Some
principal ideas concerning
the new translation
of the Mass
Reasons for change:
·
The Mass is the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ; it is
public worship and not a social meeting.
·
We are invited to participate in this Divine
Sacrifice and liturgy. We do not come to be entertained but to be renewed.
·
The Liturgy of the Eucharist was given to the
Church and not to any individual.
·
Each Sacrament has its own form and matter – as
is with the Sacrament of the Eucharist,
·
Nobody can change anything on his own personal
authority, (Vat. II)
·
The Mass is not about “feeling good”
it is about “doing right”, following the instructions of Christ.
·
The Mass was instituted by Christ for our
salvation not for our entertainment.
·
The words the Mass contains aren’t there for
their psychological meaning or reason. They’re there because they mean
something theologically, because they say something true and important about
God, the world and the human condition.
·
Many of those words were first used in the Mass
by the apostles, the saints and the Church Fathers. They were drawn from the
scrolls of Hebrew Scripture and the written and oral tradition of the Church.
·
Indeed, some are the very words of Christ and we
cannot alter them in a capricious way.
·
Others are the words of those who followed Him.
Through the centuries, the faithful have given their lives to say those words.
They’ve also given their lives to ensure that the right words were said.
For all these reasons and more,
the words of the Mass matter. They matter a great deal. That’s why the
forthcoming changes to the translation that English-speaking Catholics use in
the Sacred Liturgy aren’t about theological quibbling (pedantry) or liturgical
minutiae (niceties). It’s serious business … although serious business that
takes a bit of time and study to understand.
So, what are some of the changes
Catholics will encounter starting on Nov. 27, the first Sunday of Advent, that
seem small but are actually quite significant?
The
Lord be with you …
Now
we say, “And also with you.”
Beginning
Nov. 27, we’ll say, “And with your spirit.”
To start with, it’s accurate. In
the original Latin, whenever the priest says to the people "Dominus
vobiscum" (“The Lord be with you”), the people’s response is
"Et cum spiritu tuo", literally “And with your spirit.”
The words of the Mass are
there for a reason. And the response “And with your spirit” conveys
something different than “And also with you". The latter sounds like a cultural greeting,
which was the point. The original translators wanted something that sounded
more like everyday speech. But it can sound like the congregation is saying,
‘Right back at you, Father,’ or ‘You too.’”
Please notice that some priests
went even further and instead of the liturgical "the Lord be with
you" they were introducing a totally, not-liturgical, "Good
morning (evening) everybody". This is an abuse.
And that’s not what the Latin
phrase means. It’s not just another way of saying “hi” to the priest.
Rather, Et cum spiritu tuo
is “a liturgical greeting given to the priest at four significant moments, when
the priest is about to do something that, by virtue of Holy Orders, he has been
ordained to do:
·
preside over the Mass,
·
proclaim the Gospel,
·
pray the Eucharistic prayers and
·
dismiss the congregation”
The congregation’s response is
intended to remind
the priest who he is, that he has been ontologically changed by
ordination, and that it’s the spirit of Christ, to which his own spirit has
been configured, which allows him to carry out those sacred tasks. It’s
meant to be a reminder that what the priest is doing is not about him.
It’s a reminder that this isn’t about Father and Father’s Mass. It’s
about Father allowing Christ to act in him.”
Likewise, “And with your
spirit” isn’t intended to suggest that the priest is any holier than his
congregation. Rather, it “expresses a prayer that the ordained may be made
worthy of the dignity of their divine calling.”
The response also reminds the
laity of a thing or two. To start with, it reminds the congregation who the priest is.
·
He’s not just a representative of the
community,
·
He’s not a liturgical animator,
·
He’s there and acting in the person of
Christ, - “in Persona Christi”,
·
He is there as the ORDAINED MINISTER of
Christ, and not acting as an individual, elected and designated by the
community.
·
He makes present the Passion and Death
of Christ Himself,
·
He acts in the Spirit of Christ and not on
his own personal or private authority,
·
So we are greeting his spirit, the Spirit of
Christ.
It also reminds the laity,
that the priest is doing for them what they cannot do for themselves.
Through the grace of the Holy Spirit he has been conformed to Christ and is
therefore able to transform gifts of bread and wine into Christ’s Body and
Blood.
Mass should be the Sacrifice of
Christ …and, if it is not it is a sacrilege!!!
There is a second change emphasizing the same idea:
Until
now, after the preparation of the gifts, the priest was inviting us to pray:
Pray, brethren, that our
sacrifice
may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.
Starting
Nov. 27 the priest will say
Pray,
brethren (brothers and sisters),
that
my sacrifice and yours
may
be acceptable to God,
the
almighty Father.
Once again it is not to make a
separation between "me"
and "you", but to remind us the this is not mine or yours,
or our Sacrifice but the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the
priest pronouncing the words: " that my sacrifice
and yours"
is saying them "in persona Christi".
*****************************************
THE SECOND IDEA:
Pro
Multis
Now
the priest says:
“This
is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will
be shed for you and FOR ALL
so that sins may be forgiven.”
Beginning
Nov. 27 he will say:
“For
this is the chalice of my Blood,
the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured
out for you and FOR MANY
for the forgiveness of sins.”
Here’s why:
In the Sacred Liturgy, there is
no moment more important or more filled with grace than when the priest
repeats Christ’s words, first spoken at the Last Supper, and the bread
and wine become Christ’s Body and Blood.
For the past 40 years,
English-speaking Catholics have heard those words of consecration, when spoken
over the cup, translated as: “Take this, all of you, and drink from it:
This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting
covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be
forgiven. Do this in memory of me.”
Most of those changes won’t raise
any eyebrows. Chalice, rather than cup (cup is too vernacular it is the
mug, the goblet, etc.) the Poured, rather than shed. Eternal,
rather than everlasting. Each has its significance, and together they
give a more reverent tone to the prayer, but none are controversial or
puzzling. The same can’t be said, however, of the phrase, “for you and for MANY.”
At first hearing, it sounds as if
the Church is saying that Christ didn’t die for everyone, that there’s some
special class of individuals who aren’t of “salvation-grade quality”. But that
can’t be what the Church actually means. Or is it?
The answer is no ... and yes. Christ
did die for everyone. He offers salvation to all. But not
everyone accepts what he offers. That’s what the phrase “for you and
for MANY”
reminds us. And that’s what the original Latin says.
In Latin, the phrase used is
"QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS", which literally means “for you
and for many,” or “for you and the many.” “The many” can mean the same thing as
“all,” but traditionally that’s not how the phrase has been interpreted, not by
Catholics and not by Protestants who continue to use the words “for many” in
their own communion services.
In part, “for many”
because the passage is a translation of the words Jesus spoke at the Last
Supper, words which refer to a passage from Isaiah 53 about
the suffering servant who would make many righteous.
It’s also been translated as
“many” rather than “all,” because of Jesus’ own words about heaven and hell
in Matthew 7:14: “How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads
to life. And those who find it are few.”
On a spring day outside
Jerusalem, the Second Person of the Trinity saved every member of the human
race, potentially. It’s ‘potentially’
because not everyone will be saved. The Lord says that in the Gospel.
Again, however, that’s not
to say that Jesus doesn’t want to save everyone. He does.
But, in order to receive
salvation, something on our part needs to happen. We don’t earn our
salvation, but we need to embrace it and live it.
Our decisions have consequences.
We’re not Jansenists, whose crucifixes were long and narrow, signifying that
only a few would be saved. Our crucifixes have Christ’s arms spread wide to
show that salvation is for the many. But if we eliminate human choice,
then morality has no meaning or content, i.e., one can do whatever one
pleases and just presume God will forgive all offenses without repentance. But
that’s not how it works, and presumption is a sin against the Holy Spirit.”
BY RETURNING TO THE TRADITIONAL “FOR YOU AND FOR MANY,” THE
CHURCH ASKS US TO REMEMBER THAT:
·
The words remind us, that there is no such
thing as automatic salvation. Just because someone poured water on your
head 50 years ago doesn’t mean you’re saved!
·
The language, these words, also force us to confront our own sins.
·
They’re meant to be a call to an
examination of conscience. At every given celebration of the Mass,
they’re an invitation to ask, ‘Where do I stand? I recognize Christ has died,
so what have I done to accept it?’
And finally the third idea behind the return
to original text
Mea
Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa
Presently, we say:
“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 deeds, in what I have done and
what I have failed to do.”
Beginning
Nov. 27, we’ll say:
“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 what I
have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most
grievous fault.”
HERE’S WHY:
The new translation of the Roman
Missal won’t just bring a change in words. It will also bring a change in tone,
calling for greater humility from both the priest and the congregation.
Likewise, in the introduction to
the penitential rite, the priest no longer calls upon the congregation
to “acknowledge our failures,” but rather to “acknowledge our sins.”
To some, the changes might sound
a bit like an invocation to breast beating, rather like the Church is calling
congregants to indulge in some “good old-fashioned Catholic guilt”. But that’s
not what’s happening.
As with the other changes, the
new translation is just faithfully rendering what’s always been there in the
original Latin. And what’s there isn’t there to make us think badly about
ourselves. It’s there to make us think correctly about ourselves.
The words are intended to
help us realize how grateful we should be. In spite of the fact that
we’ve gravely sinned and have grievous faults, we have a God of mercy who died
for us. We need to realize the gift that our salvation is.
We also need to realize that
we all need that salvation.
In our current culture , many
people, Catholics included, have an ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ attitude’. But we’re not. We’re broken people in need of being
fixed. We need God. We’re completely dependent on Him, and without him, we’re
nothing. Unfortunately, most of us only remember that in times of great need.
The language of the Mass tries to help us realize that in good times as well.
It also reminds us that God is
not a vending machine for spiritual and material favours, dispensing grace at
our command.
In the new translation, you hear
the priest saying things such as, ‘humbly we beg you,’ ‘we beseech
you,’ ‘be pleased to grant’. There’s less bossing, less ‘Lord do
this,’ and more petitioning, more ‘Lord, grant this we humbly pray.’
That can sound like groveling or
begging. But it’s not. It articulates the truth that we don’t dare just present
a list of demands to God. We’re not engaged in commodity trading. Everything is
a gift and only because God is gracious and merciful do we dare approach him,
let alone receive the gift of a response.
In articulating that, the new
translation does what the Mass is supposed to do:
It puts us in right relationship with
God. It also reminds us who we are.
We are beggars before God. We
are not His equals. He’s not “our buddy”. He is our Creator, and as His
creatures we owe him adoration. We haven’t come to Mass to give orders,
but to receive orders. The current texts have blocked that distinction.
All this matters, of course, because in
the journey to holiness, humility is a must.
Humility involves real knowledge
of self. Even the ancient pagan Greeks understood the importance of that. ‘Know
thy-self,’ said the Delphic Oracle. Christians recognize humility as the first
rung on the ladder to perfection. The final rung is charity, but the journey
starts with humility. It’s where the path of perfection begins.
Generally speaking the background
for the more faithful translation is
More
praise for God.
Throughout the new translation, God is
more fully and faithfully praised.
We stress the sacredness and holiness
of the Eucharist.
We avoid the wrong
"creativity" of some bold, self-confident and even arrogant priests
of the past.
