Today (November 20, 2011) is the last Sunday we will use the old Sacramentary for the prayers at Mass.\u00a0 We have used the same\u00a0translation for\u00a0over twenty-five years (If you go to daily Mass or Mass on Thanksgiving this week you will still hear the old prayers\u00a0until Sunday).\u00a0 Next Sunday we will begin using the new prayers (third edition since the Second Vatican Council).<\/p>\n
This new translations have been in development for just over ten years since Pope John Paul II updated the Latin texts.\u00a0 Some people ask ‘doesn’t the church have more important things to work on that changing the prayers?’\u00a0 I believe the answer to that is yes the church knows there are more important things.\u00a0 That’s why it took ten years to develop the new translation.\u00a0 They knew there were more important things to work on so they didn’t spend all their time on it.\u00a0 If they had, the new translations would have been done much sooner.<\/p>\n
That being said, I believe the new translations are important.\u00a0 It may not be the most<\/strong> important <\/em>thing but we should always work to make sure the words we are praying say what we really mean to say.\u00a0 I also think it is important that we be able to recognize when the prayers we use at Mass come from scripture that we be able to recognize where they come from.\u00a0 In the translations, we have been using you couldn’t always recognize the biblical verses (for examples see my previous posts on the Roman Missal<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n I hope one of the effects of using the new translations is that it makes us stop and think about the words we pray.\u00a0 Using the same prayers for twenty-five years they can become pretty routine.\u00a0 We can recite the words without really thinking about what the words really mean.\u00a0 We should never just say the words.\u00a0 We need to pray<\/em> the words.<\/p>\n Some who have seen the new translations feel there are some words we don’t use so how are we supposed to know what they mean.\u00a0 The primary example of this is the word consubstantial<\/em> in the Creed.\u00a0 It will replace “one in being” with regards to the relationship of Jesus to the Father.\u00a0 Consubstantial is certainly not a word we use in everyday conversation.\u00a0 But the relationship between the Father and the Son that we use it to speak of is a unique relationship.\u00a0 There is nothing like it in this world.\u00a0 Realizing that, when the Creed was written in the fourth century, the authors actually came up with a new word to describe it.\u00a0 They felt no existing human word did it justice.\u00a0 I agree.\u00a0 Consubstantial is not a common word but I did just find it in the dictionary at www.infoplease.com<\/a> (click here<\/a>).\u00a0 It means of the same substance.\u00a0 I believe God deserves some unique words.<\/p>\n Are we going to have to look at the written prayers for a while at Mass until we memorize the new translations?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Are we going to struggle to remember the changes at times?\u00a0 Probably.\u00a0 But I think it will be worth it.\u00a0 Don’t just say the words.\u00a0 To truly pray the words<\/em>, we need to think about what they mean.<\/p>\n Peace,<\/p>\n Fr. Jeff<\/p>\n For more reading<\/p>\n My previous Blog Articles on the Roman Missal<\/a><\/p>\n My website articles on the New Translations <\/a><\/p>\n The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on the new Roman Missal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today (November 20, 2011) is the last Sunday we will use the old Sacramentary for the prayers at Mass.\u00a0 We have used the same\u00a0translation for\u00a0over twenty-five years (If you go to daily Mass or Mass on Thanksgiving this week you will still hear the old prayers\u00a0until Sunday).\u00a0 Next Sunday we will begin using the new …<\/p>\n