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CHANGES IN THE ROMAN MISSAL, PART 9: Diving Into Text Changes for the Mass
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This column is part of an ongoing series written by Father Daniel Merz highlighting many of the historical and theological bases of the upcoming publication of a revised English translation of the Roman Missal. Father Merz is the chairman of the Liturgical Commission for the Diocese of Jefferson City, Mo. — BH]
The U.S. Bishops Committee on Divine Worship has posted a chart on its Web site (www.usccb.org/liturgy/missalformation/peoplesparts.pdf) which reveals the changes to parts of the Mass in which the people speak. (They also have a Web site with various resources on the new translation: www.usccb.org/liturgy/missalformation.
Over the next several articles, I will borrow from that chart and provide some commentary in an attempt to explain at least some of the reasons for the new translation.
Greeting
PRESENT TEXT
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
NEW TEXT
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.
Many have probably heard of this change. This is one in which the bishops did not have a choice. The document on liturgical translations, Liturgiam Authenticam, no. 57, specifically mentions that this expression of the Latin, Et cum spiritu tuo, must be translated as literally as possible. Of the major European languages, English is the only one which doesn’t mention the spirit.
In addition to the mandate from Rome, and the need to catch up to the rest of the world, there is also a theological rationale behind the phrase “And with your spirit.” It is only used in response to an ordained minister. In those instances in the liturgy when a non-ordained member leads the assembly in prayer (i.e. a wake service, a holy Communion service, the Liturgy of the Hours), they will never say “The Lord be with you” because, in part, they do not receive the phrase in return “And with your spirit.” The “spirit” that is mentioned here refers to the spirit received in ordination. It is an affirmation by the assembly that this person has received the proper anointing with the spirit in order to lead them in sacramental ministry. It is less about the person of the priest, than the office of the priesthood, which is supported and guaranteed by the Spirit of God given in ordination.
Penitential Act (Confiteor), Forms A and B
PRESENT TEXT
I confess to almighty God,
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned
through my own fault,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done,
and in what I have failed to do;
and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin,
all the angels and saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord, our God.
NEW TEXT
I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done
and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
This was another change mandated by no. 57 in Liturgiam Authenticam. The actual prayer of the church in Form A has the threefold admission of fault, and the English translation currently in use simply did not translate it. In the language of Jesus (Hebrew), a threefold repetition of something marks a superlative degree. Thus, for example, “holy, holy, holy, Lord” is the same as saying “most holy Lord,” though perhaps more poetically. It also stresses the personal nature of sin and the reality of sin — things which Christians do well never to forget.
There is also a change in Form B of the Penitential Act, which is not much used in parishes. All four lines are from the Old Testament: the first two from Baruch 3:2, and the next two from Psalm 85:8. Possibly the current translation was designed to simplify the people’s parts, but the actual prayer of the church calls for the dialogue, which is restored in the new translation.
[NEXT COLUMN: We look at the “Gloria.”]
(This article was reprinted with permission from The Catholic Missourian, the newspaper of the Diocese of Jefferson City, Mo.)
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