the church has changed the way it translate things from Latin.
Loverien says they have gone from using the “dynamic equivalent,” or making use of the meaning that they find in the Latin text, to the “formal equivalent,” which uses the literal sense of what the original text means in Latin. She says the text of mass, and the music they sing will all be adjusted on the first Sunday of advent.
Loverien says she’s been hearing from parishioners and believes the older members of the church will find it to be a major change.
“For folks who have been praying these prayers for 45 years, this is difficult,” She says. Loverien says a Baptist friend of hers once joked that the Catholics “all know their lines by heart.”
Loverien says that is true for those who have been in the church for 30 and 40 years, but she says the younger people don’t seem to have a problem with it. Loverien says the changes will be evident as soon as the mass begins. She says for example, one thing they will hear right away is “The Lord be with you” and the people with respond with “And in your spirit,” instead of the previous response of “And also with you.” Loverien says the response is more in line with the literal Latin version of the phrase.
The Iowa Catholic Conference says there are nearly half a million Catholics in Iowa. You can find out more information on the new changes by visiting: www.usccb.org./romanmissal.
By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City