Why were the words "mystery of faith" taken out of the consecration in the new Mass?
The short answer
Not to weaken belief in transubstantiation, but to express Christ's actual words more clearly. "Mystery of faith" is not in any scriptural account of the institution and is not required for a valid consecration; Paul VI moved it to introduce the people's acclamation. Vatican II taught that changeable elements of the liturgy should be revised to express holy things more clearly.
Christ's own words
Pope Paul VI approved removing "mystery of faith" from the words over the chalice so that the consecration would more clearly express the words Jesus actually spoke. None of the scriptural institution accounts contains the phrase, it is absent from other valid formulas of consecration, and so it is not required for validity.
Its new place
In Missale Romanum (1969), Paul VI explained that the words, taken out of the Lord's words and spoken by the priest, now serve as an introduction to the acclamation of the faithful.
Legitimate change
Vatican II taught that the liturgy contains unchangeable, divinely instituted elements and changeable ones, which may and should be revised so that texts and rites express more clearly the holy things they signify and the faithful can take part fully and actively (Sacrosanctum Concilium 21).
Continue exploring
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