Did you know that the translation of the Mass which we currently use is going to change? The texts we have now have been in use since 1970 and in September, we will begin to use a revised translation. Over the coming weeks/months, there will be short articles in the Catholic Voice and in your parish newsletters which will help us to understand what these changes are and why they have come about. There will also be plenty of opportunities provided to learn more about it and become familiar with the changes. A number of sessions have been arranged in April, May and June in the deaneries and your parish priest will be asked to invite three key members from each parish, perhaps a Catechist, a Minister of the Word and Minister of Holy Communion, to accompany him – unfortunately, we cannot accommodate any more than this number.

A small team from the Bishop’s Council for Liturgy (BCL) led by Canon Gerard Robinson, Chairman of the Bishop’s Council for Liturgy, will be leading these sessions and it will be a great opportunity to learn more about the Mass and to deepen our understanding of the liturgy and its meaning and relevance in our lives today.

There will be a great deal of material and web links for those with access to the internet and some good resources to support all of the changes that will occur.

Although we have had the official approval from Rome, it will be some time before the new translation will be used in our parishes. We will all begin using the new texts at the same time, to avoid any confusion. It is planned we will be able to celebrate Mass in the new translation from September onwards. This gives us plenty of time, over the next few months, to learn something about the changes, about how they will affect us and our liturgy and why they have been made.

I have sent your parish priest an interactive DVD with good information for discussion on the new text and I’m sure he will share the resource with you. Each edition of the Catholic Voice will contain some information on the new translation. In the next edition, there will be some specific liturgy websites where you can find more information and do take a look at the official liturgy website www.liturgyoffice.org.uk.

Please pray that we will all make the most of this opportunity to learn more about the Mass and to deepen our relationship with Christ.

This month sees the launch of the new Diocesan liturgy website www.middlesbroughliturgy.org.uk I hope you will take the time to browse and see what’s new. Familiarise yourself with it and it will become a useful source of liturgical information, particularly during this time of transition with the new revised translation of the Roman Missal. And again, I recommend the National Liturgy Office website www.liturgyoffice.org.uk where you will be able to locate many useful resources for the revised translation.