On August 23, 2010 the complete new translation of the Roman Missal was approved for use. The US bishops have set the 1st Sunday of Advent, 2011, for implementation of the new translation. This translation includes many changes that will seem strange to most.
There is a new blog started on the changes to the missal and the implementation of those changes. You can follow it at http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&entry_id=3200
Well, it seems that the new translation in its attempt to give a more faithful rendition of the Latin has produced some extremely clumsy English. Yeah. That said, the current ICEL translation of the Missal has to go simply because it is woefully inaccurate (the inaccuracies are too many to list here, but examples include the failure to translate "mea maxima culpa" in the confiteor, the failure to translate "supplices" in Eucharistic Prayer No. 1, and there are many, many more. Those interested can find a comprehensive critique of the current translation on Adoremus.org, the website of the Adoremus Bulletin edited by St. Louisan Helen Hitchcock.) But we can't have clumsy English either, can we? The Vatican should have hired a seasoned translator like, say, Allen Mandelbaum to do the new translation, someone well-versed in the Latin Language and who also can write marvelous English. But, no, the Vatican gave the task to a Committee, and that was a recipe not just for almost interminable delay but also for a very awkward result. As Mark Twain once said, a camel is a race horse designed by a Committee. Oh, well. We'll probably never get a suitable English Translation, and this would mean that we'll all have to go back to the days when the Mass was said in Latin, and that would be fine with me.
ReplyDeleteOne wonders, though, why people at the CSC would be worried about the New Translation of the prayers in the Mass. Fr. Braun rarely follows the current translation of the Missal now. He usually makes up the Opening Prayer. He inserts his own ad libs throughout the liturgy, even during the Eucharistic Prayer. One would expect he would do to this Revised Translation what he now does with the Current Translation, and that is simply to ignore it when he feels like it.
This might be of interest:
ReplyDeletehttp://ericsammons.com/blog/2010/08/27/replies-to-five-objections-about-the-new-missal-translation/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DivineLife+%28Divine+Life+-+A+Blog+by+Eric+Sammons%29
When my study group discussed Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, we focused on the ethical needs of that society. The Roman administration had made it a center for international shipping. Heavy commercial activity. The “Greek” they used on the docks was low quality Greek. Perhaps our own colonial Philadelphia would serve as an analogy. There were jokes that began, “A certain Corinthian ... “ and everyone knew what to expect.
ReplyDeleteSo, how do you bridge the gap between the working people with low-paying back-breaking jobs and the well connected who provide high-cultural art nouveau and elegant dining to the very wealthy? Its a scene that can lead to snubbing - wholesale. With plenty to blame on both sides.
In the study group we came to think that it took Paul two tries to reform his community. The first time, he laid down the law. That try failed: it ended in everyone being angry with Paul. Then comes Titus. Paul called in Titus to negotiate the peace. Titus succeeded where Paul had failed. Later, Titus would be assigned to Cyprus, a small town atmosphere with a bad case of the social uglies. But, on its own scale. It was a lot the same as Corinth, only small town. Timothy would go on to Ephesus where he would be in charge of teaching ethics. Timothy’s role in Corinth is not so explicit. He had learned his ethics in Macedonia and shared his expertise.
Of course, none of this is official theology. It is just how we read these works as a study group. In our “study” we pray together and sing a religious song. The song we choose is one selected to match the theme of the material. We believe that singing and prayer make us real.
Thanks for listening. I hope that this clarifies the need: the principle needs are ethical and social. Mass is fluid. It can act as a fluid form for prayer and can help with social integration. It provides grace. Grace comes from God and is a gift. And God can work within a social context.
They had a type of mass in Corinth, Cyprus and Ephesus. And all over. They read Maccabees and Paul. They had an active sense of history; and they were a part of history and not a marginal people. They really wanted to overcome. Thanks again.
Frank Freeman
November 5, 2010