One of the principal goals of the Second Vatican Council was to initiate a reform of the Sacred Liturgy.
That They May All
Be One
Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
The goal of this reform was not a matter of simply revising texts. Even less was it a matter of abandoning the treasured traditions of the past. Rather, at its heart, the liturgical reform of the council was a divinely inspired desire to foster within us, the People of God, a renewed love of the liturgy, the source and summit of our Catholic way of life.
Archbishop Nienstedt's Calendar
» Friday, Aug. 20 to Friday, Sept. 3: Spanish course offered by the International Institute for Culture in Puebla, Mexico.
» Tuesday, Sept. 7: 8:30 a.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Scheduling meeting with staff.
9:30 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archbishop’s Council meeting.
noon, St. Paul, Chancery: Presbyteral Council meeting.
» Wednesday, Sept. 8: 5 p.m., St. Paul, St. Mary’s Chapel at St. Paul Seminary: Opening Mass for academic year with faculty’s Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity and banquet.
» Thursday, Sept. 9: 9 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Report on schools.
11 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Meeting in preparation for Presbyteral Council meeting.
6 p.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Dinner for 2010 new investees to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Praying the liturgy
The goal of “active and conscious participation of the faithful” in the
liturgy, so central to authentic liturgical reform, is not so much a
matter of merely doing more things, but rather of actively
internalizing and, in short, praying the liturgy.
Tremendous successes have been made in realizing this crucial goal,
while much work remains. The church continues to invite all of her
members to make her own liturgical life the source and summit of their
lives, as she prays with Christ, in Christ, and through Christ in this
service of love that is the liturgy.
In a matter of a few short years to come, the English-speaking church
will receive a historic text that marks a special moment in the
continuing implementation of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
This text is a new English Roman Missal, more commonly known as the
Sacramentary.
A bit of history
This large, red-covered book is most often only seen from afar by most
Catholics. Consequently, the idea of a new one being issued by the
church can seem like a matter hardly worth any fuss.
But the fact is that every Sunday and, indeed, every time we attend Mass, we are impacted by this essential red book.
It is the book from which the prayers of the Mass of the Roman Rite are
found, and it is from this book that the priest recites the church’s
approved texts of prayer and blessing. While no specific date has yet
been given for an official release, it is reasonable to assume that by
Advent of 2011, we will be using this new translation for our
eucharistic worship.
Some will ask, “Why a new translation?” In attempting to answer that
question, I think it is helpful to remember that when the Second
Vatican Council began over five decades ago, the Mass was celebrated
everywhere in the Latin language.
Shortly thereafter, the bishops of the council recommended that
portions of the Sacred Liturgy be celebrated in vernacular languages to
help foster that conscious and active participation of the faithful
that was at the heart of the council’s liturgical reforms.
That led in 1964 to the formation of the International Commission on
English in the Liturgy, commonly referred to as ICEL. The first full
English translation of the Mass was published in 1974 and a revised
edition was promulgated in 1975.
A second edition of this work appeared in 1985 and that is the
translation we use today. All of these translations of the Missal were
translations of the Latin original, which remains the official text of
the Roman Rite.
Because the work of translation was so new, it was always presumed that
there would necessarily be a learning curve and that the first
translations, over time, would need to be amended.
In addition, it is important to remember that at the time of the first
translation, the translators and editors were following a 1969
instruction on the translation of liturgical texts, “Comme le prévoit,”
which suggested a methodology which has now become known as “dynamic
equivalence.” This theory emphasized the translation of concepts over
the more “literal” translation of words.
However, in 2001, the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of
the Sacraments promulgated, with the permission and approval of the
Holy Father, an important document on the translation of liturgical
texts, “Liturgiam authenticam.” This instruction stated in part:
“The translation of the liturgical text of the Roman Liturgy is not so
much a work of creative innovation as it is of rendering the liturgical
text faithfully and accurately into the vernacular language.
While it is permissible to arrange the wording, the syntax, and the
style in such a way as to prepare a flowing vernacular text suitable to
the rhythm of popular prayer, the original text, insofar as possible,
must be translated intricately and in the most exact manner, without
omissions or additions in terms of their content, and without
paraphrases or glosses. Any adaptations to the characteristics of the
nature of the various vernacular languages is to be sober and discrete”
(No. 20).
Comparing the texts
The differences between the old translation and the new translation can
be seen most clearly by placing the texts next to each other.
Below are two prayers, or “collects,” taken from the texts of the first Sunday of Lent:
Current translation:
“Father, through our observance of Lent, help us to understand the
meaning of Your Son’s death and resurrection, and teach us to reflect
it in our lives.”
Proposed new translation:
“Grant us, Almighty God, through our yearly exercises in the Holy
Season of Lent, to grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ
and to pursue their effects by a worthy way of life.”
Here we can at least begin to see some of the differences between
“dynamic equivalence” and the more literal method of translation that
“Liturgiam authenticam” calls for.
The expression, “our observance of Lent,” does basically mean the same
thing as “our yearly exercise.” However, while it is more crisp and
direct, much of the richness of the original Latin text is lost.
The same would be true of “riches hidden in Christ.” It, of course,
does refer to Christ’s death and resurrection, as indicated in the
first text, but again, a certain poetic expression has been eliminated
from this first text.
There will also be changes in the responses of the congregation, for which some catechetical work needs to be done.
For example, “Et cum spiritu tuo” in 1985 was loosely translated, “And
also with you.” But in point of fact, when the priest greets us with
“The Lord be with you,” he is doing so in virtue of his sacramental
identity as an “alter Christus in capitis”; the priest celebrant is
making present Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, head of the
Mystical Body.
So our response is not merely, “And with you, too, Fr. John . . .
thanks for being here,” but rather, “And with you, too, Fr. John, in
recognition of the wonderful sacred grace of Holy Orders bestowed on
you by the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands.”
Just the addition of that one word, “spirit,” which, in fact, is in the
original Latin text, adds great meaning to our liturgical celebration.
Invitation to study
I do not presume that these changes will be easy for either priests
or congregation. Certainly they will require great adaptation on my
part as well.
Yet, if these adaptations lead us, as they are intended, to a greater
sense of wonderment, a greater sense of the beauty and splendor of our
worship, and a greater step closer to real contemplative prayer, then
whatever effort is required will be well worth the sacrifice.
I invite the reader to study the formational materials on the new English Roman Missal available at the USCCB Web site: http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal.
This site is being constantly updated, and has within it many wonderful
features meant to educate us all on the new translation. In the
implementation of these historically important changes, there can be no
substitute for good catechesis.
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