US Amendments to New Translation

I just got a PDF in my email from John V. that has the amendments made by the USCCB (meaning, the changes to the changes, this does not include the parts of the new translation the Americans left unchanged) - it's the Newsletter of the Committee on the Liturgy. Since PDF's can be a pain, I put the relevant parts of it in regular format: (Update: welcome, readers from countless blogs, click here for the rest of today's topics)

The Latin Church members of the USCCB accepted sixty-two amendments to the ICEL translation of the Ordo Missae, resulting in thirty-two changes to the text. Entrance Rites

In several rubrics, the word chant was modified with the addition of a bracketed reference [or song], as in: · Entrance Chant [or song] (OM, no. 1) · another chant [or song] (Gospel Acclamation at OM, no. 13) · Offertory Chant [or song] (OM, nos 21 and 23) · Communion Chant [or song] (OM, no. 136)

While the General Instruction of the Roman Missal translates the Latin cantus as chant, the slight emendation was proposed in order to clarify what may be properly sung at these points in the Liturgy, in accord with the confirmed and approved USCCB adaptations to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, nos. 48 and 87.

The ninth line of the ICEL translation of the Gloria (OM, no. 8) was modified from O God, almighty Father to Almighty God and Father.

Blessing Before the Gospel The words used by the Deacon to ask for the blessing before the Gospel (OM, no. 14) were modified as well, from Pray, Father, your blessing to May I have your blessing, Father.

Nicene Creed At three points in the Nicene creed, the Bishops recommended that the action of the gathered assembly was clarified by the restatement of the creed’s opening words: I believe (Credo): · And in one Lord Jesus Christ, becomes I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ; · And in the Holy Spirit, becomes I believe in the Holy Spirit; · And one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, becomes I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

The second change to Nicene Creed concerns the translation of consubstantialem. Since 1970, this important theological term has been rendered in the United States of America as one in being. The Bishops voted to retain this translation, instead of adopting the ICEL rendering consubstantial.

Finally, the rendering of he suffered death and was buried, was changed to He suffered, died, and was buried.

Apostles Creed The ICEL translation of the Apostles Creed (OM, no. 19) was also modified, changing the phrase who was conceived from the Holy Spirit to who was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Placing the Gifts Upon the Altar One word in the prayers prayed by the Priest when first placing the gifts of bread and wine on the altar (OM 23 and 25) was also modified. The rendering of largitate (1970 Sacramentary=bounty) was widely discussed in both USCCB consultations on the ICEL Gray Books of the Order of Mass. In its final gray book, ICEL translated largitate as adundance. The members of the USCCB ultimately amended this rendering with the word generosity. Thus the prayer, sometimes spoken quietly, reads:

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for we have received from your generosity the bread we offer you, fruit of the earth and work of human hands: it will become for us the bread of life.

Orate Fratres Two small changes were introduced to the second line of the Orate Fratres (OM, no. 29): ICEL: that the sacrifice which is mine and yours… USCCB: that this sacrifice, mine and yours…

Roman Canon The first change to Eucharistic Prayer I (the Roman Canon) occurs in the first post-sanctus paragraph of the prayer (OM, no. 84) and changes ICEL’s rendering of illibata from undefiled to unblemished.

For the purposes of easier proclaimability, the final words of the Commemoration of the Living (OM, no. 85) were changed from: in hope of health and security, and fulfilling their vows to you, the eternal God, living and true. to: in hope of health and security, and they fulfill their vows to you, the eternal God, living and true.

In a similar change, the opening lines of the Communicantes (OM, no. 86) were changed from: In communion with the whole Church, they venerate above all others the memory to: In communion with the whole Church, and venerating, above all others the memory

In that same paragraph, Laurence was changed to the more usual American spelling: Lawrence. Two changes were introduced to the translation of the Proper forms of the Communicantes (OM, no. 86), changing the final lines of the forms for the Nativity of the Lord and throughout the Octave, the Epiphany of the Lord, the Mass of the Paschal Vigil until the Second Sunday of Easter, the Ascension of the Lord, and Pentecost Sunday: ICEL: Mother of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ USCCB: Mother of God and our Lord, Jesus Christ

In the following paragraph (OM, no. 87), two words were deleted for the sake of easier proclaimability:

ICEL: counted among the flock of those you have chosen. USCCB: counted among the flock you have chosen. The same change was introduced to the Proper form for the Mass of the Paschal Vigil until the Second Sunday of Easter

A single word was then added to a line in the next paragraph (OM, no. 88) ICEL: that it become for us the Body and Blood… USCCB: that it may become for us the Body and Blood…

A change in the translation of the first acclamation of the Mystery of Faith affects this acclamation in all Eucharistic Prayers (OM, nos. 91, 104, 112, and 121):

ICEL: We proclaim your death… and profess your resurrection USCCB: We proclaim your death… and announce your resurrection

Eucharistic Prayer II One change was made to the epiclesis of the Second Eucharistic Prayer (OM, no. 101), replacing the word “dew:”

ICEL: Therefore, make holy these gifts, we pray, by the dew of your Spirit, USCCB: Therefore, make holy these gifts, we pray, by the outpouring of your Spirit,

Another change to the translation of the second Eucharistic Prayer occurs in the commemoration of the dead (OM, no. 105):

ICEL: Have mercy on us all, we pray, that with the blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, the blessed Apostles, and all the Saints from every age who have pleased you, we may be worthy to share eternal life… USCCB: Have mercy on us all, we pray, that with the blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, the blessed Apostles, and all the Saints who have pleased you throughout the ages, we may be worthy to share eternal life…

Eucharistic Prayer III Only one amendment was made to the translation of the third Eucharistic Prayer (OM, no. 113):

ICEL: Look, we pray, upon your Church’s offering USCCB: Look, with favor on your Church’s offering

Eucharistic Prayer IV An amendment to the fixed Preface of the fourth Eucharistic prayer (OM, no. 116) was adopted, in order to shorten the opening sentence for the purposes of easier proclaimability:

ICEL: …dwelling in unapproachable light; yet you, the one good and the source of life… USCCB: …dwelling in unapproachable light. Yet you, the one good and the source of life…

In a similar way, the opening section of this Eucharistic Prayer (OM, no. 117), notably modified for the sake of greater horizontal inclusivity, was further amended in such a way that the domain of death was changed to the realm of death; and Only-begotten was rendered as Only-begotten Son. In addition, the following changes were introduced to this paragraph:

ICEL: and joy to the sorrowful of heart. USCCB: and to the sorrowful of heart, joy.

ICEL: so that, continuing his work in the world, he might sanctify creation to the full. USCCB: so that, bringing to perfection his work in the world, he might fulfill the sanctification of all creation.

NCR John Allen interview with Monsignor Moroney:

NCR: What happens from here?
Msgr. Moroney: Within the next couple of days, the president of the conference, Bishop William Skylstad, will write a letter to Cardinal Arinze with the final text, with all the adaptations and emendations, requesting the recognitio [meaning formal Vatican approval of the text].The Congregation for Divine Worship will carry out whatever consultations it wants, including consulting with the Vox Clara Commission, and then will make its decision.

Could the congregation make changes to the American text?
Without question, the Holy See will follow the same procedure as in every liturgical book of the last 35 years, sending the text back indicating which amendments it finds acceptable and which not. I suspect there will be perfect clarity from the congregation. The Holy See may want to issue one English text for all the episcopal conferences, which could mean accepting some American changes, and then making that text standard for all the conferences.

Does that mean the Vatican could say to the Americans, 'You have to stick with consubstantial?'
It certainly could. In a ruling some 10 years ago, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts dealt with the scope of changes that may be made in a text awaiting confirmation from the Holy See. It found that the original document may be changed, even substantially, in the confirmation process.

Assuming the Order of Mass is approved, will it be put into effect right away, ahead of the other elements of the Mass?
That decision has not yet been made. The bishops have not begun to examine it.

How will you approach the formation of priests?
I've spoken in 93 dioceses to over 18,000 priests and deacons, bringing the message of the theological and spiritual depth of the new General Instruction on the Roman Missal. It's critically important to go to the "front-line troops" who will be most instrumental in implementing the reform. To paraphrase Sacrosanctum Concilium, all will be in vain unless the pastors of souls are on board. So the first constituency is the priests, then other liturgical ministers, and then the whole assembly.

We have to address these three constituencies more or less simultaneously, and do it by the most effective means. For example, there are Web-based resources, which are extraordinarily effective, in some ways more so than print can ever dream of being. The Roman Missal page is among the most popular on the bishops' conference web site. [Note: Over the last three years, according to conference sources, more than 150,000 people have viewed the Roman Missal page]. We will also produce Power Point presentations, bulletin inserts, and so on, as we did for the General Instruction. …

People have to see and hear the words proclaimed and pronounced. We've looked at streaming video, even pod-casting. We're also considering producing a DVD that would have Power Point resources, documents, audio/video resources … everything in one package. This would include a video of celebrations using the new texts, what we used to call a "dry Mass." We've found that in the United States, there are five to eight basic ways of pronouncing the texts, depending on region and so on. We're already a long way down the line in developing much of this. We'll work closely with the FDLC [Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions], which is the "implementation arm" of the Bishops' Committee on Liturgy in many ways. We'll also work with the Society for Catholic Liturgy, the Catholic Academy of Liturgy, and liturgical publishers.

Are you worried that many of the groups you just mentioned are composed of people who were, in the main, opposed to the new translation?
Something important happened in Los Angeles. We moved from the stage of consultation and giving feedback to decision. To use the language of the liturgical world, we moved to the "white book" phase. There hasn't been a single liturgical issue in the 40 years of the reform in which we haven't followed the same process. There were two major consultations of the bishops. Over the last two years, people were consulted, and they expressed their opinions strongly, vocally, and vitally, in an exemplary way. But now we have a decision, and I've never experienced people in these constituencies failing to understand that what the church requires at this point is a careful understanding and implementation of the decisions the bishops have made.

The Second Vatican Council gave this responsibility to the bishops, working with the Holy See. Now by a margin of 83 percent, they've adopted a particular translation, and I anticipate the Holy See will confirm that in a timely fashion. …

In the United States, we have more untapped resources to do this work than we can dream of. The liturgical renewal has worked better in this country than anywhere else on the face of the earth, and this transition gives us the chance for a real rebirth of the conciliar vision.

What will be the most important factor in implementation?
It's not just a question of imparting knowledge to the clergy about what words were changed and the linguistic rationale for those changes. It's a matter of discovering the rich liturgical theology beneath these translations. In some cases, priests will be exposed for the very first time to theological insights into the celebration of the sacred liturgy, and that's very exciting. It's not just a matter of adapting to linguistic changes, but of discovering the wonders of what the renewal of the liturgy is all about. It's a spiritual and theological journey, not a political process.

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