For Immediate Release
Contact: Maria Zone
Director of Communications
Archdiocese of Hartford
(860) 541-6491 ext. 127
mzone@aohct.org

Educating the Faithful:
Changes to the Roman Missal are Discussed on That’s the Spirit on WCCT-TV, Sunday, October 9

Hartford, Conn. – (October 7, 2011) With the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal coming to Catholic churches across the United States on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, the Office of Radio and Television (ORTV) of the Archdiocese of Hartford will rebroadcast an informational segment on its program, That’s The Spirit, on Sunday, October 9 on WCCT-TV immediately following the broadcast of the Mass, which starts at 10 a.m. The segment will also be broadcast on WJMJ Radio following the noon Mass on October 9. 

The segment will be hosted by Fr. John Gatzak, executive director of ORTV.  Fr. David Baranowski, director of the Office for Divine Worship and chairman of the Education Committee for the Reception of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal will be the guest. Two additional segments on the topic will be broadcast on That’s the Spirit on November 13th and 20 th.

At its core, the Roman Catholic Mass will not change, but some of the English words parishioners sing and speak will be different. For example, when the priest says: “The Lord be with you,” the current response by the church congregation is, “And also with you.” When the new edition of the Roman Missal is introduced, the response will be: “And with your spirit.”

The reason for the revisions is to achieve a greater adherence to the original Latin translation of the text, as well as recover some of the scriptural texts not in the current translation. New Masses also needed to be added to celebrate the many new saints who have been canonized since the last missal was published in 1975.

In an effort to educate the faithful, the Archdiocese of Hartford has published several articles in the Catholic Transcript and has conducted several workshops and seminars, educating priests, deacons, and the laity about the revisions over the past several months.  The next workshop, Changes in the New Missal: An Invitation to Renewal will be held on Wednesday, October 12 at Caritas Christi Center in Hamden from 7-8:30 p.m. To register call 203-281-2569.

Many priests have addressed the changes in their homilies, and have provided information in their church bulletins and on parish websites. Some will have pew cards available beginning November 27th to assist in following the Mass.
 
For more information, visit www.archdioceseofhartford.org and click on Roman Missal. To purchase materials, visit the Catholic Book Store located at the Archdiocesan Center at Saint Thomas Seminary, 467 Bloomfield Ave., in Bloomfield.