From Culto Divino

Now in his victory lap as the Vatican's Liturgy Czar, Cardinal Francis Arinze took stock of the latest liturgy news in a recent interview with the Pope's paper, including three new alternative options for the Mass' final words:

Pope Benedict XVI personally chose the three options from suggestions presented to him after a two-year study, Arinze told the Synod of Bishops in mid-October....

He said along with "Ite, missa est," the Latin phrase now translated as "The Mass is ended, go in peace," the new options are:

-- "Ite ad Evangelium Domini annuntiandum" (Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord).

-- "Ite in pace, glorificando vita vestra Dominum" (Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life).

-- "Ite in pace" (Go in peace).

The idea for alternative words at the end of Mass was raised at the 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. Many bishops wanted the final words to reflect a more explicit connection between Mass and the church's mission of evangelization in the world.

Cardinal Arinze said the concern was that, for many Catholics, the present words of dismissal sounded like "The Mass is ended, go and rest."

The cardinal said his congregation undertook a wide consultation and came up with 72 different possible alternative phrases. Of these, the congregation chose nine and presented them to the pope, who chose the final three....

The cardinal said the congregation still was studying another suggestion made during the 2005 synod, that of moving the sign of peace to a different part of the Mass.

In 2005, the pope said the sign of peace had great value, but should be done with "restraint" so that it does not become a distraction during Mass. He asked for the study on moving the sign of peace from a moment just before Communion to another time in the liturgy.

Cardinal Arinze said that, after consultation, the congregation had written to bishops' conferences asking their preference between leaving the sign of peace where it is now and moving it to an earlier moment, after the prayer of the faithful.

He said the responses from bishops' conferences were expected to be in by the end of October, and the question would then be presented to the pope for a final decision.

Cardinal Arinze said that in addition to its timing some have suggested that the sign of peace be limited to an exchange between the Massgoer and those in his or her immediate vicinity. He said that in some churches today, the sign of peace is extended to the point that it becomes "almost a jamboree."

Of course, CDW's main project for the English-speaking world remains the ongoing re-translation of the Missale Romanum, the second major pillar of which makes an encore appearance before the US bishops at November Meeting.

As veteran readers will recall, the Rome-approved "White Book" of the new rendering's first and most critical section -- the standard Order of Mass -- was rolled out in August strictly for study purposes in advance of its eventual implementation.

SVILUPPO: In a follow-up story on the new dismissals -- and thanks to the NewsHub's ever-on Jim Lackey for pointing it out -- CNS adds the key nugget that the new renderings of the Missal likely won't see implementation until "2012 or later."

So much for Advent 2011.

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