to do some serious study and
reflection asking ourselves, "Why do
we do what we do at our celebration
of the Eucharist?" We are providing
information that will help you come
to this deeper understanding of the
Liturgy of the Church. The
Archdiocesan Worship Commission has
begun creating the plan to prepare
the parishes of the Archdiocese of
Detroit to welcome the new
Roman
Missal.
The United States bishops have asked
that this year of preparation be
spent in forming the parishioners on
the deeper theological meanings of
each part of the celebration of the
Eucharist.
Why is there a new Roman
Missal?
With the major reform of the liturgy
after Vatican Council II came the
Mass in the vernacular languages.
The Roman Missal reflecting
all these changes was first issued
in Latin by Pope Paul VI in 1970. In
translating that text into English,
a standard known as "dynamic
equivalence" was used which allowed
the translators considerable freedom
in choosing how best to express in
English the meaning of the original
Latin text. As a result, the style
of the English was, in part, less
formal and more conversational and
is what we use today at Mass.
A third edition of the Missal
was announced by Pope John Paul II
in the Jubilee Year 2000. Before it
was translated into English, a new
instruction Liturgiam Authenticam
was issued in 2001 by the
Congregation for the Divine Worship
and the Discipline of the
Sacraments, which outlined the rules
and principles of translation into
the vernacular languages. This
process requires the use of "formal
equivalence" in translating so that
the English reflects truer
translation of the original Latin.
As a result, some of the words and
phrases that we currently say in
English will be changing. For
example, when the priest says, "The
Lord be with you," our response will
be "And with your spirit", a more
accurate translation of "Et cum
spiritu tuo". Although we will all
need to learn the new wording of the
responses and prayers, we will
regain some of the poetry and
scriptural richness expressed in the
original Latin.
How
is the
Roman Missal
translated?
The process of translation is a
highly complex work requiring
involvement by several groups. The
International Commission on English
in the Liturgy [ICEL] is chartered
to prepare English translations of
liturgical texts on behalf of the
conferences of bishops of
English-speaking countries.
The United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops [USCCB] and the
other member Conferences of Bishops
receive draft translations of each
text from ICEL. The bishops then
have the opportunity to offer
comments and suggestions to ICEL. A
second draft, is then proposed,
which each Conference of Bishops
approves. A Conference reserves the
right to amend or modify a
particular text. Then the approved
text is submitted to the Holy See
for final approval.
In Rome
the Congregation for Divine Worship
and the Discipline of the Sacraments
examines texts and (sometimes after
further exchanges) confers
authoritative approval, called
recognitio, of texts and grants
permission for their use.
Why
will the new translation sound
different?
The English translation of the
Roman Missal that we have been
using since 1973 has been less
formal and more conversational in
style. This style was very valuable
in helping the people to hear and
understand the prayers and to take
their proper role in the celebration
of the Eucharist, but some of the
precision and nuance of the original
Latin was lost.
The new
translation will use a more formal
language and be closer to the
language, grammar, and syntax of the
Latin editio typica. It is
important to remember the liturgical
principle that has been recognized
since the 5th century, namely, that
"the law of prayer is the law of
belief." The new translation will
more accurately speak to what we
believe as a Church.
Pastor
