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How the New Missal is Being Translated, and Why
CatholicCulture.org ^
| Jun. 10, 2009
| Dr. Jeff Mirus
Posted on 06/12/2009 11:44:17 PM PDT by Salvation
How the New Missal is Being Translated, and Why Posted Jun. 10, 2009 11:42 AM || by Dr. Jeff Mirus ||
Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson (New Jersey) is the chairman of the US Bishops Committee on Divine Worship. Last October he addressed the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions on the significance and goals of the revision of the Roman Missal, currently in progress. The revision is proceeding according to the principles set forth in 2001 in Liturgiam authenticam, an instruction of the Holy See which replaced the document in force since 1969, Comme le Prévoit, now regarded as seriously flawed.
As Bishop Serratelli pointed out, the main difference between the two instructions is that the heady 1969 concept of dynamic equivalency is now replaced by a more traditional concept of formal equivalency. With dynamic equivalency, the translator was encouraged to attempt to capture the concept presented in any given liturgical prayer without attempting to reproduce in the new language the particular words and phrases used in the Latin. This gave translators tremendous leeway and, given the times, led to a marked horizontalization and banalization (if such are words!) of the liturgy. Liturgiam authenticams formal equivalency insists that not only the underlying concepts but the precise words and phrases used to express them be preserved in the translation, ensuring superior fidelity to the mind of the Church.
What lies beneath this shift is an important liturgical recovery, the understanding that the liturgy is primarily the work of God and that its words and actions are supposed to reflect not so much individual styles of piety as the living Faith of the Church, into which each believer must be incorporated. Or, as Bishop Serratelli put it:
In the liturgy, the words addressed to God and the words spoken to the people voice the Faith of the Church. They are not simply the expression of one individual in one particular place at one time in history. The words used in the liturgy also pass on the faith of the Church from one generation to the next
. The liturgy is the source of the divine life given through the Church as sacrament of salvation. As Pope Paul VI once said, it is also the first school of the spiritual life, the first gift which we can give to the Christian people who believe and pray with us
.
Bishop Serratelli then went on to enumerate the seven characteristics of the new translation:
- The translation must capture the teleological focus of the Latin. Latin prayers tend to conclude strongly with a http://www.catholicculture.org:80/commentary/blog.cfm?id=424 or eschatological point. Thus, for example, an English expression such as grant that we may learn to love the things of heaven by tempering earthly desires would, following the teleology of the Latin original, be rendered as grant that by tempering earthly desires we may learn to love the things of heaven. The first ends on our desires; the second on heaven.
- Biblical references must be made clear. Examples abound, but the classic one is Lord I am not worthy to receive you, which does nothing to recall the Scriptural context on which it is based. This will now be rendered, as it was in the earliest English translations, as Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, a clear reference to Matthew 8:8.
- Patristic references must similarly be made clear. Thus for the memorial of Saint Augustine, we will remember his famous dictum (If you have received worthily, you are what you have received) when we pray May the partaking of the table of Christ sanctify us, we pray, O Lord, that, being made His members, we may be what we have received.
- The richness of the Latin vocabulary is to be preserved. Rather than translate a variety of Latin words with the same English word again and again, the variety will be retained: for example, nourished, fed, recreated, made new and we pray, we beseech, we ask.
- The translation must preserve the Latins poetic qualities. The Latin abounds in concrete images, parallelism, and anthropomorphic expressions. Instead of saying in your pity hear our prayers, we will say in your pity give ear to our prayers. Similarly, the prayer Grant us, Lord, to begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service that, as we fight against spiritual evils, we may be armed with the weapons of self restraint will not end up as something anemic and colorless like Grant that we may fast in order to grow spiritually.
- The translation must preserve the exactness of the Latin original, which is already composed in a style befitting the liturgy. For example, a prayerful reflection on the offertory gifts as they are prepared for the sacrifice of the Mass might well read as grant that we who celebrate the mysteries of the Lords Passion may imitate what we enact, but because the word enact is suggestive in English of a performance, it will be translated may imitate what we now do. Thus the correct word is chosen to capture the precise meaning of the Latin agere in this context.
- The translation must preserve the concision and nobility of the Latin tone. The language and vocabulary of the street and the supermarket are not appropriate to the liturgy, yet over the past generation or two, our English translations have grown increasingly common, ordinary, informal. This is not the language of public discourse, and such language is not used in the Latin. Neither should it creep into the English translation.
Bishop Serratellis address provides as succinct a summary of the purpose of the new translation of the Roman Missal as I have yet seen. You can read the complete text in our library, but this summary is sufficient to acquaint you with the main virtues of the new translation, which is expected to be completed and published before the end of 2010. Further information about the translation, along with catechetical materials designed to introduce it, may be found on the USCCB web site, Order of Mass Translation.
TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; History; Theology
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholiclist; cult; eucharist; icel; latin; liturgiamauthenticam; mass; missal; serratelli; usccb
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It's coming!
Sloooooooowly. Was origianally going to be finished in 2009, now 2010. It can't come soon enough for me!
The next best thing would be Latin.
1
posted on
06/12/2009 11:44:18 PM PDT
by
Salvation
To: All
2
posted on
06/12/2009 11:45:52 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: Salvation
“The next best thing would be Latin.”
And then put females back in skirts. Knee-length or longer.
To: Tax-chick
From what my priest was telling me, the Pope has asked the Bishops and priests to begin teaching these changes IMMEDIATELY!
Last week our priest taught about the words “this sacrifice, yours and mine” which has been in the Spanish — don’t know about the other languages.
4
posted on
06/12/2009 11:48:06 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: nickcarraway; Lady In Blue; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; Catholicguy; RobbyS; markomalley; ...
Catholic Discussion Ping!
Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Catholic Discussion Ping List.
5
posted on
06/12/2009 11:51:31 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: Salvation
6
posted on
06/13/2009 12:24:17 AM PDT
by
Dajjal
(Obama is an Ericksonian NLP hypnotist.)
To: Salvation
The translation must preserve the exactness of the Latin original,...except "hominem" will be translated as " ".
7
posted on
06/13/2009 12:25:44 AM PDT
by
Straight Vermonter
(Posting from deep behind the Maple Curtain)
To: Salvation
I would think that Italian and Spanish, being so close to Latin, must be much easier to translate.
8
posted on
06/13/2009 12:53:39 AM PDT
by
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
("men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters." -- Edmund Burke)
To: Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Sure but don't forget how many languages, with no romance roots, that the mass has been translated into.
I always find it fascinating to think of the diverse people all around the world coming face to face with the Lord through the Eucharist.
Gloria in Tagalog
Papuri Papuri sa Diyos sa kaitaasan at sa lupay kapayapaan sa mga taong kinalulugdan niya. Pinupuri ka namin, dinarangal ka namin, sinasamba ka namin, ipinagbubunyi ka namin, pinasasalamatan ka namin, dahil sa dakila mong angking kapurihan. Panginoong Diyos, hari ng langit, Diyos Amang makapangyarihan sa lahat. Panginoong Jesukristo, bugtong na Anak, Panginoong Diyos, kordero ng Diyos, Anak ng Ama. Ikaw na nag-aalis ng mga kasalanan ng sanlibutan, maawa ka sa amin. Ikaw na nag-aalis ng mga kasalanan ng sanlibutan, tanggapin mo ang aming kahilingan. Ikaw na naluklok sa kanan ng Ama, maawa ka sa amin. Sapagkat ikaw lamang ang banal, ikaw lamang ang Panginoon, ikaw lamang, O Jesukristo, ang kataastaasan, kasama ng Espiritu Santo sa kadakilaan ng Diyos Ama. Amen.
9
posted on
06/13/2009 3:33:33 AM PDT
by
Straight Vermonter
(Posting from deep behind the Maple Curtain)
To: worst-case scenario
Well until I have my “minor surgery”, I HAVE to wear dark pants, forget about the dresses for now. Please keep me in prayer. Thanks. If you want to know, I will FRper mail to you.:)
10
posted on
06/13/2009 3:41:35 AM PDT
by
Biggirl
("Live Long And Prosper!"-Mr. Spock:)=^..^==^..^==^..^==^..^=)
To: Straight Vermonter
Indeed....and we have some examples right here in North America:
http://mysite.verizon.net/driadzbubl/IndianMasses.html
Gloria in Mohawk
Gloria in Excelsis Deo. Nok nonwentsiake skennen kenhak nonkwe iakonikonhriio. Tekwanonweratons. Kwatsennonniase. Kwasennaiens. Kwaronhiaientons. Kwatonraseronse tsini akwa saiatanehrakwat. Sewenniio iesennakeraton Niio iahte sanoronse. Sewenniio sonha Hiaienha Niio Iesos Kristos. Sewenniio hetsenikonhraiewenthos Hianiha Niio. Seriwahtontha kariwaneren katakwentenr nisa. Seriwahtontha kariwaneren satontat onen nonwa ne kwennitha. Ne satiens tsi raweientehtakon Hianiha katakwentenr nisa. Aseken sonha saiatatokenti. Sonha Sewenniio. Sonha tsiatanoron Iesos Kristos. Rotkon Roiatatokenti Niio Roniha ietsisennaiens. Etho naiawen.
11
posted on
06/13/2009 4:04:40 AM PDT
by
Claud
To: Salvation
That will be nice, on the occasions I attend English Mass.
12
posted on
06/13/2009 4:12:11 AM PDT
by
Tax-chick
(I just had a baby, so I may not respond to your post. Nothing personal.)
To: Lucius Cornelius Sulla
This has nothing to do with the difficulty of translating it into English. The reason for this bad “translation” in the first place was that the ICEL was very liberal and wanted to manipulate the theology expressed in the mass text. Hence the refusal to use sacred language, the dropping of words, blatant mistranslation of others, etc.
Latin and modern Spanish are also very far apart from each other, but the Spanish translation is better because the Spanish, at that time, weren’t trying to undermine the Faith, whereas a lot of the American “liturgists” and “scholars” were trying to do just that.
13
posted on
06/13/2009 4:51:53 AM PDT
by
livius
To: Salvation
Will they similarly rewrite the Liturgy of the Hours?
14
posted on
06/13/2009 5:19:58 AM PDT
by
COBOL2Java
(Obamanation: an imploding administration headed by a clueless schmuck, with McCain as his Kowakian)
To: Straight Vermonter
...except "hominem" will be translated as " ". I noticed that in the latest White Book version, qui propter nos homines in the creed is translated "who for us men".
Maybe the Vatican said "no" to dropping "men" in that instance.
15
posted on
06/13/2009 5:43:51 AM PDT
by
Campion
("President Barack Obama" is an anagram for "An Arab-backed Imposter")
To: COBOL2Java
Will they similarly rewrite the Liturgy of the Hours? Yes, that's the plan.
16
posted on
06/13/2009 5:45:09 AM PDT
by
Campion
("President Barack Obama" is an anagram for "An Arab-backed Imposter")
To: Biggirl
You are in my prayers as well. Peace and blessings.
To: livius
We have a english/spanish missal, with english and spanish on facing pages. I always wondered why the spanish translation was so different. I wonder if some US bishops got upset that the spanish masses were closer to what it was “supposed” to be north of the border.
Freegards
18
posted on
06/13/2009 8:47:20 AM PDT
by
Ransomed
(Son of Ransomed Says Keep the Faith!)
To: livius
Latin and modern Spanish are also very far apart from each other, but the Spanish translation is better because the Spanish, at that time, werent trying to undermine the Faith, whereas a lot of the American liturgists and scholars were trying to do just that.Spot on!
19
posted on
06/13/2009 9:04:06 AM PDT
by
frogjerk
(C-NJ)
To: livius
** The reason for this bad translation in the first place was that the ICEL was very liberal and wanted to manipulate the theology expressed in the mass text. Hence the refusal to use sacred language, the dropping of words, blatant mistranslation of others, etc.**
Bumping that notion in agreement!
20
posted on
06/13/2009 10:30:03 AM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
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