Changes to Roman Catholic Missal have historical roots
After decades of use by priests and laity throughout the Catholic Church, including at Stritch, a new translation of the Roman Missal, the guidebook of prayers and instructions used in the celebration of Mass, made its debut.
The introduction of some changes to the way Mass is said will mean that Catholics have to adjust to some new language. This third translation of the Roman Missal, also referred to as the Sacramentary, began use on Nov. 27, the first day of Advent.
It introduces a more literal translation of the original revised Mass that has been used since the early 1960’s when the Second Vatican Council, convened to address the relationship between the Catholic Church and the modern world, produced a document called Sacrosanctum Concilium, or Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.
This document was meant to revise liturgies, rituals and blessings in order to encourage more lay participation in Mass. Prior to Vatican II, Mass was said by in Latin by a priest with his back turned to the congregation. After Vatican II, the Missal that resulted from the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy dictated that Mass should be a translation of revisions made to the original Latin text. This meant Mass would be said in the native language of the country in which the Mass took place.
“One of the reasons for the introduction of the vernacular, the common language of the people, was to allow for better participation in a deep sense – not just being able to say what you’re supposed to say in the ritual, but to take that ritual, internalize it and live it out,” said Dr. David Stosur, chair of Stritch’s Religious Studies department.
The new translation put into use last month originated from the first English translation created by the national conference of bishops and the International Commission on English in the Liturgy in 1973. That translation, which was supposed to be temporary, quickly evolved to include English words and phrases more familiar to parishioners, but that also strayed further from Latin roots.
This dilution of the intended language led the Vatican to issue a 2001 directive called Liturgiam Authenticam, or Authentic Liturgy, which said that translations in all languages were to hew as closely as possible to the original Latin. Thus began work on the new translation recently introduced across the nation.
To an infrequent churchgoer, the changes to the Missal would seem inconsequential and few. In reality, there are a number of small changes that primarily affect the priest saying Mass. Other changes affect the responses given by parishioners. Some examples of changes include:
Introductory Rite: “The Lord be with you”
- Old response: “And also with you.”
- New response: “And with your spirit.”
Penitential Act: Some change in words and gestures
- Return to traditional language, “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.” People are asked to strike their breast three times.
Apostle’s Creed
- Old language: “We believe in God the Father almighty…”
- New language: “I believe in God the Father almighty…”
Nicene Creed
- Old language: “We believe in one God…”
- New language: “I believe in one God…”
- Old language: “One in being with the Father…”
- New language: “Consubstantial with the Father…”
Consecration of the wine: Now refers to a chalice instead of a cup
- “Take this, all of you and drink from it, 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. Do this in memory of me.”
Rite of Communion
- Old language: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed…”
- New language: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed…” – Prayer of the Roman Centurion who approached Jesus to cure his servant
Some think that since the new translation is closer to the original Latin, it is better and more faithful. Others think it makes participation in Mass more difficult, which contrasts to the purpose of translating the text into English in the first place.
Stosur leans toward the latter, but hopes that curiosity about the new translation leads to healthy discussion.
“The introduction of this new translation offers an opportunity to look more closely at what we’re doing when we pray and tries to make sense of it,” he said. “The result of these changes could be that we pray better than before.”
Father Jim Gannon, OFM, Stritch’s campus priest and vice president of Mission and Identity, said that he and other priests now have to pay closer attention to what had been memorized recitations of prayers, blessings, rituals and other language.
“We really have to keep a close eye on the book as we say Mass, until everyone gets used to the new language,” he said. ”The prayers are longer, more wordy, but they’re beautiful.”
He thought back to his own grandmother’s reaction when the original English translation was introduced in the early 1970s following Vatican II.
“’The Church is going to pot,’ she said. But then when she went back to her native Germany and heard the German translation for the first time, she really appreciated it. Just like it did then, this change will take time to get used to, but I think it will be just fine.”