I have spent almost all of my Saturday viewing the BOBOSIC DVD from ICEL (yes, diocesan liturgist – I have no life…). Given the comments in various places, I was concerned about the utility of the DVD for formation in our diocese and our parishes. Of particular concern was the question of whether the 2010 or the 2008 Order of Mass was used in preparing this resource. The DVD presents the new texts in five different ways. First, a PDF of the Order of Mass is provided in the resource file of the DVD. Second, there is a side-by-side comparison of the current text and the 2010 Order of Mass with commentary on the changes. Finally, the Mass is presented in written, spoken, and chanted versions. Since Part Five of the DVD does not involve the texts themselves, there are no comments for that component. This is what I discovered.
RESOURCES
Among the Resources offered on the DVD is a PDF of the Order of Mass. This appears to be the 2010 Order of Mass with one very interesting major difference: the doxology at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer is the 2008 version. In addition, as also found in the 2008 Order of Mass, the word “bows” is retained in the rubrics, rather than “bends, ” and, at #117 in Eucharistic Prayer IV, “made” is missing before “incarnate.”
PART ONE: EXPLORING THE MASS
The focus of this part is the historical development of the liturgy. In one section (“Sacred Signs”) under “Theological Reflections,” the texts of the Prayer for Blessing Water at Baptism and Preface V for Sundays in Ordinary Time are presented. I do not know if these are the final texts or not.
PART TWO: RECEIVING THIS ENGLISH TRANSLATION
This part of the DVD focuses on the task of translation. Under “Issues of Translation” there is a section titled, “Scripture,” where the connections of 43 orations to the scriptures are made. I do not know if these are the final versions of the orations or not.
The section “Changes to the Roman Missal Text” presents the current text and the 2010 text side by side, in order to show the changes that have taken place. Each major change is accompanied by a video commentary. Because the purpose of this section is to highlight the changes, some texts are incompletely presented (such as the Gloria and Preface Dialogue); also, only form C of the Penitential Act is shown. There is no “our” before “salvation” in the Preface to Eucharistic Prayer II, but the word “with” is placed before “all the Saints.” The doxology at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer is the 2008 version.
PART THREE: CRAFTING THE ART OF LITURGY
The section titled “The Chanting of Prayer” presents the basic chants of the Order of Mass. A few items to note: (a) only the first line of the Credo is demonstrated; (b) the word “our” is present before “salvation” at the start of the Preface for Eucharistic Prayer II (this is consistent with the 2010 ICEL chants but not consistent with the 2010 text version of the Order of Mass); (c) the doxology at the end of the EP is the 2008 version; and (d) I do not know what version of the Exsultet was used.
PART FOUR: CELEBRATING THE EUCHARIST
In the section “Liturgy of the Eucharist,” the essay uses the 2008 version of the doxology.
The section “Exploring the Text” presents the Mass in three formats. First, the written texts of the Mass are presented. Next, there is an audio version of the Mass (with accompanying written text). Finally, there is a chanted version of the Mass (video; with chant notation).
The Introductory Rites, Liturgy of the Word, and Concluding Rites all use the 2010 texts. Only the chanted version presents all three Orations; I do not know if those are from the 2008 or 2010 approved texts. In addition, the Credo is not chanted all the way through in the video (only the first line is demonstrated). In addition, the ending to the Collect in the chant demonstration refers to both the “unity” of the HS and “one” God – showing that unitas has been translated twice (2010 version?).
In the written version (Part Four), there is an error: the people are said to reply “and with your Spirit” to the introduction to the penitential rite.
The written presentation uses Eucharistic Prayer II. The word “our” is not present before “salvation.” The rubrics use “bows” instead of “bends.” “With” is present before “all the Saints.” The 2008 doxology is used. The priest’s private prayer seems to come from the 2008 version since “Death” is not capitalized as it is in the 2010 version.
The audio presentation (which also uses EP II) adds “with” before “all the Saints” as well, and keeps “the” in front of “Mother of God” (which is consistent with the 2008 and not 2010 text). The 2008 doxology is used. “Our” is not placed before “salvation.”
The chant/video version uses the preface from EP II and the body of EP III. In the Preface, “our” is added before “salvation.” The priest seems to have skipped the word “sacrificial” – but that seems to be an error rather than a true omission in the text. Otherwise, the 2010 text is used (“world” has replaced “earth”), except for the doxology where, again, the 2008 version is used. Unfortunately, the priest doing the demonstration joins in the Memorial Acclamation, undoing the dialogical nature of this part.
CONCLUSION
For the most part, the 2010 texts are used in this resource. Therefore, assuming no other changes to the Order of Mass, this should be a helpful resource for liturgists, catechists, and pastors. However, anyone using this DVD should be aware of some discrepancies and be forewarned that, as we have learned, what is “final” may not always be “final”.
The most notable exception to the use of the 2010 Order of Mass is the use of the 2008 doxology. Why is this so? Is there more than one version of the 2010 Order of Mass circulating (such as the one used here and the one posted on the USCCB website)? Has a decision been made to revert to the 2008 version of the doxology? Was this simply an oversight?
There are also some questions regarding Eucharistic Prayer II: Is there an “our” before “sacrifice?” This is most notable when comparing spoken and chanted texts (the word is present in the ICEL chants but absent in the text version of the Order of Mass). Is there a “with” before “all the Saints?” The DVD has it both ways. Is there a “the” before “Mother of God?” This was one of the changes made between 2008 and 2010. And, of course: Will the priest “bow” or “bend”?
I hope this is helpful; if I have omitted something or there is an error here, please let me know.
Deacon Frank Agnoli, MD, DMin
Director of Liturgy and Deacon Formation Diocese of Davenport
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