Yes, we are creatures of habit. This was on remarkable display at yesterday’s mass, the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year and the introduction of the first changes to the Catholic liturgy in four decades. Even after all the hoopla and publicity surrounding the change, even holding the laminated text of the new language in my hands, I still said, “And also with you” instead of “And with your spirit.”

I wasn’t alone. The community of the faithful sounded more like the community of the confused. I’ll admit that many of us sometimes say the words without thinking. And while counteracting rote recitation isn’t the point (the point is to pray the mass in a way closer to the original Latin), it’s what I thought about as we hesitated and fumbled our way through the ancient prayers.

Change isn’t fun. Even if change is for the better (and many think these changes are not), habit pulls us back to the way things have always been.

The liturgical changes are proof that little things matter, that words are important — and that most of us must be drug kicking and screaming into the future.