Saint Stephen, The First Martyr, Catholic Church

Full, conscious, and active participation

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), the first document approved by the world’s Bishops gathered at the Second Vatican Council, serves as the blueprint for our liturgical renewal. It asserts that liturgy is a celebration of Christ’s paschal mystery. Our full, conscious and active participation in liturgy is vital since liturgy is the source and summit of our whole Christian life.

Why many vernacular languages (the languages people actually use) rather than one sacred language (Latin)?

After the Council, in the interests of enhancing the full participation of the entire assembly at worship, the Catholic Church authorized the use of the vernacular, the languages of the people for its liturgy. The results have been overwhelmingly positive. The vernacular has allowed the faithful to pray with greater understanding, to find deeper spiritual connections between the Tradition of the Church and their daily lives, and to formulate a voice and style of worship that fits the challenges and blessings of their day. This “new” idea seemed to change centuries of liturgical tradition. But under the guidance of Popes John XXIII and Paul VI, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council actually restored an ancient practice of praying in the language of the people. To be sure, some in the Church - and outside it - lamented the loss of Latin from the liturgy, but the experience of Sunday worshipers in parish churches around the world has shown that the decision in favor of the vernacular was truly a gift of the Holy Spirit.

Why a new Missal now?

During his long pontificate, our late Holy Father, John Paul II, added many new saints to the Roman calendar. As a result, in the year 2000, he approved a third edition of the Roman Missal in Latin to include Mass texts for all these new saints. The Latin Missal is the source of the translations into all the vernacular languages.

     A little later, the Vatican congregation that oversees the Liturgy, The Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, that had already been working on a revision of the guidelines for use in translating the liturgical books, issued a new guiding document, Liturgiam Authenticam. On the Use of Vernacular Languages in the Publications of the Books of the Roman Liturgy. After March 2001 all new translations of the Latin Roman Missal had to follow these revised guidelines for translation. The English translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal reflects the new approach to translation—the technical name for which is “formal equivalence”—so as to make the English more accurately resemble the Latin. The desire is to provide a more beautiful and more exacting language of prayer. The goal, for those who pray as members of the Body of Christ, is that the prayer be “to the greater Glory of God (Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam)”.

     It has taken several years to translate the Missal from the original Latin into English, and the date of its use varies among the English-speaking countries, but here in the United States, the first Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011, is the date set by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for everyone to use the new edition of the Missal at Mass.

What’s different in the new Missal?

The most noticeable change in this new Mass book is in the wording of the prayer texts. The new translation more closely corresponds to the original Latin, is richer in imagery, and more closely aligned with its sources in Scripture. It tries to express more authentically the scriptural roots of many of the texts we use at Mass. As you hear and pray these new texts, enter into a spirit of prayer and lift your hearts to God. This is a rich opportunity for us to renew our sense of mystery and awe, to deepen our Eucharistic spirituality and to learn more about the Mass. For it is at the Mass, that we, the Body of Christ, are nourished in word and sacrament to build the kingdom of God.

     Within the lifetime of many of us, we have celebrated Mass from three different versions of the Missal. The translations are somewhat different, but the “new” Mass is still the same Mass! Each version of the Missal helps us celebrate better.

     Change is always difficult for us. We are comfortable with the ways we have, and any change challenges us to let go of the familiar. Most changes are good; they help us grow, bring us new insight, and enable us to be creative and responsive in new ways. When the changes to the Mass (especially the prayer texts and people’s responses) are implemented in November 2011, it can be a positive experience of liturgical prayer, encounter with Christ, and lead to a deeper appreciation of the sacred.

Why is it important to resemble the original Latin?

The Latin texts are the fruit of many centuries of theological reflection and pastoral experience. They carefully nuance the faith of the Church. Many of them are beautiful and eloquent. To use a vernacular that adheres more closely to the Latin will give a clearer voice to the Church’s faith and unite us more closely to the universal church that relies on the same Latin text as its source. It is hoped that the new translation will mark an improvement over the one currently in use, and that it will assist future generations of worshipers to lift mind and heart to God in prayer.

Different kinds of language.

Our current English translation has been criticized for being too informal or too "conversational." Just as we have different ways of conversing depending upon whom we are with, i.e., family, friends, co-workers, dignitaries, so too, we should have a special language in conversing with god. The new translation is meant to provide another means of expressing our formal communal worship of God from our personal or private conversation with god...some would say, a more sacred language.

Liturgy and Scripture

As well as the issue of translation, another reason for some of the changes in wording is to make more apparent the references to the words of Scripture that often provide the foundation for the phrasing found in many of our liturgical texts. In the current English version, the relationship between many of our liturgical words and the words of the Bible is sometimes easy to miss. This change in translation will help us be more aware of how our liturgical texts are rooted in the Scriptures and this can help draw us more deeply into the meaning of the words we pray.

     An example may help make this clear. Just before communion, the priest holds up the Host and says in our current wording: "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world..." The scriptural episode that this wording echoes comes from the Gospel of John, where John the Baptist says of Jesus "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn. 1:29). So when this gospel passage is read during the liturgy, we hear not "This is the lamb of God..." but "Behold, the Lamb of God...". The new Mass translation will bring the more formal word "behold" into this communion invitation, so as to echo more directly the phrasing of Gospel text itself.

Specific Changes in Wording in the Mass Texts 

Change in the Words of Institution over the chalice (Priest)

It will be shed for you and for all   will now be  It will be shed for you and for many…

This change in wording of the new Mass translation came from a specific request made by our Holy Father, Benedict XVI. He asked that in all the vernacular translations of the Roman Missal the words the priest says over the chalice should be “it will be shed for you and for many” instead of “it will be shed for you and for all” (or the equivalent in other languages). The translation “for many” is a more direct translation of the Latin “Pro multis” and more clearly echoes the wording found in the descriptions of the Last Supper in the Gospels. Unfortunately, when we hear “many” we tend to think it implies “not all”. However, this is not the case with the scriptural usage, which goes originally back to Hebrew usage. The New American Bible comments that this use of “many” ,  found in several places in the Gospels, is a Semitic form of expression which does not imply that some are excluded, but which is the equivalent of “all”.

 Changes in wording in some of the people’s parts:

And also with you   will now be    And with your spirit

The new wording of the response we make so often in the liturgy, “And with your spirit”, more directly translates the original Latin “Et cum spiritu tuo”. The new translation also serves to bring out more clearly that the Holy Spirit is at work in both priest and people (though in different ways) as we gather to celebrate Eucharist. Similar expressions recur with varying forms of words in St. Paul’s letters: e.g. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” Gal 6:18.

Creed

We believe in one God…    will now be      I believe in one God…

The new wording of the beginning of the Creed, “I believe” is a more direct translation of the Latin “credo”. “I believe” also brings out more clearly the personal commitment involved in faith. Saying “I believe in God” is not just stating an idea or accepting a doctrine, it is an act of personal commitment. The Latin word credo itself derives from an expression meaning “I give my heart to.”

One in being with the Father    will now be   Consubstantial with the Father

Within the Creed, one of the changes is that we will say of the Lord Jesus that he is “consubstantial with the Father” instead of “one in being with the Father.” The term “consubstantial” comes from the word used in the Latin text of the Creed. This change in terminology does not at all indicate a change in meaning, but rather a more precise identification that Christ is of the same substance, nature, and essence as the Father...As stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “...in the Father and with the Father, the Son is one and the same God.” #262CCC 

 

Holy, Holy

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of power and might   will now be   Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts                              

This change in wording goes to bringing out more clearly the allusions in the wording of our liturgy to the words of sacred scriptures. The expression “Lord of Hosts” is found throughout the Old Testament, referring to the heavenly angelic powers, as a way of indicating the majesty of God. The current translation, “Lord God of power and might,” is a paraphrase, attempting to express God’s transcendence in different words. But, remembering the line from the second verse of the Christmas carol, Silent Night, “Heavenly hosts sing alleluia”, the reference to “heavenly hosts” may not sound so strange after all.

Invitation to Communion

Happy are those who are called to his supper   will now be   Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb

As the angel told John to write: “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). It is a glorious celebration of all who are in Christ. The supper of the lamb is a eschatological image (that is, relating to or dealing with or regarding the ultimate destiny of humankind and the world). It reminds us, that during the liturgy, we partake in the Heavenly Liturgy. It was John’s vision, in the Book of Revelation, in which he saw the marriage supper of the lamb. It was here that Christ, the bridegroom, takes His bride, the Church, to His Father’s house, for all eternity, We therefore, you and I, are invited and transported in time to the Supper of the Lamb.

Response

Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed     will now be   Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.

The new wording makes a more obvious reference to the episode in the Gospel where this prayer originates. Luke 7:1-11 narrates the episode of Jesus’ healing of a Roman centurion’s slave. While Jesus is on the way to the slave, the centurion sends friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof … but say the word and let my servant be healed.” Jesus marvels at the faith of one who is a pagan and not one of the chosen people. This is the faith we express as we prepare to receive the Lord in Holy Communion.

Last modified: February 14, 2012  v832