I remember several years ago when I went on this awesome camping and hiking trip to North Carolina. There were about 16 of us with half being seminarians. One of those days, we were just getting out for a hike and I heard one of the guys talking about what one of the seminary's professor's said about liturgy.
The young guy, a seminarian at the time, didn't get why the Father had hopes for a more meaningful liturgy with a change of words. I butted in, young and probably not as knowledgeable as the seminarian and said, "well I know what he means, just take a look at the Athanasius Creed."
I happened to have a copy in my trunk and I handed it over for him to ponder.
I don't know if it was the Holy Spirit speaking or just a little know-it-all in me, but I do know the power and beauty of words. There is a difference in the words of Stephanie Meyers and Marcel Proust. There is a difference in the words of Billy Graham and Pope Benedict XVI.
It doesn't matter though if the words are fictional or theological, the power lies in the depth of meaning. If the mass were still said in Latin, I can't say that I would understand everything. But there is certainly a reverence in the words that have so much meaning that transcend all languages.
This new Roman missal is an emergence to a brighter light in our lives. Those who have diligently participated in the Holy Roman mass have been surrounded by the Church as an ocean. I feel this rising up is a way of bringing the depth to those who have not known the true beauty of the Holy Catholic Church, or who have been waiting with excuses on the surface to dive in to the fullness of the Liturgy.
It's quite exciting because the center of the Church is the Word. Those who seek the true Word, find the Truth of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Link to the Wikipedia explanation:
Athanasius Creed
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