Old-fashioned translation gets new-fangled website
Monday, August 24, 2009
By Bryan Cones
Comments (7)
The back-to-Latin English translations of the parts of the Mass now have their own website. Launched by the U.S. bishops in anticipation of their expected approval in 2010, the faithful can now read what they'll be saying on Sunday, beginning with their response to "The Lord be with you": "And with your spirit." And that means?
The entire study text for the "ordinary" of the Mass--the parts that don't change--are available at www.usccb.org/romanmissal. People will surely notice the changes to the Gloria, Confiteor, Holy, Holy, and response to the invitation to Communion--"Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof." I guess some people will be taking the consecrated bread home?
I don't think these changes are necessary at all, and the changes make little sense in modern English. The whole project is basically an expensive attempt to comply with the letter of LIturgiam authenticam, a document on translation aimed squarely at the English translations of the liturgy. (No other language group is revising their texts. As for expensive, every parish will eventually have to buy new hymnals and ritual books, and every publisher is going to have to update scores of books, musical arrangements and worship aids.) For background, check out Peter Nixon's August story on uscatholic.org: Incoming Missal.
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"And that means?"
By Jeffrey Pinyan (not verified) on Tuesday, August 25, 2009The possible confusion over the new translation is the reason why they're to be preceded with liturgical catechesis. All liturgical reform should be preceded by, coupled with, and followed by ongoing catechesis on the matter. Vatican II prescribed as much.
If you don't know what "and with your spirit" means, ask a priest or bishop. If they don't know, they should find out! I can share what Cardinal George taught on the matter.
If the "under my roof" confuses you, check out the Scriptural origin (Matthew 8) for the bigger picture.
Hopefully, my book (and whatever other liturgical catecheses are published between now and then) will go a long way towards educating the whole Church about these changes.
Catechesis on language
By Bryan Cones on Wednesday, August 26, 2009Sorry, I don't follow. What possible catechetical reason could there be for using language that makes no sense in modern English? Even conservative translators have argued that "And with your spirit" is a poor translation of "Et cum spiritu tuo" because the biblical expression that lies behind that phrase is a Semitic reference to the whole human person. It's frankly school-boy Latin. Why does "under my roof" have more religious value than "receive you"--the plain meaning of what the man says in Matt 8!? Besides, the liturgy is hardly a slave to direct quotes from the Bible. If we stuck to the Bible, the Gloria would be two lines long!
This translation, and Liturgiam authenticam for that matter, is rubricism, pure and simple. The 1970s translations may have needed updating and polish; that was done and approved in the early 1990s by supermajorities of the world's English-speaking conferences, who were given explicit authority in Sacrosanctum concilium over liturgical translations. What we're getting is clunky, hard-to-proclaim ideology. And the people of God are going to be stuck with it. We'd be better off sticking to what we have now.
Bryan Cones
Making sense (part 2)
By Jeffrey Pinyan (not verified) on Wednesday, August 26, 2009You said "the liturgy is hardly a slave to direct quotes from the Bible." Right, but the norm of liturgical translations is the Latin text. If the Latin text was "Domine, non sum dignus ut te accipiam..." (a departure from the Biblical text), it would be justifiable to translate it as "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you..." But the Latin text does not deviate from the Scriptures here (except for "my soul" rather than "your servant"), so neither should a translation.
If you're interested in knowing more of what I have to say about "enter under my roof", you can read it here. I also read in this month's This Rock that rendering it as "that you should enter" rather than "to receive you" better emphasizes that Jesus is the protagonist (as it were) of Communion.
Making sense (part 1)
By Jeffrey Pinyan (not verified) on Wednesday, August 26, 2009I've read the new translation, and I don't find that it "makes no sense in modern English." Some phrases require a little extra thinking or even some digging, but the hard work is the job of the catechist. Did the people with Latin-English personal missals in the 40's and 50's think the English translation made no sense?
Regarding "[be] with your spirit," in English translations of the Bible I only see it used four times (Gal 6:18; Phil 4:23; 2 Tim 4:22; Phlm 1:25). On the other hand, "[be] with you" is used at least twice as often in the epistles, and plenty elsewhere. Greek and Latin liturgies used "and with your spirit" and the modern Italian, French, Spanish, and German translations render "spirit" accurately. Why not English?
I disagree that L.A. amounts to rubricism.
Pope Paul VI required that all translations of liturgical Latin texts "must always be reviewed and approved by the Holy See." (Sacram Liturgiam IX) And the Holy See has the right to exercise its authority over the Episcopal Conferences. It seems Rome had many issues (examples included) with the quality of the earlier suggested revision.
Thanks Jeffrey
By Jerry (not verified) on Wednesday, August 26, 2009Good comments and link. Thanks for the education.
You're welcome, Jerry
By Jeffrey Pinyan (not verified) on Wednesday, August 26, 2009Glad to be of service.
New Translations
By Maria Leonard (not verified) on Tuesday, August 25, 2009My favorite word in the new translation of the texts for the Mass is "dewfall". It's a poetic word from the 14th century for the falling of dew in the evening. It is used in the eucharistic prayer to describe the work of the Holy Spirit. It's a lovely word, evoking tender images, but how will it be heard in the proclamation of the eucharistic prayer? And how will it be pronounced?
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