Dear Parishioners,

The task before us can seem huge. How do we get back the lost generations and get them interested in the faith and their salvation again? Providentially we don’t have to rely solely on ourselves. The Holy Spirit is here to help, but we do have to do our part. We have to do what he asks of us and then He can do His Part. “Lex Orandi—Lex Credendi” translates literally “Law of Prayer—Law of Belief”, which means the way we pray determines the way we believe. The most important and powerful prayer on earth is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Thus when Our Lord commands us in the third commandment to “Keep the Sabbath holy”, that cannot be done without prayer, and of course we would be faulting the 1st and 2nd commandments if we refuse to offer God the greatest prayer (the Mass) which He has given us on our sabbath—which Jesus established as Sunday in the New Covenant (the New Testament). Msgr. Bugnini and his accomplices rushed the translation of his new mass so much that the English version of it had at least one glaring theological error. The original translation in English said, “… this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven…” The new translation that we have been using since 2011 says, “… this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Although it is just a few words, the deep and foundational meaning they have for our faith is without measure. The first translation implies that all are saved and that sins may or may not need forgiving. If that is what people have been understanding in the depths of their hearts or even sub-consciously, it goes a long way in explaining why the number of people attending mass and going to confession has dropped so low. If one believes according to the first translation of the prayer that he is already saved and his sins may not need to be forgiven, then why go to mass or confession? The second translation is much clearer. “Many” not “all” will be saved and because Jesus’ sacrifice was “..for the forgiveness of sins”. Our salvation is still in question and sins must be forgiven. Looked at from the side of the priest, the first translation guts the mass truly removing its heart. So if the mass isn’t about the sacrifice of Christ to forgive our sins, then what is it? The answer that many came up with was—a community celebration of its own goodness. The priest became a facilitator or entertainer on a stage promoting this self realized goodness in the closed circle of presenter-audience.

(to be continued)