Hope for a Decent English Roman Rite Liturgical Text

After Vatican II changes were made in the Roman Rite liturgy of the Catholic Church. The new version of the Missale Romanum came to be known as the Novus Ordo. The International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) was set up to provide a uniforn English translation of the Mass & other liturgical texts. These texts came out in the early 70s. They quickly received criticism as being a poor translation of the Latin text. & there is much evidence that it was poorly translated. A few years ago I got a book with a parallel text of the basic parts of the Mass in Latin, English, Italian, Spanish & 4 other languages. I know a little Latin & some Italian & Spanish so I was able to compare the translations. It quickly became clear to me how valid those complaints were. The translations in other languages were much more accurate thus more faithfully presenting the truths of the Catholic Faith that the liturgy contains & proclaims. Pope John Paul the Great & others in the Vatican agreed.

Pope John Paul wrote Vicesimus Quintus Annus calling for, in part, a faithful adherance to Vatican II's Sacrosanctum Concilium. This call wasn't welcome in some parts of the Church. But was welcome by those of us who wanted to see the Novus Ordo achieve what it was ment to do. To see that a more faithful English translation came out the Holy See did 2 things. The 1st was to see that a thourough restructuring was done of the ICEL. The 2nd was to issue in 2001 the document Liturgiam authenticam, containing guidelines to insure faithful translations into all languages as needed. In 2002 the 3rd typical edition of the Missale Romanum, in Latin, came out. A new orginization, Vox Clara, was formed to ensure that the ICEL adhered to Liturgiam authenticam. The 1st set of texts of the new English translation were approved by the US Bishops in June & sent to Rome for approval. There are still some more texts, the prefaces & propers, to be approved. Other Bishops conferences have done the same in their respective countries. When everything is approved the new translation will come into use. This will probably be a couple years down the road.

Why is an accurate translation of the liturgy important. The answer to this is found in Sacrosanctum Concilium. "In the Liturgy the sanctification of the man is signified by signs perceptible to the senses, and is effected in a way which corresponds with each of these signs; in the Liturgy the whole public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and His members.

From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the Priest and of His Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree.

In the earthly Liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that Heavenly Liturgy which is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, a Minister of the Holies and of the true Tabernacle." (7-8)

"(T)he Liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the Sacrifice, and to eat the Lord's Supper." (10)

The document calls on the faithful to a full participation in the liturgy. This means not only singing & saying the proper responses, it means coming to Mass or the Divine Liturgy properly prepared. We are to go with the proper attitude, ready to worhsip God in the way He deserves to be worshiped. Also, we need to go expecting God to nourish us by feeding us with His Word in Scripture & in the Eucharist. Or as it is put in Sacrosanctum Concilium: "From that time onwards the Church has never failed to come together to celebrate the paschal mystery: reading those things "which were in all the scriptures concerning Him" (Lk 24:27), celebrating the Eucharist in which "the victory and triumph of His death are again made present"(Council of Trent, Session XIII, Decree on the Holy Eucharist, c.5.), and at the same time giving thanks "to God for His unspeakable gift" (II Cor 9:15) in Christ Jesus, "in praise of His glory" (Eph 1:12), through the power of the Holy Spirit."(6)

There is an orginization, Adoremus - Society for the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy, who is working for proper renewal of the Liturgy. They are striving to see that all that was called for in the various documents I mentioned are properly implimented for the Roman Rite here in the US. In the July/August issue of The Adoremus Bulletin there was an article titled A Proclamation. This proclamation, in the style of the tradtional proclamation used in the Church to announce the Birth of Jesus. This proclamation gives a rundown of the history of liturgical renewal & reformation in the Roman Church over the last 103 yrs. It can be found at:

http://www.adoremus.org/0706Proclamation.html

Clearly, just coming out with the better translations/revised texts isn't going to accomplish this renewal by itself. It is the responsibility of every Catholic to do his or her part to see that the changes are properly implimented. Groups like Adoremus are working to provide the education & tools needed for it to be done. It is our job to learn what our role is, how to fullfill it & to do what that role calls us to do.

(Note: The various Eastern Churches of the Catholic Church have also been working on the restoration of their liturgies. Over the yrs there have been additions from the Roman Church to their liturgies. These are being removed so that the various Eastern Rites are being restored to their traditional forms.)