The New Translation of the Roman Missal and Liturgical Renewal
Fr. Timoteo Jose M. Ofrasio, S.J., S.L.D.
Introduction
Forty-nine years after Vatican II and 43 years after publication of the Missale Romanum of Paul VI, a new English translation of the third typical edition of the Roman Missal is now in use in the English-speaking world. The role of the Roman Missal is vital in the ongoing liturgical renewal desired by Vatican II. PCP II twenty years ago also listed ‘liturgical renewal’ as one of the tasks of the Church in the Philippines in its goal of renewed integral evangelization. It lists the Eucharist, particularly the Sunday celebration, as among the more vital areas of renewal.
As early as 2009 when the new translation of the Ordo Missæ of the Roman Missal was made available on the web by the USCCB, voices of alarm were raised from all quarters. Rumours of a reform of the reform had been circulating since Pope Benedict became pope in 2005 and the new English translation was seen as part of that alleged reform. The issuance of the Instruction Summorum Pontificum in 2007 which allowed the more liberal use of the Tridentine Latin Mass further buttressed belief in a perceived papal policing of the Roman liturgy. There were fears of a return to the pre-Vatican II liturgy, and that the new English translation would revert the Church back to the old Latin liturgy. The truth of the matter, if we care to look back, is that Liturgiam authenticam, which advocates the principle of formal equivalence in the translation of liturgical texts from Latin to any vernacular language, is a product of Pope John Paul II’s document Vigesimus quintus annus, marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of Sacrosanctum Concilium. Vigesimus quintus annus called for an opportune stock-taking, not least in the area of faithfulness in translation. The third typical edition of the Missale Romanum on which the new English translation is based, was published by the Holy See in 2002, when Blessed John Paul II was still gloriously reigning. Liturgiam authenticam was published by the Holy See in 2001, again during the pontificate of Blessed John Paul II. If anything, the present pope, Benedict XVI, is only implementing, and continuing, the changes set in motion by his predecessor.
On the other hand, the English translation of the first two typical editions of the Missale Romanum was based on the translation principle of dynamic or functional equivalence as elucidated in the document Comme le prévoit, issued by the Consilium for Implementing the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy on January 25, 1969. The two approaches represent emphasis, respectively, on readability (dynamic equivalence) and on literal fidelity (formal equivalence) to the source text. There is no sharp boundary between these two principles. All the polemics and reactions for and against the new English translation, it seems, are based on these two principles of translation.
Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds in England, and Chairman of ICEL, notes that objections to ICEL’s translation work are really objections to Liturgiam authenticam. Stipulations of this instruction differ markedly from those of the earlier document, Comme le prévoit. These two documents do not have the same status: the earlier document was issued by the Consilium, the latter by the Congregation. At the heart of Comme le prévoit was the idea of dynamic equivalence, achieved when a translator detaches the “content” of an utterance from the “form” in which it is expressed.
Bishop Roche cites, for example, the Third Eucharistic Prayer when we say ‘so that from east to west a perfect offering may be made,’ to translate the Latin ‘ut a solis ortu usque ad ocasum oblatio munda offeratur.’ The proponents of dynamic equivalence say that ‘from east to west’ conveys the same information as ‘from the rising of the sun to its setting’, which is how the new translation renders it. But the meaning of this phrase is richer: it is an expression found in Malachi 1,11: ‘See, from the rising of the sun to its setting all the nations revere my Name and everywhere incense is offered to my Name as well as a pure offering.’ The expression is likewise found in the Psalms. It has been said by those who did not understand the context of the expression that to complete it, it should be rendered as ‘from north to south, and from east to west’ which is not exactly the point of the expression; certainly the original Latin text does not have that sense in the expression.
Another example cited by Bishop Roche is found in the Fourth Eucharistic Prayer in the phrase, ‘ex genimine vitis repletum’ rendered in the new translation as ‘the fruit of the vine’ in the Institution Narrative. The present translation says, ‘He took the cup filled with wine.’ Some argue that ‘the fruit of the vine’ means the same as the single word ‘wine,’ and that the simpler expression should be preferred. But the words ‘the fruit of the vine’ are said by the Lord Himself in all three synoptic Gospels – which is more than enough reason to respect their form. Furthermore this phrase has a powerful salvific resonance because of the symbolic value accorded to the vine and the vineyard in Scripture, as recalled by Jesus’ elaboration in John 15 of the image of Himself as the true vine, His Father as the vinedresser, and ourselves as the branches. This echoes back an even earlier usage in Isaiah 5 – the famous “Song of the Vineyard” – and the Lord’s lament at the degeneracy of his once choice vine in Jeremiah 2. Of course, the word ‘wine’ connects with this Scriptural patrimony, but it does so less evidently than does the phrase ‘fruit of the vine’ which, upon each hearing, encourages us in our imaginations to see the particular Eucharistic event as part of the unfolding of God’s universal plan within history to rescue us from the destruction and chaos occasioned by our sinfulness and bring us into communion with Himself and with each other in Christ.
And so, the new English translation of the Roman Missal is not meant to revert the Church back to the old Latin liturgy, as many fear. Forty-eight years after Sacrosanctum Concilium, and thirty-eight years after the first publication of the English Sacramentary, the Holy See through the new International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) and Vox Clara Committee thought that it was now time to revise the English translation of the Roman Missal. ICEL and Vox Clara both felt that there was a need to make a new translation that would be more thorough, clearer and nearer to the Latin original text. Why this preoccupation with fidelity of the vernacular translation to the original Latin text? We will shortly answer this sensitive question.
As early as 1992 when the old ICEL issued a proposed new translation of the Ordinary of the Mass of the Roman Missal until the appearance in 2009 of the study edition of the Ordo Missæ of the Missale Romanum editio typica tertia, I was hopeful for the new translation of the Missal.
Reasons to be Hopeful
Hopeful, because (1) I thought that finally some needed corrections could be put into place in this latest edition of the Roman Missal, vis-à-vis the presidential prayers: the axiom lex orandi, lex credendi could be applied to the text of the prayers. This is my response to the question I just posed concerning the fidelity of the vernacular translation to the Latin original. With the present translations—in English, Tagalog and Cebuano—I somehow have the feeling that they were hurriedly done given the exigency in 1969 of coming up with a workable translation for use in Masses in the vernacular . In the process, the truths of the Catholic faith were watered down in paraphrases and generalizations, and the results are vague statements and platitudes that do not explicitly express the Catholic faith. In other words, some truths were somehow “lost in translation.”
(2) I am also hopeful for the new translation because I have always felt even before my priestly ordination in 1979 that the language of the Missal in the vernacular, since it is addressed to God, should be above the casual manner of human speech. In other words, it should be elegant and dignified, respectful but not distant, nor detached, nor cold. With the new translation I thought that this situation could finally be remedied.
These are the two main reasons for my high hopes for the new English translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal. There is reason to hope that the postconciliar liturgical renewal will continue with, and be enhanced by, this new English translation of the Missal.
In perusing a copy of the new Roman Missal I noted the verbal changes in various parts of the Ordinary of the Mass, and as a whole, I like them. I have also read quite a number of articles pro and contra published in the web, and have noted the merits and demerits of the points they raised.
The Case of the Tagalog Missal: Aklat ng Pagmimisa sa Roma
It seems to me that the present situation of the new English translation can be compared to the introduction in 1981 of the then new Tagalog translation of the Missal, the current Aklat ng Pagmimisa sa Roma spearheaded by my friend and classmate in the minor seminary, the late Monsignor Moises Andrade. I was a young priest then, and I remember how fellow priests protested and created a stir against the new translation which was so different from the translation then in use, the Misál Romano of Monsignor José Abriol. For one I questioned the quaint title of the book: Aklat ng Pagmimisa sa Roma. I realized that it was a literal translation of the Latin, Missale Romanum, which was formerly translated as Misál Romano (from the Spanish). Then, too, I thought the language of the Aklat ng Pagmimisa was archaic and difficult to proclaim, the sentences/phrases of the orations were in many places convoluted, such that by the time one got to the end of the prayer, one did not know exactly what one prayed for. The Aklat also used a somewhat stilted, poetic style—with measure and rhyme—which I felt was rather too contrived and artificial. One of the disputed phrases in the Aklat was ‘hinawakan Niya ang tinapay’ for ‘He took the Bread’ in the Consecration formula, which many of us then thought would have been better translated as ‘kinuha Niya ang tinapay,’ which is the more accurate translation of the Latin accepit panem. Another word that was disputed was ‘pagindapatin,’ for ‘to make worthy’ which we felt would be more naturally translated as ‘marapatin’. These expressions and others like them might have sounded familiar and normal speech in Bulacan, but certainly not in all of the Tagalog-speaking regions. When I asked Monsignor Andrade why the Tagalog translation did not undergo a trial period for corrections and reactions the way the old ICEL did with its green and gray books, he told me that that process was tedious and would take long. Let the priests wrestle with it, he said; there is no other official Tagalog translation approved by the Holy See. That was thirty years ago. Today, the Aklat ng Pagmimisa is the standard liturgical book in all parishes in the Tagalog region, and while there are still occasional complaints about the Tagalog vernacular translation, all seems quiet on the pastoral front.
First-Hand Experience of the New Translation
Since Advent 2011, the whole English-speaking world—except the Philippines—has started to use the new English translation. In the Diocese of Novaliches, where I serve as pastor in a subdivision parish, the Local Ordinary, Bishop Antonio Tobias, decided to have the new English translation used in English Masses in order to, in the bishop’s own words, “slowly acquaint the parishioners with the language of the new translation.” Although I would have preferred that this were done more systematically with proper catechesis, I plunged into it head-on, and the results were unexpected.
For one, the change was no big deal for the Mass-goers. They responded to the dialogue without difficulty; there was no big deal about ‘And with your spirit…,’ no big deal about ‘through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault’ in the Confiteor, no big deal about ‘consubstantial,’ about ‘sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall’ in the Eucharistic Prayer II, about ‘I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof…’ They were quite attentive and conscientious in their responses.
What I myself found out was because I was so familiar with the old translation to the point of having committed to memory the Ordinary of the Mass—three of the Eucharistic Prayers included—I realized that I could very easily trip on the words of the new translation for the simple reason that I thought I knew exactly what was coming, but to my surprise the phrasing was different from what I have gotten used to. Hopefully this will eventually be remedied with constant use.
So how do I find the English of the new translation, particularly the presidential prayers? The first thing I observed is that the translation mostly retained the courtliness and stateliness of the Latin original. Compared to the simple and direct language of the former translation, the language of the new translation bespeaks of a healthy recovery of formal language, the language we address to God. There is in the prayers a rich theological density or complexity, a whole theology that makes us attuned to God and thus transfigures us, in contrast to the accessible, bland, flat and abstract language of the former translation. Another obvious quality of the new prayers is the poetry, the Biblical metaphor and concrete imagery they contain.
The Importance of Language in Worship
At this point the obvious argument in favour of the translation based on the principle of dynamic equivalence would be the use of simple, succinct and direct language which so appeals to our postmodern sensibilities. Why use a language pattern in worship that is so estranged to the speech of the ordinary person? Should not the language of worship reflect a speech pattern identical to that of the ordinary person’s in his communication?
In response to this, liturgical scholar Uwe Michael Lang comments that “[l]anguage is not only an instrument that serves to communicate facts, which it seeks to do in the most simple and efficient way, but it is also the means to express our mind in a way that involves the whole person. Consequently, language is also the means by which we express thoughts and religious experiences.
The use of a sacred language—and this rightly includes Latin—in the liturgical celebration is part of what St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae calls ‘solemnitas.’ The Angelic Doctor teaches: “What is found in the sacraments by human institution is not necessary to the validity of the sacrament, but confers a certain solemnity, useful in the sacraments to exercise devotion and respect in those who receive it” Sacred language, being the means of expression not only of individuals, but rather of a community that follows its traditions, is conservative: it maintains the archaic linguistic forms with tenacity. Moreover, introduced in it are external elements, in so far as associated to an ancient religious tradition. A paradigmatic case is the Hebrew biblical vocabulary in the Latin used by Christians (Amen, Alleluia, Hosanna, etc.), as St. Augustine already observed.
The Old and the New Prayers Compared
At the beginning of this article, I said that there is much hope for the continuation of the postconciliar liturgical renewal with the new English translation of the Roman Missal. It attempts to capture concepts of the faith contained in the Latin text more accurately, and thus embodies the axiom, lex orandi, lex credendi, specifically in the euchology of the Missal. The prayers we pray at Mass ought to clearly express what we believe. By way of example, let us take a look at the Collect Prayer for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This Collect was in the pre-conciliar 1962 MR, the so-called “Tridentine” Missal, for the 5th Sunday after Epiphany.
Collect – Latin text (2002 Missale Romanum):
Familiam tuam, quaesumus, Domine,
continua pietate custodi,
ut, quae in sola spe gratiae caelestis innititur,
tua semper protectione muniatur.
The old ICEL, using the principle of dynamic equivalence in 1973, rendered it in English as:
Father,
watch over your family
and keep us safe in your care,
for all our hope is in you.
The new, corrected version of the Roman Missal, using the principle of formal equivalence, renders the prayer thus:
Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care,
that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace,
they may be defended always by your protection.
Comparing the two versions of the Collect prayer, it is quite obvious that the version used in the new translation has more substance to it than the rather lame and bland rendition of the 1970 English Sacramentary. For one, the idea expressed in the ut-clause—reliance on the hope of heavenly grace—in the new translation is absent from the 1970 English Sacramentary.
In general, with the new translation of the Roman Missal, the Liturgy will hopefully be more formal and theologically deeper, more evocative emotionally and intellectually.
Conditions for the Continuation of Liturgical Renewal
For the liturgical renewal to continue, however, it will need more than just the new English translation of the Roman Missal. Several factors play an important role in achieving this renewal. There may be others, but these are the more obvious ones: (1) instill love and respect for the Liturgy, especially the Mass, in the seminary training of candidates for Orders—in the classroom, in the chapel and in the apostolate; (2) review the ideas/concepts behind the ars celebrandi of priests when they celebrate the Mass; (3) fidelity—not rigidity—to the directions or rubrics in the Roman Missal.
For the postconciliar liturgical renewal to continue, the formation of candidates for Orders will have to be seriously looked into, both in classes on sacraments and liturgy and in seminary community liturgical celebrations. What is taught in the classroom must be practiced in the seminary daily liturgical celebrations so that a tradition of ars celebrandi is established and imbibed by seminarians preparing for Holy Orders. It is from the healthy interweaving of sound theologico-liturgical studies and praxis that we can produce priests who have a sense of the sacred, a sense of awe and wonder before the majesty of God, a sense of the mysterium tremendum in the liturgical action they carry out for God’s people in the Church. If seminary liturgies are sloppily and carelessly celebrated; if seminarians are allowed to “tinker” with, and make unauthorized changes in the Mass, chances are, after ordination, they will repeat the same abuses in the parishes where they will be assigned. Qualified professors of liturgy and sacraments who know Church Tradition and have a healthy respect for it, need to instill in the hearts of candidates for Ordination a respect and love for the Liturgy, especially the Mass.
Conclusion
Ultimately, however—and this is my conclusion to this paper—the right direction for liturgical renewal depends on the individual celebrant and how he celebrates the Mass: his belief, his attitude, his devotion or the lack of it. A priest is a steward of the mysteries of God in the Church. As steward (other than acting in persona Christi capitis), the Mass is a treasure entrusted to him by the Church which he must cherish, guard, and preserve. It is not something he is free to tinker with and make changes to, depending on his understanding or the need of the moment that he perceives. The Mass he celebrates is not “his” Mass; it is the Church’s.
If the priest does not honestly believe that through his agency simple bread and wine become the Body and Blood of the Lord both during Mass and after it; in other words, if he does not believe in Transubstantiation and the Real Presence as handed down to us by the Church and Sacred Tradition, and instead interprets it according to how he understands it; if he does not believe that the Mass is above all the making present of the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary in an unbloody manner, that it is also the sacrifice of the Church in union with that one sacrifice of Christ; if he sees the Mass solely as a community meal that memorializes the Last Supper; if he regards the Mass primarily as a feast, which celebrates the coming together of the community, and not as the highest form of worship that the Church can render to God under the headship of Jesus Christ the High Priest, then, no matter what revisions the Roman Missal undergoes, liturgical renewal as desired by Vatican II in Sacrosanctum Concilium and as envisioned by PCP II will continue to be held hostage by pseudo-liturgists and celebrants who see the Liturgy and the Mass as their “property” and thus indulge in “creative” tinkering to entertain themselves and their audience.
Fr. Timoteo Jose M. Ofrasio, S.J., S.L.D., is Assistant Professor of Systematic and Sacramental Theology at the Loyola School of Theology.
