Does your parish have the new responses "down?"

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At the two parishes where I work, the congregations seem to have the short responses down pretty well. We all still use the pew cards for the Gloria and the Creed. I try to not look at my card as much for those prayers so that I can eventually not rely on the pew cards at all. Once in a while I’ll still hear a couple of voices do the old responses, but it’s not like it was in the beginning.

I have noticed, though, that the kids have been better at memorizing them. I did three masses this past weekend and half of the altar servers at each mass did not use their pew cards when we did the longer prayers. There was also a confirmation class in front of me and they didn’t use the pew cards, so it looks like the younger generation is picking it up well, which would be expected.
 
Nicea325 said:
…I am shocked many priests did not take the time to explain the changes before they were released in Advent. Our pastor said it verbally before Advent and explained at Advent of the new translation and that everyone should read the Missal in order to get used to the changes. I think the clergy should have explained it all at the masses.
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Our diocese gave the parishes permission to start learning/using the new responses starting in September, so that most of us were pretty prepared by Advent at those two parishes in the same diocese. The other parish I work is in another diocese and did not permit using the responses ahead of time. In that parish we were allowed to start teaching the responses before mass in November, but two weeks prior to Advent, so it basically took all of Advent to now to get to the point where the other parishes were at back in December.
 
Half and half as well.

Personally, I’m finally good with “and with your spirit”, however, I need the card big time for the Gloria, the Creed, and well, everything else yet. Too much automatic response from the past years. I don’t know if it is more difficult trying to memorize the new stuff, or forget the old!
 
We have been singing the “And with your spirit” response. It is so loud that I haven’t noticed anyone flubbing it at my parish (though I’m sure some probably have).

This past weekend, I’ve found I only needed the card for the Gloria, the Creed, and the Memorial acclamation (the Gloria because we’ve only sung it like four times since it’s not used during Advent, the Creed because there are many slight changes, and the Memorial acclamation because there are three different ones with a varying amount of changes and I never know which one we’re using until it starts getting said/sung).

I think I’ll still be using the pew card for a long time for the Creed especially. Even when I know it well, I’ll probably still need it just to avoid slipping up.
 
It’s going well at our parish because they put the words up on the big screen. The only problem is the part of the creed where we’re supposed to bow, when I bow I can’t read the screen anymore! 😃
 
Barbkw said:
Im still messing up: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."

should say soul shall
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This is the hardest one from me too, because by that time I’ve set down my pew card and it takes me by surprise.
 
drforjc said:
This is the hardest one from me too, because by that time I’ve set down my pew card and it takes me by surprise.
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That’s funny. Because it’s one of the easiest for me to remember. Probably because the priest’s part is different.

I have problems where the part the priest or deacon speaks is the same.
 
We have been doing the new translations since the beginning of September- singing everything on Sundays and feast days and reciting the responses on weekdays. It all comes so naturally now. And it was awkward attending Mass outside my parish once when some of the parts were not the new translation. However, when my mind occassionally starts to wonder, the response that gets me most is “It is right (to giv…) and just”
 
drforjc said:
This is the hardest one from me too, because by that time I’ve set down my pew card and it takes me by surprise.
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Same with me. I’d keep going through it in my head outside of mass and get it right, but as soon as I was in mass, it still took me by surprise, I think because my “muscle memory” from how I’ve been saying it for years was on autopilot. I finally am saying it correctly without the pew card, but I tend to do something physical with my body. Usually, it’s bowing my head just a little with the rhythm of the phrase. Thinking of the change of rhythm in the phrase/words has helped me. I do that with some of the other changes as well, especially in the Gloria and the Creed.
 
Equites_Christi said:
The worst is when we have to sing “It is right and just”, because half of the people are singing “It is right to give Him thanks and praise.”

Two responses is bad, two melodies is awful! :o
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the biggest problem seems to be with sung versions of the memorial acclamation, because no resource I have seen has actual music notation, and with the preface dialogue and the Hosannah (also lacking notation). I wish they would forget trying to adapt a familiar melody and make it all new, much less likely to be garbled.
 
In our parish the Gloria and Eucharistic Prayer settings are brand new. Since the musical settings are nothing like the old ones the parish has done really well with them. I suppose if we eventually use older settings that have been adapted to use the new words we might have some issues.

For the creed people are looking at the pew cards.

The hardest change (in my parish) seems to be responding, “And with your spirit.” People tend, not so much to respond, as to vocally react to the words of the priest or deacon.

Even though I’d bet the majority of parishioners in my parish have never been to a Latin Mass (or at least haven’t been to one since 1965) I’d guess that most people could learn to respond properly in Latin with little effort. But responding properly in English requires lots of concentration.
 
puzzleannie said:
I wish they would forget trying to adapt a familiar melody and make it all new, much less likely to be garbled.
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Amen to that. It is much easier for me to learn new words when they are set to a new melody. When we start using some of the old melodies, it only makes me want to sing the old words.
 
They are getting there…though my favorite response is “and also with your spirit”. 😛
 
zab said:
We have been doing the new translations since the beginning of September- singing everything on Sundays and feast days and reciting the responses on weekdays. It all comes so naturally now. And it was awkward attending Mass outside my parish once when some of the parts were not the new translation. However, when my mind occassionally starts to wonder, the response that gets me most is “It is right (to giv…) and just”
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Think: “DIGNUM ET IUSTUM EST. DIGNUM ET IUSTUM EST.” I love how that phrase sounds, and that is how I remembered the English translation of it.
 
Overall I think it is going very well in our parish. The one mistake I notice that people make is the prayer after the presentation of the gifts.

May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy church.

I don’t hear anyone close to me say holy church. Being that the prayer is the same except for one word added they don’t even realize it.
 
YoungTradCath said:
Think: “DIGNUM ET IUSTUM EST. DIGNUM ET IUSTUM EST.” I love how that phrase sounds, and that is how I remembered the English translation of it.
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Oh, I have no trouble at all remembering it. It is just when I get slightly distracted or have something else on my mind that I slip back out of habit into the decades old response.
 
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Today we were thrown for a loop. The priest is a third order Dominican so St. Thomas Aquinas is a Feast. We have the Gloria down singing on Sunday (or most do). The daily Mass crowd is pretty good at knowing if it is a Feast and grabbing the card so we can say it. We were not expecting it today so there was a slight rustle as we all grabbed the response card.
 
The churches I’ve been going to, it depends. But I notice things are smoother and getting better at those churches who have the ability to project the responses vs those who have to use pew cards. I’ve noticed priests often reminding people as well too. I am sure in time they will be second nature to us.
 
In our parish, as it appears in many others from your responses, about half and half it seems. For the first month and a half, everyone was reading and it was great. It seems some people think they have it down, but they still are remembering the old responses. The confiteor is memorized for me. I have the short responses down pat, but the gloria and profession of faith give me trouble.

Our pastor in yesterday’s bulletin somewhat reminded parishioners about the new responses. He said something to the effect of “You are all doing so good at the new responses. Sometimes I forget and fall back into the old formula, but just ignore me, I do not want to mess any of you up. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

This last sunday was the worst mass as far as responses go since the switch. It seemed 75% of people responded “And also with you” every time. Also on “I am not worthy to receive you” rather than 'I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof" people just seemed to be a little bit lazy. But as Christ said, “judge not lest ye be judged.”
 
Yesterday was actually the worst since the First Sunday of Advent. The church was PACKED yesterday though, much more than normal, with only standing room. Family reunion? I don’t know. But then the choir started to pick up when they realized the congregation was sounding bad, so it was fine for the most part.
 
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