26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - New Mass Translation - Homily by Fr. Michael Machacek

The times they are a changin’.  Have you heard that song before by Bob Dylan?  Lots of things are changing.  We see changes happening in the world economic order – great economic powers like the United States struggling –– others like Greece in danger of failing –- while others, like Brazil, China and India, are rising.  We have seen dramatic changes in government, whether it is local or national – even political regimes that seemed so strong, like Egypt and Libya, have been swept aside.  We see great changes in the way that we interact with each other now, especially with the rise of social technologies like Skype, Facebook and Twitter.  It really seems like everything is changing.  All this change only confirms the wisdom of the saying - Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine (Robert Gallagher).

The church is no different.  For those of you who are older, think of the changes that happened in the church in the last 50 years.  Some of those changes were quite welcome, some were terribly challenging. Some changes were minor, some were massive.  For example: the celebration of the sacraments in the vernacular; the massive growth of the church in the emerging nations of the world; greater involvement of the laity in the life of the church; the dramatic drop in vocations to the religious life and the priesthood; and the revelation of the scandals in the church, particularly by those in leadership positions, such as priests and bishops.  The Roman Catholic Church today is a far different one than the one led by Pope John XXIII in 1961.  And our reaction, both positive and negative, to all these changes only confirms the wisdom of Joan Wallach Scott (an American historian) who wrote, “Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict have not learned their history”.

In 2 more months, on the first Sunday of Advent, those of us in English speaking, Roman Catholic parishes throughout the world, are going to be encountering another change, with the introduction of a new English translation of the mass.  Starting Nov. 27^th, our celebration of the mass will feature some significant changes.  New prayers are going to have to be learned.  New musical settings will need to be heard and taught.  It is going to be different, it is going to be challenging, and it will take some getting used to.  This Sunday I’d like to begin by giving you some background information about this new English translation of the mass, or more properly, the 3^rd edition of the Roman Missal in English.

What is the Roman Missal?

The Roman Missal is the ritual book used by the priest or bishop during the Mass, which contains all the Mass texts prayed by both the clergy and the people during the celebration of Eucharist. In Canada, this liturgical book has been called the Sacramentary since the publication of the 1st English edition in 1974, with the 2^nd and current edition published in 1983. With the coming third edition, the title of this book has been changed to the Roman Missal.

Why is there are new translation of the Roman Missal?

During the Second Vatican Council, the Council Fathers permitted the Mass to be celebrated in the language of the people. Subsequently, there was a rapid process of translating the Mass from Latin into the many languages of the world. This enabled people to more easily understand and to participate more fully in the celebration of the Mass. It was generally agreed that, in due time, the original translation of the Missal would need to be revisited. The promulgation of a 3rd Latin edition of the Roman Missal in 2000 by Pope John Paul II provided a new opportunity to retranslate the original Latin text into the various languages of the world.  The Vatican decided that the first language the new Roman missal would be translated into would be English. This will also be done in the future for all other languages, including French. 

Is the Mass changing with the new translation of the Roman Missal?

No and yes.  First, no, the mass we have used for over 40 years, the Novus Ordo, is not changing.  Its structure will be the same.  But the “sound” of the prayers of the Mass will be different. A much more formal approach has been used in translating the ritual texts from Latin into English. As a result, we will notice changes to sentence structure, greater use of scriptural references, and the replacement of some words with others.  Words and phrases are going to sound more “churchy”. But remember that the new translation only affects the prayers of the mass.  The selection of hymns used can remain the same – and the Lectionary with our readings will not change either. 

How does this translation differ from the current edition?

The main reason why it is different is because the translation rules and methodology through which the Latin text (the editio typica) of the 3rd edition of the Roman Missal has been translated into English have changed.  The Latin Roman Missal is the “source book” of the mass, which is then translated into the vernacular by national Bishops’ conferences throughout the world. Earlier Latin editions of the Roman missal were translated following the instruction on the translation of liturgical texts called “Comme le Prevoit,” which was issued by the Consilium in 1969. The principle of translation advocated in “Comme le Prevoit” is known as the principle of “dynamic equivalence.” Following this method, translators were concerned not only with the meaning in the original Latin form, but also about how the translated text would be understood by the community for which it was being translated. Thus the 1st and 2nd English editions of the Roman Missal were not just word for word translations of the original text, but were also shaped with attentiveness to common characteristics of the receiving language, such as: style, idioms and colloquialisms.

The new translation of the 3rd edition uses a different approach based on the instruction “Liturgiam Authenticam” issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in 2001. The principle of translation advocated by the Congregation is called “formal equivalence”. Thus the emphasis is on a word-for-word translation that is more direct from the original Latin text. In doing so, it was hoped that this would create a heightened, sacred style in English by maintaining, as much as possible, the structure of the original Latin text, and ensure accuracy so that “nothing gets lost in translation.”

But the reality is that a lot gets lost in any translation.  Translation, no matter what methodology is followed, no matter how many experts are involved, is an imprecise and messy business.   And even though the church employed a lot of experts in the new English Roman missal, this translation is not perfect either, because translations never are perfect.  For those of you fluent in another language, you know the challenges faced when you try to accurately translate certain words or phrases from the original language into, say English.  Let me give you an example I am quite familiar with, the Italian word corragio, which in English means courage.When you say corragio to someone in Italian who is going through a difficult time, it means more than just courage, it is a beautiful heart-felt wish meaning “May God give you strength, be strong, be steadfast. I support you and will pray for you”.  But if in an English-speaking situation with someone who is having a hard time, if I simply say courage to them, all I am going to get is a puzzled look. No doubt so many of you can add your own examples of words or phrases that “limp” when translated.  So when the prayers of the mass have to be translated from its original language, Latin, into any other language, such as English, there will naturally be some issues of clarity, accuracy and comprehension.

What other changes will be happening?

Along with the new missal, a new General Instruction of the Roman Missal has been produced that is particular to each country, and approved by the Vatican. The General Instruction provides for norms and guidelines for the celebration of the Eucharist. In Canada it will be implemented also at the end of November. Some changes in this new General Instruction will require some changes in local parishes, including here at Newman.  For example, we are all going to be asked to make a profound bow at the time of the two elevations during the Eucharistic Prayer. 

In the next number of months, when it will be my turn to preach, I will be using this time to speak to you about some of the impending changes in the prayers of the mass.  I will outline the reasons why certain prayers and responses will be changing. But I particularly urge you to take the time to go online and read more about the new translation of the mass.  There is a huge amount of material out there.  One very good website link is on the Archdiocesan website  www.archtoronto.org/romanmissal- there you will find a lot of very helpful information to give you much more background on the new translation.  Yes, even for the mass, the times they are a-changin’.

Fr. Michael Machacek, Newman Centre, September 25, 2011.