Confession: I am like a small child in my love of new things. I don't buy new toothpaste or shampoo until the old one is gone, or will be within one or two uses, because I can't wait to use the new one -- even if it's the exact same product. (This tendency leads to almost-finished tubes of toothpaste in my bathroom if I'm not careful, because I'll start the new one before the old one is gone.) So when the new translation of the Roman Missal came out, I was overjoyed. The classics-lover in me, who translates literally, wants to rave how much better the new translation deals with the Latin, which is true, but that's not really why I love it so much. Every Mass was (and still is, really) a chance for something new, and I am like a child with a new toy or a young adult with a new bottle of shampoo.
Besides the chance for something new, the words changed into poetry. I am a word-oriented person and find words moving. I sit and relish a word or turn of phrase, much more so than I will a piece of visual art or music -- as my faithful readers may have guessed, based on the prevalence of words and absence of pictures here. So the changes captivate me. For example: from "from east to west" to "from the rising to the setting of the sun" and from "with all the choirs of angels" to "with angels and archangels, thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, and all the hosts of heaven," from "send down your Spirit" to "let your Spirit descend like the dew." They capture my imagination and send it spinning toward heaven.
So on the more mundane...I really like finishing things, like pens and highlighters and bars of soap. I like the new one too. But I just like when I use something until it's all used up. Random thoughts
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised! It can be such a good feeling to know that nothing is wasted. Most of the time, however, I feel sad when finishing things, even with the littlest things. I don't like endings.
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