The New Translation of the Roman missal

Revised Roman Missal:

Understanding the reasons for the changes

The third edition of the Roman Missal was promulgated by Pope John Paul II in the year 2000. After nearly ten years of work by bishops, scholars, poets, and musicians, an English-language translation of this important liturgical book is published in Nov. 2011.

For Catholics the Mass is at the heart of our faith and the words we use and how we celebrate express and shape what we believe. The new translation of the Roman Missal won’t just bring a change in words. It will also bring a change in tone, calling for greater humility from both the priest and the congregation. Many of those words were first used in the Mass by apostles, saints and Church Fathers. They were drawn from the scrolls of Hebrew Scripture and the written and oral tradition of the Church. Some are the words of Christ. Others are the words of those who followed him. In articulating that, the new translation does what the Mass is supposed to do: It puts us in right relationship with God. It also reminds us who we are.

1)      More biblical language

The new translation is not only more accurate renderings of the Latin originals, but also evoking images and words from Scripture; for example “I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof,” are the words spoken by the Roman centurion, whose faith in Jesus led him to seek a cure for his servant. Another example I can give is that “From the rising of the sun to its setting,” quotes Psalm 113, as well as the prophets Malachi and Isaiah. Likewise you will come across many original scripture quotations in the new translation.

2)      More praise for God 

Throughout the new translation, God is more fully and faithfully praised. That includes in the Gloria. All those words and phrases included in the new Gloria are in the original Latin. The previous translators lumped it all into one phrase, but in the new translation all those words of praise are there. Not only is it more poetic, but it helps us realize how important our praise is.

            3) Fewer ‘Almighty Fathers’

In the opening prayers and changing parts of the newly translated Mass, Catholics will notice fewer references to God the Father. In the Latin original, there just happen to be far fewer references to God as Father. The new translation and the emphasis on being faithful to the Latin, the references have been removed.

Conclusion

The Mass is not simply a private encounter between an individual and Jesus Christ. In a mystical manner, the whole Church is present in every celebration of the Mass, including the angels and the martyrs and saints of all ages. And in any event, does the atomic "I" rather than the collective "we" really detract from the former so very much. With this in mind, we should be able to appreciate fully the Congregation for Divine Warship's command that in translating the missal, the greatest care is to be taken to maintain the identity and unitary expression of the Roman Rite, not as a sort of historical monument, but rather as a manifestation of the theological realities of ecclesiastical communion and unity. It is about what the prayer really says, and offering the same prayers as our brothers and sisters in Christ across the world; many languages, one prayer. The new translation has laudable goals: liturgical unity in the universal Church. We should therefore see those things in the new translation that trouble us as water over the dam, and more than that, see the entire enterprise as a golden opportunity for catechises.

Thank You