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Banners, now available in English and Spanish, are offering a warm welcome at churches, schools and other Church institutions as they celebrate the Year for the Mass initiated by Archbishop Dolan.
The banners feature the words “Year for Mass—Come to Mass in the Lord’s House on the Lord’s Day” on a blue background that includes an image of Jesus praying at the altar with his apostles. The image is a detail taken from a stained-glass window in the Lady Chapel of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
“It’s a visual symbol of the Year for Mass project,” said Msgr. William Belford, vicar for clergy. “The message on it is clearly an invitation, especially if it’s outside, for people to come in.
“It’s also a reminder that Mass is central to our lives as Catholics,” Msgr. Belford said.
In his column in Catholic New York back in December, Archbishop Dolan called on Catholics in the archdiocese to spend 2011 renewing their love and appreciation for the Mass. The next months will also be a time of preparation for coming revisions in the English translation of the Roman Missal, the book of prayers used at Mass. The Church in the United States will begin to use the Third Edition of the Roman Missal on the first Sunday of Advent, Nov. 27, 2011.
“My thought is that we might make this year before the introduction of these new prayers an invitation to a renewal in our love for, understanding of and gratitude for the Bread of Life, Jesus, who comes to us in a uniquely powerful way at every Mass, especially Sunday,” Archbishop Dolan wrote.
Msgr. Belford is a member of the Roman Missal Resource Committee along with Sister Janet Baxendale, S.C.; Father Matthew Ernest and Father Dennis McManus.
Presentations and discussions by the Presbyteral Council and Archdiocesan Pastoral Council took place last year. Four key goals were endorsed by those consultative bodies:
•to stress the centrality of the Eucharist for our lives as Catholics
•to offer an invitation to everyone to come to Mass more often
•to provide information about the elements and the meaning of the Mass
•to inspire worshippers to welcome and learn the changes in our prayers.
Last month, clergy of the archdiocese participated in a presentation, “Preparing to Welcome the New Roman Missal,” given by Msgr. James Moroney, a faculty member at St. John’s Seminary, Boston, who is a former executive secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for the Liturgy.
Msgr. Belford is leading two information sessions on the Roman Missal for catechetical leaders in the archdiocese this month.
“We’re taking a step-by-step approach to this since the changes are not taking effect until November,” Msgr. Belford said in an interview. “There will be increasing opportunities for lay people and clergy to focus on this and be ready, not just to know the words, but in spirit.”
The Year for Mass banners are available in indoor and outdoor models from the Institutional Commodity Services Corp. (ISC). There are two sizes: 9 feet high by 3 feet wide, and 6 feet by 3 feet. Information: ICS, (212) 371-1011, ext. 2600; or ics@archny.org.
