My dear parishioners,
The following is the statement from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments concerning the “Change to the Concluding Doxology of Orations”. This was implemented on Ash Wednesday, last February 17, 2021.
What is changed? In the concluding doxology of orations in the Roman Missal and other liturgical books, the words “one God, for ever and ever” are replaced with “God, for ever and ever.”
Therefore, the changes are as follows:
— If the prayer is directed to the Father: Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
— If it is directed to the Father, but the Son is mentioned at the end: Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
— If it is directed to the Son: Who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Why is this changed? In May of 2020, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments wrote to the English-speaking Conferences of Bishops to point out that the current translation, “... in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever,” is incorrect. There is no “one” in the Latin text, and Deus in the Latin text refers to Jesus Christ. Therefore, the correct translation, which is already reflected in the Missal in other languages (including the Misal Romano in Spanish) is simply: “...in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.”
Where the current translation emphasizes the oneness of the Trinity in living and reigning forever, the new translation emphasizes the divinity of Jesus Christ, who is God, living and reigning with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever.
I hope the information above is of help to those of you who may be wondering why the word “one” is now omitted at the conclusion of the prayers we use at mass.
Peace,
Fr. Riz