After staying with his apostles for forty days following his Resurrection, Jesus ascended back to the Father, but not before leaving instructions about what was coming. In a Trinitarian understanding of the future mission, Jesus speaks to his disciples, "…through the Holy Spirit…" (Acts 1:1), about a promise from the Father: they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
The fascinating story of Pentecost, which recounts the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the nascent Church, is manifested externally by something seemingly illogical: the ability to speak in different languages simultaneously. The nascent Church is therefore founded as a sacrament of the Holy Spirit through universal understanding. Those who witnessed the event were surprised and amazed by this transparency of language and communication. The apostles and the early Church received the gift of the Holy Spirit through freedom of communication, for they said: “Here are people from Parthia, Media, Elam, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. There are also people from Rome living here; some are Jews by birth, others have converted to Judaism. There are also those from Crete and Arabia. And we hear them speaking in our own languages about the wonders of God!” (Acts 2:9-11)
Note the last sentence: "We heard them speaking in our own languages about the wonders of God." Why was the gift of the Holy Spirit manifested through tongues at Pentecost? To speak of the wonders of God. It was not a gift of erudition but a spiritual means of communication that God wanted to establish as the founding event of His Church at Pentecost. Thus, the universality of the Church began to be crafted through the capacity, flexibility, skill, and intentionality of expressing the wonders of God, in all languages, to the whole world.
Historical records of the development of community expression through the liturgy reveal a constant cultural tension in the desire to make the message of Christ reach all cultures and languages. By addressing the language barriers between those who spoke Hebrew or Aramaic, the Jews in the diaspora who spoke Greek, and even the Romans who spoke Latin, the Church has consistently preserved this foundational gift of the Holy Spirit throughout the centuries. It has also aimed to persevere in expressing the Gospel in different languages, as a unique gift of the Holy Spirit who speaks and can be understood by everyone.
Building on the foundation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Church also teaches us how deeply ingrained in her incarnational nature is the idea of making the communication of the Word of God accessible to all nations and languages: “The words of God, spoken in human tongues, were made in human likeness, just as the Word of the eternal Father, having taken flesh from human weakness, was made in human likeness.” (DV, 13)[1]
The Church in the United States, in its desire to listen to the voices of different cultures, has sought ways to improve access to parishes and parishioners who speak other languages, as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) notes: The goal is to achieve understanding that encourages active participation from all members of our communities. The Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass (1981) strongly stresses the importance of Scripture readings being understandable, both in their translation (no. 111) and in their proclamation in an "audible, clear, and intelligent" (no. 14) manner. For "the faithful's participation in the liturgy is increased to the degree that they listen to the word of God spoken in the liturgy..." (no. 6). Understanding is especially vital for the gospel, "the high point of the liturgy of the word" (no. 13).[2]
The Conference of Bishops encourages fostering intercultural and multilingual encounters in parishes through bilingual Eucharistic celebrations. These, known as Bilingual Masses, provide a valuable opportunity to reaffirm and display the gift of the Holy Spirit of "speaking in our own languages about the wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:11). This goal is most effectively reached by making the Mass readings, some prayers, and even hymns accessible in different languages, reflecting the dignity of the Eucharist and enriching the entire community. An important aspect of a Bilingual Mass is the use of bilingual missals—which include versions approved by the Conference of Bishops (USCCB) and, thanks to advances in technology and creativity, are designed to offer linguistic transparency—supporting and strengthening these moments of intercultural celebration. With a bilingual missal, everyone can follow the readings, prayers, and hymns in their own language.
Bilingual missals have a strong positive impact by creating opportunities for cultural encounters rooted in faith. While there is no single or uniform format, creativity, distinctiveness, and cultural sensitivity allow the Holy Spirit to guide these experiences in parish life. In our next installment, we will explore some experiences, suggestions, and ideas that may inspire your community to use bilingual missals during a Bilingual Mass.
[1] Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum: https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html
[2] “Language at a Multicultural Liturgy” (USCCB):
https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/frequently-asked-questions/language-at-a-multicultural-liturgy
