For those who just can’t wait, the first parts of the new mass translation are now available online at the USCCB website.

James Martin, S.J. takes note:

The changes start at the very beginning of the Mass. In answer to the familiar “The Lord be with you,” the people will no longer say, “And also with you,” but “And with your spirit.” In the Penitential Rite, the congregation’s response reverts to the older, pre-Vatican II, formula, “Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.” And, significantly, the Creed no longer begins “We believe,” but “I believe.”

While most of these translations are also taken directly from the original Latin, critics have long argued that looser translations actually do a better job of conveying the original meaning, and may better fit the needs of the local church. So, for example, while supporters contended that “Credo” is more accurately translated as “I believe” critics felt that the “We believe” more accurately reflects what happens when an entire congregation speaks these words together.

One easy place to see the decided change in tone is when the priest prays a blessing over the bread and wine, in one of the most important moments in the entire Mass.

Compare the old translation: “Let your Spirit come upon these gifts, to make them holy.”

With the new one: “Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall.”

What will all this mean?

First, almost all priests and parishioners will have to struggle through the new translations for a few months, perhaps even a few years. (This will mean more parishioners loudly flipping through missalettes, and fewer priests knowing the prayers by heart, since most churchgoers can say these prayers by rote, as can their priests and deacons). Some parishioners will likely find it odd to have to consult a booklet to remember a prayer that they’ve had memorized for forty years. Second, while some may find some of the newer translations jarring–like the “dewfall”–others may cheer what they see as a more reverent tone. Third, for some time, many will reflexively say the old responses, especially with the more familiar phrases like, “And also with you.” Rumors are that some more liberal-leaning parishes may stubbornly stick to the old books, but this will become increasingly difficult, as the old Sacramentaries, the books used by the priests during Mass, wear out.

Eventually everyone will grow accustomed to the new language. But for a time, the most familiar thing in Catholic life–the Mass–will be, at least in parts, unfamiliar.