By Elena Perri • Posted November 26, 2024

A newly translated ritual book “Holy Communion and the Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery Outside Mass” will be implemented beginning this Sunday, Dec. 1, which is the first Sunday of Advent.

“What is new about the book is not the book itself, but it’s a new English translation of the book we previously have been using,” said Father Dennis Gill, director of the archdiocesan Office for Divine Worship and rector  of the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.

Father Gill explained that Liturgiam Authenticam, a 2011 document that emphasized the importance of fidelity to the original texts, called for a more formal translation from the Latin into the English as well as the syntax and the structure of the book itself.

“All of our ritual books have either been retranslated or will be retranslated, according to these principles,” he said.

The original ritual book that this new translation is based on was written in Latin and published in the 1970s. The goal of this revised text is to update the language for contemporary times while maintaining the core practices included in the ritual book.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved the texts during their General Assembly in Baltimore in November 2021. The revisions were then reviewed by the USCCB’s Secretariat for Divine Worship, with the Vatican confirming their liturgical use in the United States in March 2023.

According to the January 2024 newsletter published by the USCCB’s Office of Divine Worship, USCCB president Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services issued a Jan. 25 decree of promulgation for the timeline of the text.

In the newsletter, the committee stated that the “the goal of the adaptations is to harmonize the book with existing customs for Eucharistic Adoration in this country.”

Father Gill presented a webinar on October 23 to provide an overview of the revised book.

“Many people are not even aware of this book and many times Eucharistic devotions and practices happen in our parishes, religious communities and institutions without the use of this book,” he added. “All our liturgical books are not just the property of the priest or the deacons, or the property of the church.

“All of us who are engaged in the celebration of the mystery of the Eucharist outside Mass should know this book and make use of it.”

The revised ritual books are available for purchase through these Catholic publishing companies: