Latin Mass Society on the new Good Friday Prayer

I received this this morning which I am happy to share.


PRESS RELEASE FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY

For Immediate Release

6 February 2008

* Latin Mass Society Responds to New Good Friday Prayer

The Vatican has announced that Pope Benedict XVI has issued a new Prayer for the Jews to replace that in the Missal of Blessed John XXIII (1962). The new prayer is to be used with immediate effect.

Pope Benedict XVI when issuing his Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum of 7 July 2007 indicated that he would consider certain organic changes to the 1962 Missal, such as introducing a wider selection of Prefaces. The Good Friday prayer is his first change.

The unofficial translation of the new Good Friday Prayer for the Jews is:

Let us pray, and also for the Jews:
May our God and Lord enlighten their hearts, so that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ, saviour of all men.
Let us kneel…
Almighty and Everlasting God, who desirest that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth; mercifully grant that, as the fullness of the Gentiles enters into Thy Church, all Israel may be saved.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The new prayer was written by Pope Benedict himself and keeps the key idea of conversion to Christ. It situates the Jewish people as one group among all the groups of humankind who are offered conversion and salvation through Christ.

Although the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews had previously been revised by Blessed Pope John XXIII, some still found a hint in it that it was offered at rather than for the Jews. This possible ambiguity has now been removed.

Although some might wonder if there was indeed a pressing need to rewrite the prayer, nevertheless the Latin Mass Society in loyalty to the Holy Father’s clear wish will use the new prayer in all Good Friday services organised under its auspices.

John Medlin, General Manager of the LMS, expressed a personal opinion and said: ‘The new Good Friday Prayer for the Jews is self-evidently more concise and unambiguous than the current Prayer for the Jewish People in the 1970 Missal of Paul VI. I wonder if consideration might be given to introducing the new prayer into the 1970 Missal.’

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For further information, please contact John Medlin, General Manager, or Yvonne Windsor, LMS Office Administrator, on (T) 020 7404 7284; (F) 020 7831 5585;
(E mail) thelatinmasssociety@snmail.co.uk