AMID renewed attention on the liturgy in the Church, the Dominican Order has published its own missal, incorporating the feasts of recently beatified and canonized members of the order.
The Dominican Missal and Lectionary, follows new English translation of the Roman Missal, which will be used by Philippine dioceses starting Advent 2012.
The liturgical book for local Churches and religious orders was released at the Institute of Preaching-Philippine Dominican Center of Institution Studies in Sto. Domingo Church, Quezon City last Dec. 8.
Fr. Roland Mactal, O.P., chairman of the Dominican Province of the Philippines-Dominican Commission on Liturgy and Prayer, said the book brings to completion the publication of liturgical supplements for the order in the Philippines.
He, however, said the Dominican Rite in Latin is not yet included in the book as it was based on the typical edition of the Roman Missal. The next publication in April will include these said portions.
The Dominican Rite of the Mass is the unique Catholic rite of the order. It is celebrated in Latin and the priest faces the altar. After the Second Vatican Council led to the new Roman rite of the Mass, the Dominican Rite fell into disuse, but is still occasionally done by traditional Roman Catholics.
Fr. Genaro Diwa, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said the bishops decided to have a period of catechesis to avoid any confusion in the implementation of the new translation. The time for catechesis started in January last year with the approval of the use of the third edition of the Roman Missal, until the implementation of the new English translation on Dec. 12.
“[First,] the seemingly delay in the implementation of this missal is due to the need of a serious catechesis in the country on the changes in the translation that should effect inevitably to the faithful and the clergy. [Second] is the necessity for re-catechesis on the celebration of the Mass. We cannot deny the fact also that after more than 40 years of Vatican II, there are critics to its implementation,” Diwa said.
Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P., a member of the Dominican Commission on Liturgy and Prayers, said that if Dominicans would not be able to preach and act according to the teachings of the Church, it would be a “betrayal to their identity as Dominicans.”
“The book launching is a manifestation of Filipino Dominican salvation and commitment that we transmit and give, not only when we speak to offices, seminars, [and] classrooms, but also whenever we have a celebration of the Liturgy,” he said.
Adaptation
The liturgical book contains the complete text for the Eucharistic celebration proper for Dominican saints and blesseds. The selection and arrangement of the text follow the Proper of the Order of Preachers, approved by Congregation for Sacraments and Divine Worship. It is composed of sections such as introduction of the Dominican missal and lectionary, Proper of Time, Proper of Dominican Saints and Blesseds, Order of Mass, Proper of the Saints, and Lectionary for the Masses of the order.
In the introductory section, it says that to conform to the orientation of Vatican II based on the direction of the Apostolic See, the preparation of the order’s new liturgical books requires recalling the letters of promulgation which describe the policies, practices and procedures of the Mass, general introduction, and the complementary annotations.
The section titled “Proper of Time” contains the renewed form and the elements of the rites of the order for certain liturgical seasons like Lent. For instance, during Ash Wednesday, the Mass shall begin in the usual manner, but the penitential act would be omitted.
The Proper of Dominican Saints and Blesseds contains a copy of the “appropriate forms for commemorating the martyrs who are listed in the calendar of the entire Order or in the calendar for the particular use of the Provinces.” It also contains the feast days of the martyrs, a brief history of their lives, and certain rites such as individual entrance antiphon for each feast day, prayer over the offerings, communion antiphon, and prayer after Communion.
The modifications in the new translation include pronouncing “Kyrie, eleison,” instead of its English translation “Lord, have mercy” after the penitential act. Likewise, in the concluding rites, the people would now reply “And with your spirit” after the priest pronounce “The Lord is with you.”
The lectionary of the order contains the readings, the responsorial psalm, gospel acclamation, gospel, and prayers of the faithful intended for the celebration of the feast day of each Dominican martyr.
Lastly, the Appendix includes the “Cantus in Ordine Missae,” which means “Mass Responses in Latin,” with musical scores as transcribed by Noel Cañeda from the Conservatory of Music.
