Pope receives copy of complete English translation of Roman Missal

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After nine years of work involving Vatican officials, English-speaking bishops around the world and hundreds of consultants, Pope Benedict XVI received a complete version of the English translation of the Roman Missal.

The white-bound, gold-edged missal, which contains all of the prayers used at Mass, was given to the pope during a luncheon April 28 with members of the Vox Clara Committee, an international group of bishops who advise the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments about English liturgical translations.

"Soon the fruits of your labors will be made available to English-speaking congregations everywhere," the pope told the Vox Clara members.

"Many will find it hard to adjust to unfamiliar texts after nearly 40 years of continuous use of the previous translations," the pope said, which is why "the change will need to be introduced with due sensitivity."

The pope thanked the Vox Clara members and all those who contributed to the translation process because "through these sacred texts and the actions that accompany them, Christ will be made present and active in the midst of his people."

The new English-language Missal is a translation of the Latin edition officially promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 2000 and released in 2002.

The copy given to the pope includes the "recognitio," or approval for use, dated March 25, 2010, and signed by Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the worship congregation, and U.S. Archbishop J. Augustine Di Noia, congregation secretary.

Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that while the overall text has been approved for use, editions with specific adaptations for each country are pending. He said he expected the "recognitio" for the U.S. version before the end of May.

While Catholics definitely will notice the new translation, Cardinal George said, the change will be "far less dramatic than going from Latin to English was."

"When they see what a beautiful text it is, many people will welcome it," the cardinal told Catholic News Service April 29. Some people, for a variety of reasons, will not like the translation, he said, "but in the end it will be the text the church uses for prayer."

Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa, a member of Vox Clara, told CNS that members expect bishops' conferences in most English-speaking countries to begin using the new translation starting in Advent 2011.

After the Vox Clara meeting in January, the archbishop said, members left Rome wondering if it would be finished in time for the April meeting. The congregation and a group of volunteers working with Msgr. James P. Moroney, former executive director of the Secretariat for the Liturgy at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, "made sure that every line was checked and rechecked," he said.

Before a copy was presented to the pope April 28, the Vox Clara members were briefed on "how they brought the final version together -- how the final recensions were made, the copy editing and the consultation with different people on how it sounded," he said.

Because the missal was translated in parts and approved in sections by the various bishops' conferences, some prayers that are used only occasionally had been translated slightly differently in different parts of the missal. The congregation determined which of the translations to use consistently, the archbishop said.

"While we may have had some reservations when we first started the project -- you know, 'I'd rather this than that' -- we began to see that the thing really came together and was a wonderful work of collaboration among the different countries of the world," Archbishop Prendergast said.

"I think we have a majestic, reverent text that is going to be a great contribution to the church," he said.

The Latin missal text was translated into English by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, a body established by English-speaking bishops' conferences. The conferences voted on each text and requested some specific wording for use in their own countries. The texts approved by the bishops' conferences were forwarded to the Vatican for approval. The congregation examined the texts with input from the members of the Vox Clara Committee.

The Power and Anointing of the Mass -Benefits of the Mass as Told by Popes and Saints

Pope Paul VI “The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer!”

Pope Benedict XV “The Holy Mass would be of greater profit if people had it offered in their lifetime, rather than having it celebrated for the relief of their souls after death.”

St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church “The celebration of Holy Mass is as valuable as the death of Jesus on the cross.”

St. Gregory, Doctor of the Church “The heavens open and multitudes of angels come to assist in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.”
“It is most true that he who attends holy Mass shall be freed from many evils and from many dangers, both seen and unseen.”

St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church “The angels surround and help the priest when he is celebrating Mass.”
“He who devoutly hears holy Mass will receive a great vigor to enable him to resist mortal sin, and there shall be pardoned to him all venial sins which he may have committed up to that hour.”

“He [who attends Mass with all possible devotion] shall be freed from sudden death, which is the most terrible stroke launched by the Divine Justice against sinners. Behold a wonderful preservative against sudden death.”

St. Jerome,
Doctor of the Church “Without doubt, the Lord grants all favors which are asked of Him in Mass, provided they be fitting for us; and, which is a matter of great wonder, ofttimes He also grants that also which is not demanded of Him, if we, on our part, put no obstacle in the way.”
St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church “When Mass is being celebrated, the sanctuary is filled with countless angels who adore the divine victim immolated on the altar.”

St. Anselm,
Doctor of the Church “A single Mass offered for oneself during life may be worth more than a thousand celebrated for the same intention after death.”

St. Teresa, Doctor of the Church Once, St. Teresa was overwhelmed with God’s Goodness and asked Our Lord “How can I thank you?” Our Lord replied, “ATTEND ONE MASS.”
St. Leonard of Port Maurice “The principal excellence of the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass consists in being essentially, and in the very highest degree, identical with that which was offered on the Cross of Calvary: with this sole difference that the sacrifice on the Cross was bloody, and made once for all, and did on that one occasion satisfy fully for all the sins of the world; while the sacrifice of the altar is an unbloody sacrifice, which can be repeated an infinite number of times, and was instituted in order to apply in detail that universal ransom which Jesus paid for us on Calvary.”
“I believe that were it not for the Holy Mass, as this moment the world would be in the abyss, unable to bear up under the mighty load of its iniquities Mass is the potent prop that hold the world on its base.”

“Be now confounded for very wonder, reflecting that the proposition just laid down is indeed most true; a soul assisting with adequate devotion at holy Mass renders more honor to God than that which all the Angels and all the Saints put together render with all their adorations.”

“And, yet, with the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, viewed according to its intrinsic preciousness and value, satisfaction may be made completely for committed sin ... Not that the Sacrifice of the Mass by any means cancels our sins immediately, and of itself, as does the Sacrament of Penance: but it cancels them mediately, calling down various aids of interior impulse, of holy aspiration, and of actual grace, all tending toward a worthy repentance of our sins, either at the time of the Mass itself or at some other fitting time.”

“O blessed Mass, by which we come to have the Son of God placed not within our arms but within our hearts, Nor is there a doubt but that with Him, and Him alone, we shall be able to satisfy the debt of gratitude which we have contracted with God.”

“It is in our power by means of it to pay the fourth debt due to God, which is to supplicate Him, and to entreat new graces of Him. ... Yes, yes: in holy Mass our dear beloved Jesus, as the chief and supreme Priest, recommends our case to the Father, prays for us and makes Himself our advocate. ... How can you doubt but that He wishes to give you all the virtues and all the perfections which are required to make you a saint, and a great saint, in Heaven?”

“What graces, gifts and virtues the Holy Mass calls down ... repentance for sin ... victory over temptation ... holy inspirations which dispositions to shake off tepidity ... the grace of final perseverance, upon which depends our salvation ... temporal blessings, such as peace, abundance and health ...”

In having Masses said for the suffering souls in Purgatory: “the holy Mass not only shortens their pains but also extends great immediate relief to those poor souls ... the charity you exercise toward poor souls under purification will all redound to your own good.”

In having Masses said for your own soul: “... get celebrated all the Masses possible in your circumstances not only for the souls departed but for your own. Do this for two motives: first to obtain a good and holy death - it being the invariable opinion of theologians that there is no more efficacious means for attaining so holy a purpose. Another motive is that you may yourself issue quickly from Purgatory and fly away into eternal glory, there being no means more adapted for obtaining from God a grace so precious as that of going direct to Heaven, or at least a short detention on the way, than Indulgences duly gained, and the holy Sacrifice.”

St. John Vianney , Patron Saint of Parish Priests
“When we receive Holy Communion, we experience something extraordinary - a joy, a fragrance, a well being that thrills the whole body and causes it to exalt.”
“If we really understood the Mass, we would die of joy.”

“There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us.”

“When we have been to Holy Communion, the balm of love envelops the soul as the flower envelops the bee.”

Blessed Padre Pio, stigmatic priest “It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without Holy Mass.”

Revelation of Christ to St. Gertrude the Great For each Mass we hear with devotion, Our Lord sends a saint to comfort us at death.

Revelation of Christ to St. Mechtilde He who is in the habit of devoutly hearing holy Mass shall in death be consoled by the presence of the angels and saints, his advocates, who shall bravely defend him from all the snares of infernal spirits.

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