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Information About
The Revised Roman Missal
English-speaking
Catholics began using a revised Roman Missal, the
official book which guides the words and actions of the Mass, on the
First Sunday of Advent (November 27).
The new Missal is an
English translation of the third
edition of the official Latin Missale Romanum promulgated
by Pope John Paul II in 2000. The 2000 edition replaced
the Missale Romanum which was published in 1970 and revised in
1975.
Among other things, the third edition contains
new
prayers for the celebration of recently canonized saints,
additional prefaces for the Eucharistic Prayers, additional
Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Intentions, and some
updated and revised rubrics (instructions) for the celebration
of the Mass.
The new
Missal also includes some changes in the translations
of various
prayers and refrains used at Mass, and original chant music for
the new texts.
The revised English translation
was produced under new rules for translating the original
Latin into vernacular languages. The new rules insist on a
more literal and accurate translation of Latin words and
sentence structure, or what Vatican documents call the "style"
of the Roman Rite.
This style includes "distinctive
syntactical patterns, a noble tone, ... less complex rhetorical
devices, concreteness of images, repetition, parallelism and
rhythm" according to Liturgiam Authenticam, the document
issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship in 2001.
As a result, some words and sentence
structure in the new Missal will at first sound
unfamiliar to persons in some countries, such as the United
States, where people are used to speaking and hearing a more
colloquial (or informal) style of English.
Where the goal of the first
English-language translations of the Missal was to make the
prayers of the Mass more comprehensible and participatory, the
new translation seeks to recover more of the sacred mystery
being celebrated in the liturgy.
Liturgists say the challenge of the
new Missal was to create a translation which was more sacred but
not archaic. They say the liturgy will now sound more
formal, but will also be more emotionally and intellectually
evocative.
-- Dave Cushing
• • •
Getting Used to
the New Translation
"If you feel
mystified or even irritated by the new translation," writes
Mitch Finley, "consider that some of that is a normal reaction
to change." Finley, a Catholic educator and author, offers the following considerations for
those who may be struggling to accept or understand the
new Missal:
• Those responsible for the new English translation knew what
they were doing. They are professionals who have studied
their work long and hard, and their translations were discussed
and revised over and over again to make them both accurate and
meaningful to English-speaking Catholics.
• If you find it difficult to cope with the latest translation
of the Mass, cultivate an open mind and open spirit. Give
the new translation a chance.
Other vernacular languages have used direct equivalence
translations of the Mass prayers for many years, and they have
gotten along fine with such translations.
• It can be spiritually enriching to know that the new prayers
are closer both to the original Latin and to what Catholics are
praying in many other languages around the world. This may
better reflect the universal character of the Church's
communion.
• Some liturgical scholars suggest that a more literal
translation of the original Latin texts better maintains a link
with tradition and with centuries-old history of the Eucharist,
particularly the Latin Mass celebrated for so many hundreds of
years.
• Personal linguistic tastes vary. What you like someone
else may not like, and what you don't like someone else will
like.
• Change is one sign of life; so change in the language of the
Church's liturgy from time to time is not so unusual.
• What the experience will be like for you is, by and large, up
to you. This is an opportunity to refresh your conscious
participation in the Mass and let it come alive for you in new
and perhaps unexpected ways.
• Remember: the words are new, but it's the same Mass.
Adapted from Mitch Finley.
Prayers of the Mass.
©
Creative Communications for the Parish, 2010
• • •
Find Out More
About the New Missal
Click here
for explanations of changes in the Mass
Click here
for a list of articles and resources available online
Click here
to share your impressions and thoughts about the changes
Click here
to read what other people say about the changes.
• • •
For More
Information Contact:
Director of Adult Faith Formation
•
320 Mulberry Street,
Waterloo IA 50703.
Phone:
319-234-9912
•
Email:
DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us
Posted
02.03.11
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Last Update
12.16.11
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