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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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To: COBOL2Java
As I understand — Pope Benedict has said that the NAB is an abomination and needs to be cleaned out and cleaned up. I know that the Liturgy of the Hours comes from other Bibles, but I do expect some changes. What do you think?
21
posted on
06/13/2009 10:31:29 AM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
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.**
I’ve always thought it was Benrnardin’s Boys who corrupted the ICEL, but have never known for sure. Any information there from you?
22
posted on
06/13/2009 10:33:43 AM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: Salvation
AWESOME!
23
posted on
06/13/2009 10:40:13 AM PDT
by
bdeaner
(The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? (1 Cor. 10:16))
To: Salvation
Will the “Our Father” once more end with “And deliver us from evil. AMEN.”?
Will the “Sign of Peace” be retained?
What about the “St. John’s Gospel”?
24
posted on
06/13/2009 11:10:02 AM PDT
by
Dionysius
(Jingoism is no vice in these troubled times.)
To: Dionysius
**Will the Our Father once more end with And deliver us from evil. AMEN.?**
Don’t know about that one.
The CREDO will begin correctly, however, “I believe.”
25
posted on
06/13/2009 11:14:48 AM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: Dionysius
**Will the Sign of Peace be retained?**
I believe so, but it will be moved to either the beginning of the Mass or the Beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. It will be taken OUT of the Communion Rite! Hooray.
26
posted on
06/13/2009 11:16:00 AM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: Dionysius
**What about the St. Johns Gospel?**
Not sure I know what you are meaning here. As I understand it, the Pope has asked that the English translation of the Bible be cleaned out of all the liberalism and then cleaned up to match the Latin Vulgate. Not sure when this will happen however.
27
posted on
06/13/2009 11:17:46 AM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: Salvation
As I understand Pope Benedict has said that the NAB is an abomination and needs to be cleaned out and cleaned up. I know that the Liturgy of the Hours comes from other Bibles, but I do expect some changes. What do you think? I would certainly not miss the NAB translation for the scripture readings in the breviary. I much prefer the RSV Catholic edition; if I recall, it's the translation that is used in the Canadian Dioceses.
28
posted on
06/13/2009 1:54:30 PM PDT
by
COBOL2Java
(Obamanation: an imploding administration headed by a clueless schmuck, with McCain as his Kowakian)
To: COBOL2Java; annalex
The only reason I post the NAB first on the Daily and Sunday Readings is because of the layout with the live links. By the first 10 posts, everyone has a translation from the RSV and the Jerusalem Bibles.
Then later in the day, annalex posts the Douay Rheims and Vulgate.
Every thread has FIVE, yes, five translations. People can pick and choose. LOL!
29
posted on
06/13/2009 2:03:50 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: Salvation
I probably have all of them - it helps me prepare for interpreting the Mass into ASL. Don't forget the New English Bible - of all the translations, it has the most beautiful rendition of the Psalms:
O God, thou art my God, I seek thee early
with a heart that thirsts for thee
and a body wasted with longing for thee,
like a dry and thirsty land that has no water.
So longing, I come before thee in the sanctuary
to look upon thy power and glory.
Thy true love is better than life;
therefore I will sing thy praises.
And so I bless thee all my life
and in thy name lift my hands in prayer.
I am satisfied as with a rich and sumptuous feast
and wake the echoes with thy praise.
-Psalm 63:1-5
To: Salvation
I cannot wait. Seeing “Credo” and “WE believe” side by side drives me nuts.
Next to go — the OCP ditties. Oh puleez Lord, in my lifetime.
31
posted on
06/13/2009 2:35:42 PM PDT
by
bboop
(obama, little o, not a Real God)
To: COBOL2Java
New English Bible? First I have ever heard of it.
What is ASL?
Do you have a link for that New English Bible? It sounds wonderful.
32
posted on
06/13/2009 2:43:39 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: bboop
I think they will fall by the wayside too. Our priest is constantly introducing new and very reverant hymns at Daily Mass. He has a wonderful voice.
33
posted on
06/13/2009 2:44:50 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: COBOL2Java
Don't forget the New English BibleI also like the Revised English Bible, a revision of the New English Bible.
To: Salvation
Here's a reference in Wikipedia:
New English Bible ASL = American Sign Language. I'm an interpreter for the deaf. :-)
To: bdeaner
That Missal is incredible. The richness of the faith that is poured onto the pages is truly awesome!
36
posted on
06/13/2009 6:27:23 PM PDT
by
frogjerk
(C-NJ)
To: Salvation
Don’t hold me to “later in the day”. Recently, I had trouble posting from home due to computer problems, and at work — too much work.
In a week, I will be on a short vacation.
So, there may be interruptions. But I do catch up.
37
posted on
06/13/2009 6:42:59 PM PDT
by
annalex
(http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
To: annalex
Understandable. That has happened to me too.
38
posted on
06/14/2009 12:14:11 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: COBOL2Java
My daughter teaches at a school where there are many deaf students and she has learned this.
Great language with a lot of it make very good sense to the eye.
39
posted on
06/14/2009 12:15:45 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: Salvation
It can’t come soon enough for me!
The next best thing would be Latin.
^^^
Agree and agree, FRiend.
Will we soon have these?
“I believe” and not “We believe” at the Credo
and
“And with your spirit” (Et cum spirity tuo) instead of “And also with you”
And please, please let there be no more “sign of peace”.
40
posted on
06/14/2009 12:55:53 PM PDT
by
Bigg Red
(Palin in 2012)
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