There is no uniform Catholic liturgy, nor should there be. There are too many beautiful, ancient rites: the Mozarabic, the Ambrosian, the Melkite, the Maronite, the Armenian, the Syro-Malabar, and others. Uniformity is not the highest priority: the mysterium fidei or "mystery of the faith" is. That mystery, as I understand it, is that God is truly present in the liturgy. The language of liturgy is not like other language: it is meant to stretch language in a way similar to good poetry, moving our attention beyond the ordinary ways of thinking toward those unnameable places in our experience where God's presence is more felt than articulated. It ought to be an experience of otherness, unlike the pedestrian chatter with which we describe what sort of soap we want to buy.
Let us remember in this time of change that much of the previous translation is good, and we do well to thank those who worked diligently on it. But let us also remember that with the changes, we have the opportunity to encounter the liturgy anew and, perhaps, to be led to places in our Church's landscape where we may again see God.
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