Become One Body, One Spirit in Christ – It’s Arrived!

Yesterday I finally received my copy of the DVD catechetical resource Become One Body One Spirit in Christ from the supplier I ordered it from months ago – but it’s not their fault (I’ll get to that later)!

I’ve had a quick look so far, following from a brief partial preview back in February.  I need to use it more before I could make an informed evaluation of the resource, but I can certainly make two comments so far:

1. This resource is not just about informing people about the “new missal”, but provides a much broader catechesis on the celebration of the Eucharist
2. There wasn’t a resource like this available when the missal was first translated into the vernacular after Vatican II, so to have one now is a good thing, especially when it’s so inexpensive ($32.95 AUD)
3. This resource looks, and is professional.  Just that in itself is likely to make people take notice of what it has to say.  When I saw the preview from Fraynework (the producers of the resource for ICEL), and spoke to the staff afterwards, one of them made the comment that the reason the Sisters of Mercy established Fraynework was “to produce resources for the Church which were better than a photocopied sheet”.  They have certainly done that.

So what has taken ICEL (the International Committee on English in the Liturgy) so long to release this resource?  The release date has been dependent on receiving the final approval of the missal text from the Vatican (or more specifically, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments).  This resource not only includes many of the words of the revised Order of Mass, but also recordings of them being both recited and sung.  A lot of work needs to take place, therefore, to make sure the resource is faithful to the new texts.

Let’s hope what’s in the resource matches the texts the various English-speaking countries will eventually receive from the Vatican for publication.  It’s been a long process, and credit must go to the many people who have shown great patience to get the revision of the missal, and the creation of this resource – to this point.