Sister Marian Therese Arroyo, RSM

Preparing for the Roman Missal, Third Edition at the 49th Southwest Liturgical Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 2-5, 2011. This year’s conference focused on preparing clergy, liturgists and catechists for the implementation of the Roman Missal starting the First Sunday of Advent. Pictured are Karl Sotto, music composer Dan Schutte, Sr. Marian Arroyo and Fr. Michael Crisostomo, who were in attendance. The conference, which encompasses 28 dioceses of the southwest region of the United States, welcomed guests from other dioceses including Canada and Guam.

The U. S. Catholic Conference of Bishops, along with Bishops throughout the English-speaking world, has scheduled the implementation of Roman Missal, Third Edition, to begin on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011.

The Archdiocese of Agana has begun to pave the way to receive the new Missal. Presently known as the Sacramentary, the Roman Missal constitutes the Order of the Mass. While the structure of the Mass remains the same, numerous prayers, acclamations, and responses have been modified to reflect a closer translation to the original Latin texts of the Mass.

The Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission has convened to begin mapping out a schedule of opportunities for catechesis and training. All members of the Catholic community are invited to participate in the orientation programs that will be offered in the months ahead.

It is the desire of our Catholic Bishops of the English-speaking world that all of its members take this opportunity to learn more about their faith as expressed in worship and living our faith in service to God. The changes that we will find in our prayers are designed to help us to grow and deepen in our faith, our trust and our love of God and one another. Let us open our ears, our minds and hearts to welcoming the new Roman Missal soon.