New Words… Same Mass

April 4th, 2011 in Uncategorized by Charlie Brown1 Comment

Introducing the Roman Missal, Third Edition. Volume I — New Words… Same Mass.

In this article we will address the basic question of this change in three distinct ways:

• Why do we have a new Roman Missal?

• Why did the translation style change?

• Why do we have to change with it?

Change can often be uncomfortable. When faced with change in our lives, we can allow the uncomfortable feeling to pull us away or draw us in and create opportunity for growth in our lives. As a staff, it is our hope that we can take this change as a way to grow in community and in our understanding of the liturgy, which is central to our life of faith together.

We have learned and prayed the Mass the same way for some time now. As we look to the new Missal, it is important to remember that the Mass is not changing. The structure of the liturgy, the foundation of our prayer, the reason we gather and pray, and the grace of God present in the sacrament we receive remain the gifts they have always been.

However, some of the words we use to express that prayer are changing. In future articles, we will discuss the changes more specifically, but in this article, we will address the changes as a whole.

Why do we have a new Roman Missal?

The Roman Missal is a living document. Throughout history, the way the community prays the liturgy changes. Some of you may remember when Mass was said completely in Latin. We believe that the Holy Spirit is always working and moving in the Church. In order to remain open to the Spirit, the Church remains open to change. The first edition of the Roman Missal was commissioned after the Second Vatican Council and has already been revised once. We are currently using this revision (the second edition of the Roman Missal).

In addition to an openness to the Spirit, the Missal needs to be periodically revised to include new feast days for the church and for the ever-growing canon of Saints. Each feast has its own set of prayers that are added to the Missal.

In light of the need for these changes and additions, Pope John Paul II, during the jubilee year, commissioned that a new Missal would be written and compiled.

This began the process of the third edition of the Roman Missal in 2000. The changes we are going to experience are the prayers of this new edition and its translation to English.

Why did the translation style change from methods previously used?

All Roman Missal editions are written first in Latin. The reforms of the Second Vatican Council require that they then be translated to the language of the people who are celebrating the Mass. The third edition of the Roman Missal was published in Latin in 2002. Since then, the Church has been working on the English translation.

In previous translations, those working on the translation used a method called “dynamic equivalence.” This method allowed the translator to use more poetic and more common phrases to express the “spirit” of the prayers and responses. In many ways, great beauty came from this method. In other ways, some of the deeper meaning of the prayers was lost. For the translation of the third edition, the translators used a method called “formal equivalence,” which is an attempt to stay closer to the exact words as they appear in the Latin text.

The Latin text and prayers come from a tradition deeply rooted in our scriptures. The effort to stay closer to the words exactly as they appear in Latin is also an effort to stay closer to the scriptural roots of our prayer.
The request to employ the different translation method came from Pope John Paul II. As the most traveled pope in history, we can assume that he had significant experience with many different translations of the Roman Missal. In an effort to honor the universality of our Catholic Church, he desired a translation style that maintained as close a unity as possible with the original Latin text.

Why do we have to change with it?

We are blessed to be a part of a universal church. Wherever we attend a Catholic Mass, we are united with all other Catholics around the world, praying the same prayers and receiving the same sacrament. In that spirit of unity with our Catholic brothers and sisters around the world, we trust in the Holy Spirit guiding the Church and unite ourselves with its common prayer and mission.

Author: Charlie Brown

One Comment

Latin grammar and sentence structure translates poorly into English. The new translation is often clumsy, difficult to read out loud, and sometimes almost incomprehensible. Vatican II requires the Mass to be in the language of the people. This version fails in that regard.
It is my understanding that a previous translation done by a English speaking Bishop’s committee was far superior, but was rejected by the Vatican.
Why????

Richard Grant