Community Corner

New Prayers, but Same Mass

Catholics will recite new prayers during Mass starting Nov. 27. The translations are described as being closer to the original Latin.

Priest: Dominus vobiscum. Worshippers: Et cum spiritu tuo.

If you are a Roman Catholic of a certain age, you don’t have a clue about what these words mean.

They are from the Latin Mass that became a relic when sweeping changes and modernizations were integrated into the Catholic Church as a result of the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. The prayers of the mass were translated from Latin into the vernacular languages of worshippers, and by 1975 these responses were translated into English this way:

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Priest: The Lord be with you. Worshippers: And also with you.

They are in the Roman Missal, an assembly of prayers, chants and directions used to celebrate Mass. The missal, which was originally translated from Latin to English 35 years ago, has been updated, and the new wording will be incorporated into the Mass starting on Nov. 27, (and Saturday, Nov. 26 in the Sunday anticipation Masses), which is the first Sunday of Advent and the traditional beginning of the new liturgical year. This includes Masses at St. Cletus Church in La Grange. 

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The new translation is:

Priest: The Lord be with you. Worshippers: And with your spirit.

The most sensitive of the changes is the translation of pro multis as “for many.” The narrative of the Last Supper, which currently reads, “which will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven,” will be changed to “which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Many see the new wording as some sort of narrowing of Jesus' scope of salvation. On its website, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops provides a FAQ about the wording

“This may not seem that significant, but the new translation is, in fact, a literal, word-for-word rendering into English of the Latin in the Ro­man Missal,” according to Today’s Parish, which provides practical and proven best practices and guidance for Catholic pastors and lay ministers. “By us­ing this more direct translation of words in the mass that go back many, many cen­turies, we can truly say that when speaking these words, we are using the same words used by our ancestors in the faith.”

Another change that most Catholic worshippers will notice right away affects the Nicene Creed, which is said following the Prayers of the Faithful during most Masses on Sundays and holy days. The creed used to begin with, “We be­lieve….” The new translation returns to a literal translation of the Latin, “credo,” which means “I believe.”

Also in the Nicene Creed, Catholics will now say that Jesus is “consubstantial with the Father," vs. “one in being with the Father,” and that he was “incarnate of the Virgin Mary” rather than "born of the Virgin Mary.” Perhaps a bit wordier, but more accuate, Catholic theologians say.

In some instances, the new missal gives not only a new translation but several alternative prayers where be­fore there was but one. A good ex­ample of this is the Dismissal, the last words spoken by the priest at the end of Mass. For many years the missal offered only, “The Mass is ended, go in peace.” Now, however, there will be four options, thus:

Go forth, the Mass is ended.
Or: Go and announce the gospel of the Lord.
Or: Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
Or: Go in peace.

The new translation was a worldwide undertaking that took 10 years to implement. At the crux of it all was the English translation. 

“It was important to see that the Latin was translated correctly in the English-speaking parts of the Catholic Church,” said Sister Sharon Stola, OSB, director of the Office of Divine Worship for the Diocese of Joliet.

The English version of the new Roman Missal was prepared by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) with representatives from 11 countries that use English as their principal language.

Why did the translation take so long to complete?

 “A layering of people worked on it," Sister Stola said. "When one group finished it, then the text went to the next group. And, sometimes the wording had to go back to the previous committee. It was a matter of consultation worldwide.”

Priests in the Joliet diocese were trained in March, and now each parish is implementing its own preparation, she said. “Many churches have missalettes and the new words will be in them, or they will have pew cards to help parishioners learn the new words.”

For more information and resources, the diocese has set up: dioceseofjoliet.org/romanmissal.asp.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Todd Williamson, director of the archdiocese's Office for Divine Worship, told the Chicago Tribune, "We're encouraging parishes to begin a long-range plan as people start to learn these responses by heart again. There's no change in the ritual. Nothing is being added or taken away. What's changing is the translation and the text and the prayers that are used. That's where I think the normal Catholic might be just a bit confused or unaware."


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