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1 YOUR PRIZE-WINNING NEWSPAPER SERVING GEORGIA'S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES diocese of Atlanta VOL, 2, NO. 47 ATLANTA, GEORGIA THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1964 $5.00 PER YEAR Vernacular Introduction Sunday Archdiocese Is Well Prepared UT OtltGATlS IWVCtM • A NEW CHAPTER IS OPENED Someday, perhaps in 1990, Catholic men and women of north ern Georgia offering Mass with their priests will recall a childhood Sunday in November of 1964 and say, “I remember it well. . . that day we could w atch the celebrant, we could under stand his English, we were, for the first time, partakers not spectators.” Someday, perhaps sooner, a Catholic husband and his Protest ant wife will kneel side by side at Mass and, for the first time, feel the bond of all baptized in Christ. Now the bond seems to be more visible, more audible, more intelligible. Someday, an older priest, known in his earlier days for his liturgical vision and vigor, will say to a newly-ordained priest, “No, the renewal took a long time to launch. In fact like all good things, it took years. I remember that great Sunday in November very well. Not it is your turn to make your contribution.” U J In writing to you on the eve of the Vernacular Mass, I write in the future. That is all we have to live in. The past has its glor ies, and we are grateful for them. It had its fixed ways and over formalized procedures. But millions ofdedicated Catholics surviv ed the bitterness of the religious wars and the beleaguered centuries in which the Church kept her identity in the face of powerful states, warring sects and waves of atheism and secu larism. These Catholics were our ancestors, our parents, our selves. The Masses, the Rosaries, the Benedictions— millions of them - carried the Catholic voice to God. Now the Church is teaching us, in St. Paul’s words, “a better way.” It is a way the Church once used, and then misplaced. As Pope Paul points out the new liturgy is a renewal, a renova tion, a revitalization, not a revolution. As the ancient tree of worship opens new branches and blossoms for us,we must not forget that the trunk is the same. So are the roots. Thanks to our lay leaders, our sisters and especially our pri ests, the Archdiocese is well-prepared for the changes. We en courage parish organizations to spend the year in deeper study of the meaning of it ail. We ask that our priests' homilies be brief and helpful, and above all, Mass centered. We ask that on Nov. 29 each of our people include in their intention a prayer for those who find it difficult to change. There are not liturgical Catholics and “non-liturgical Catholics.” We are all brothers in Christ. Someday (soon, we are sure), a family quarrel, a dishonest business practice, words of hate against others, a vicious piece of gossip, an act of impurity will be averted just as it was about to occur. ACatholic conscience nourished on the liturgy, res ponding to Grace, has helped move the Christian community closer to Good. This is what the whole renewal is about. FATHER Michael McKeever, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes, Sunday's Masses under the new liturgy. Father McKeever con- Boulevard, shown at the new altar which will be used for this structed the wooden, table-like altar himself. When to Stand ARCHBISHOP OF ATLANTA At the priest’s entrance, through Kyrie, Gloria, Collect; at the second reading (Gospel), Creed; following the homily; at the Eucha ristic prayer, the Our Father, the post-Communion prayer, and at the Last Gospel. When to Sit During the first reading (the Epistle), the homily, the Offertory hymn, the ablutions after Communion. When to Kneel At the genuflection portion of the Creed, following the Sanctus bell, at the end of the Agnus Dei, at the blessing of the priest before the Last Gospel. Implementing Liturgy Reform Next Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, Catholics of the Arch diocese of Atlanta will join their co-religionists all over the coun try in the launching of Mass in the vernacular, a major step in Liturgical Reforms approved by the Fathers of Vatican Council II. Many parts of the Mass in English; Mass facing the people; Lay Readers, Lay Commentators; congregational singing, and a general increase in the participation of the people of God in the Liturgy of the Church will be the norm. CHANGE DOES not normally take place in the Catholic Church either suddenly or merely for its own sake. This is true of the liturgical changes which are absorbing the attention of the Catho lic world today. These changes have been prepared for over a long period of time- well over a generation- and only through the laborious efforts of many individuals and groups. The Church has moved gradually. Pope Pius XII recognized and approved the ef forts of pioneers in liturgical work in an encyclical (Media- tori Dei) as early as 1947. Step by step, during the ensuing years, advances were made both by individuals and in the offi cial policies of the Church. Finally, the Vatican Council has crow ned these experiments with new liturgical laws built upon the most cogent doctrinal and pastoral principles. This latter point is of cardinal importance. There is no such thing in a sacred matter of this kind as change for the sake of chage. For the Fathers of the Vatican Council, as well as for the bishops, priests and laymen who are dedicated to liturgical renewal, there is only one important consideration - the spiritual benefit of the Christian people. THE BASIC insight that led to the present situation is the re cognition that the faithful were not deriving the maximum benefit from their Sacramental life. The Council Fathers de clared their aim clearly; “Christ’s faithful should through a good understanding of the rites and prayers, take part in the sac red action conscious of what they are doing with devotion and full collaboration. This full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else.” Each change, each newly introduced practice, each reform is based on this aim. Moreover, even these particular changes all havL their own definite and important reason. Another consideration may be helpful for those who find the changes in liturgy confusing or difficult to accept. Change is normal for the Church. The Church has always been ready to change non-essentials in order to do its work more effectively. The fundamentals-for example, of the Mass and Sacraments - always remain the same, because they have been instituted by- Christ, The fact remains that each age in the Church’s long his tory has introduced changes to meet its own needs. The Mass was celebrated in Greek in the first centuries. The change to Latin was dictated by the faithful’s use of Latin in everyday life and ignorance (in the western Church) of Greek. Even in our own time changes have been mad^. Frequent Communion is a recent phenomenon, as older people will recall. The relaxed fast before Communion and the introduction of evening Masses has been of immense benefit to countless souls. The restored Holy Week services returned these magnificent celebrations to the experience of the faithful. A Spirit of faith dictates for all of us- not slavish obedience, but reasoned and free acceptance ofthemindof the Church and the effort to know and possess that “mind” in ourselves.