Updates to the Mass Doxology

Starting on Ash Wednesday, you might notice a slight change to the conclusion to our Opening Prayers at Mass, leading into the Liturgy of the Word, but if you don't pay careful attention, you might not know what's different, as it's literally the change of one word.

A quick background: In May 2020, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments wrote to the English-speaking Conferences of Bishops regarding the concluding doxology of the Collects in the Roman Missal (which also appear in other liturgical books). According to USCCB, the "Collect" is the final portion of the Introductory Rite, which begin every Mass.

Specifically, the Congregation pointed out that the current translation – which concludes “... in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever” – is incorrect. There is no mention of “one” in the Latin, and “Deus” in the Latin text refers to Christ. Therefore, the correct translation, which is already reflected in the Missal in other languages, is simply: “[...] in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.” The Cardinal Prefect has pointed
out the importance of affirming this Christological truth amid the religious pluralism of today’s world.

For anyone interested, you can view the entirety of the Change  Memo by clicking here.