|
Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord:
You may or may not have been aware that a process has
been in place for some time to produce a new Missal for use in all
English-speaking countries. While the term “Missal” usually
refers to the liturgical book that contains both the prayers and the
scripture readings for Mass, in this context it means the book of
prayers and instructions for the celebration of Eucharist. It does not
contain any readings.
A new English translation of the Roman Missal is being
compiled for several reasons. While there have been three Latin editions
of the Roman Missal since the Second Vatican Council, the English text
we presently use is a translation of the first edition. This translation
was only ever intended to be provisional, that is temporary. The Missal
and all the other liturgical books were translated from Latin into
English very quickly, and those first translations have been used since
the late 1960s. Very early on, it was recognized that there would have
to be a revision.
Producing liturgical texts in English is the
responsibility of ICEL, the International Commission on English in the
Liturgy. The Vox Clara Committee, a body of English-speaking bishops,
advises the Vatican on translations and assists in reviewing the
versions approved by national bishops' conferences. The work of ICEL is
guided by Liturgiam Authenticam, the document published by the
Congregation for Divine Worship in 2001. The emphasis in Liturgiam
Authenticam is on an accurate, even literal, translation of the Latin.
It advocates a ‘vernacular of a sacred style’ that differs from the
usual manner of speech. Readers may have heard of or read about some of
the proposed changes to the Mass texts. There is no doubt that the
language of the new Missal will be different from what we have known.
The translation process is systematic and slow. That
process is now nearing its completion.
The complete text requires a two- thirds majority in the
voting before it can be submitted to Rome for recognitio — that
is Vatican approval. When recognitio is granted, the Missal can be
published and implemented. Current indications are that the new Missal
will be published towards the end of 2010. This will be preceded by
catechesis and education of both clergy and laity. The following are
some various Q &A as proposed by the Archdiocesan Office of Divine
Worship, other articles will follow.
For further information you can go to ODW’s website:
www.odw.org.
What do we mean by the “Third Edition of the Roman
Missal?”
The Roman Missal (or Sacramentary) is the book of
presidential prayers which the priest uses at Mass. It contains all the
prayers for every Mass that is celebrated during the liturgical year.
At the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965), the bishops
of the Church called for a complete revision of the Church's Rites and
Liturgies, especially the Eucharist. Among other things, the bishops
called for the Liturgies to be translated into the vernacular – i.e.,
the language spoken by the people of any country or region. The reason
for this was so that every Catholic might be able to participate in the
Mass more actively, consciously and fully (see the Constitution on the
Sacred Liturgy, #14).
Thus, the Mass was revised. The priest now faced the
people, many more readings from the Bible were added to the Lectionary
(the book which contains the scriptural readings proclaimed at Mass),
and the translation of the Mass into English was begun. In 1969 the
Roman Missal was issued containing the revised Mass (the “Novus Ordo”).
In 1975 a Second Edition of the Roman Missal was issued.
It was more complete than the first edition and was revised to be in
accord with documents and directives issued since the first edition
appeared (e.g., the suppression of the subdeacon). The Second Edition
contained some prayers that the first edition didn’t: the Eucharistic
Prayers for Reconciliation, the Eucharistic Prayers for Children, the
prayers to be used in the Dedication of a Church, and others.
In 1988, Pope John Paul II called for an evaluation of
the prayers and texts contained in the Roman Missal and not long after
(in 1991), work began on a Third Edition of the Roman Missal.
The Third Edition was completed in 2002 and it was
promulgated by Pope John Paul II. Since that time work has been done to
translate the Roman Missal into the various languages of the world. The
first part of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal to be translated
into English is the Order of Mass and that was the portion voted on by
the Bishops in June.
The other parts of the Roman Missal are currently being
translated into English for the bishops’ approval. It is estimated that
the whole Missal will be completed in the next two or three years.
These other parts of the Missal which have yet to be
translated include:
* The Prefaces to the Eucharistic Prayer;
* The Proper of Seasons and the Proper of Saints (all
the opening prayers, prayers over the gifts and prayers after
Communion);
* The Ritual Masses (the prayers and texts used when
other Sacraments – e.g., Baptism or Marriage – are celebrated during
Mass);
* The Commons (all the prayers used when celebrating a
Mass in honor of a Martyr, e.g., Saint Stephen, or a Mass in honor of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a Mass for the Dedication of a Church).
More next week . . .
Let’s give our minds and hearts to the Lord! Father
Joe |
