Liturgy Newsletter — May 2008

News

Roman Missal — Green & Grey Books

At the Easter meeting of the Bishops’ Conference the Grey Book translation of the Order of Mass II was approved by the bishops. The volume included the Prefaces, Blessings and the Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation and for Various Needs and Intentions. Following the Conference meeting the next 3 Grey Books were sent out to the bishops for review: Eucharistic Prayers for Masses with Children, Masses for Various Needs and Intentions and Ritual Masses. These texts will be presented at the November meeting of the Bishops’ Conference for voting on.

In September the bishops of ICEL will meet in Canada and it is expected that they will approve the remaining Grey Books for distribution to member conferences. On the ICEL website there is a helpful summary of the work to date on the Roman Missal.

Mission of the Church to Migrants in England & Wales

Also at its Easter meeting the Bishops’ Conference approved a statement looking at the social transformation of the dioceses through migration from around the world and the implications for Church life. After reviewing the biblical tradition and the teaching of the Church to do with migrants the document looks at migration within the wider mission of the Church. In particular the call to proclaim the Word, the need for a ministry of welcome and to build the communion and holiness of the Church and for all of this to be founded on a ministry of service. The document considers both the effects on the liturgical life of parishes but also point towards how this may be enriched through the participation of different a communities. The statement has been published by the Catholic Truth Society. It can also be downloaded from the Bishops’ Conference website.