What Is The Roman Missal?

Everything is Grace: Welcoming the New Translation of the Mass
Presenter: Alan Hommerding

“Everything is Grace” St. Thérèse of Lisieux said. This time of welcoming the new translation of the Mass is certainly a time for us to renew the prayer of the Mass in our lives, and
to live in the graces of Word and Eucharist.

This session will take a quick look back at the process of translating the Mass into English after Vatican II, but will be primarily focused on ways that particular changes can help us
celebrate the Sunday Mass with a deeper appreciation for the texts we pray together as a community of faithful disciples.

The session will be presented twice: Saturday, October 1 (9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.) Tuesday, October 4 (7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) In order to adequately prepare for handouts and hospitality, please complete the form below.

Everything is Grace:
Welcoming the New Translation of the Mass
Name___________________________________ Phone/Email__________________________________
Please indicate which session you will attend
_______Saturday, October 1 (9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.)
______ Tuesday, October 4 (7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.)

Please return this RSVP to the Parish Center. You may also call the Parish Center (630-964-0216 Ext. 1202) or email (hnogle@stjoedg.org) with your RSVP.


Alan Hommerding, Senior Liturgy Publications Editor at World Library Publications and a member of the St. Joseph music ministry staff was one of the initial U.S. consultants for the new translation in 2006; in his editorial position he’s worked with the new translation since 2008—including as the producer of a recording of the new Eucharistic Prayer translations with our former bishop, J. Peter Sartain. He’s also presented workshops on the new translation around the U.S., and locally has just finished five presentations for the Archdiocese of Chicago’s “Theology on Tap” series. The “Getting to Know” articles on the St. Joseph website come from the liturgy magazine that Alan edits. Having worked with the new texts for several years, he also shares the ways that his own spiritual life has been strengthened through them.

 

Announcing a Parish Webpage to Help Us with the Upcoming Changes in the Mass

The First Sunday of Advent is always the beginning of a new liturgical year. This new liturgical year, which will begin on November 27, will also see a change in some of the words we use to pray and sing at Mass. The English translation The Roman Missal, Third Edition will take effect on that day. (We currently use the second edition of The Roman Missal. The large banner suspended in the narthex is a visual reminder of the upcoming changes and our efforts to receive them here at the parish.

A web page has been created to be one of the many ways that our parish will prepare to receive these changes in the Mass. All parishioners, liturgical ministers, music ministers, catechists, teachers, members of the various councils and committees, and staff will find a wealth of information regarding the changes. To access the page, go to our parish homepage (stjosephdg.org/parish), and then click on the icon in the upper right side of the page (Welcoming the Roman Missal). This will connect you to the webpage which contains several areas of interest regarding the upcoming changes.

In the coming months, there will also be sessions for all parishioners. These sessions will educate us, form us, and help us to pray with these new words that we will speak, sing, and listen to in the course of the Mass. Some time will also be set before Mass to rehearse the new ordinaries (the parts of Mass) that we will sing.

If you have any questions regarding the webpage, please contact Bob Valle (bvalle@stjoseohdg.org or 630.964.0216).

 

Over the past several years, you have heard much through newspapers, blog postings, and Twitter about the revised translation of The Roman Missal. You may be wondering, “What is The Roman Missal, and how does this translation affect us?”

Take notice of the red book the priest uses most often during Mass. This book is called The Sacramentary, which together with the Lectionary for Mass, make up The Roman Missal. The Missal is the collection of prayers, chants, and instructions (rubrics) used to celebrate Mass. This includes prayers such as the Sign of the Cross and opening greeting;
Collects; Gloria; Creed; Eucharistic Prayers; Holy, Holy, Holy; Memorial Acclamations; and the final blessing. The majority of the prayers we recite or sing at Mass are contained in this book and it is these prayers that are currently being retranslated from the original Latin into English.

In the early Christian Church, many of the Mass prayers were memorized and handed down orally. Scribes eventually collected the prayers and recorded them in liber sacramentum (book of sacraments or sacramentaries). Other books were used for the scripture readings: Lectionaries and a Book of the Gospels (Evangeliary) for the scripture readings, and additional books for the chants and antiphons. Slight changes and additions developed as manuscripts were handed on and hand scribed. Eventually the chants, scripture readings, prayer texts, and instructions were compiled into a single volume, the Missale Plenum (complete Missal). When Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable printing press in 1470, this allowed the Mass texts to become standardized and published universally. In 1474, the first Missale Romanum (Roman Missal) was printed in Latin and the texts contained in this volume evolved over the five ensuing centuries.

Because the amount of scripture proclaimed at Mass increased following the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the Missale Romanum (Roman Missal) was divided into two separate books: The Lectionary for Mass (four volumes of Sacred Scripture) and The Sacramentary (prayers, chants, and instructions [rubrics] for the celebration of the Mass). The Lectionary texts for the dioceses of the United States were revised in 1998 and are currently used in the liturgy. The texts that are found in the current edition of The Sacramentary have been retranslated and will eventually be used in English-speaking countries. With this translation, the name of the book will change from The Sacramentary to The Roman Missal, a translation of the Latin title, Missale Romanum.

All of the prayers we say in English have corresponding Latin texts. After the Second Vatican Council, the Latin texts were translated into the vernacular, or common language, of particular regions. The first English translation of The Roman Missal was completed quickly in 1969. It aimed for a “spirit” of the texts rather than an exact literal translation of the Latin
words. A second revision of these texts occurred in 1975. In 2001, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the liturgical commission in Rome, issued a document outlining the methodology and process for translating liturgical texts into vernacular languages. This document, Liturgiam authenticum, called for a more literal translation of the original Latin, and so a group of scholars, poets, and theologians convened and worked painstakingly on providing a third English translation. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments announced recognitio on April 30, 2010. These texts will be implemented on November 27, 2011, the First Sunday of Advent.

When the translation is used, you will notice slight changes in the prayers we hear and say at Mass. For example, we will soon respond, “And with your spirit” to “The Lord be with you.” Being faithful to the original Latin prayers will enhance the meaning of the texts. They will be more poetic, and there will be a more obvious connection to the scriptural roots of our
prayers. There is an old axiom, lex orandi, lex credendi—that is “the law of prayer is the law of faith” or “that which we pray is that which we believe.” This is why the prayers of the Church are so important and why the Church has initiated the process of revising the English translation. The words of our prayers are what we believe as a Church and form us as the body of Christ. For more information about The Roman Missal, please visit this Web site: www.RevisedRomanMissal.org.

Written by Jill Maria Murdy. Preparing Your Parish for the Revised Roman Missal: Homilies and Reproducibles for Faith Formation 2011 Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 3949 S. Racine Ave., Chicago IL 60609; 1-800-933-1800; www.LTP.org. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal, 2010 International Committee on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL). All rights reserved. The copyright notice must appear with the text. Published with Ecclesiastical Approval (Canon 823,1).

 

Why Was The Roman Missal Revised? By Kristopher W. Seaman

For several years, bishops in English-speaking countries have been working together toproduce a unified translation of the texts of the Mass. The book used by the priest at eucharistic liturgies is officially called The Roman Missal. We have been calling that “red book” The Sacramentary; however, in the future it will be called The Roman Missal. The Roman Missal contains all of the prayers of the eucharistic liturgy. The Order of Mass, prayers for a feast day, Solemn Blessings, and Eucharistic Prayers are all found in The Roman Missal.

The current prayer texts with which we are familiar are from the Missal of Pope Paul VI. At the Second Vatican Council, it was decided that liturgical texts could be prayed officially in vernacular languages. This approval came in November of 1963, when the Council issued the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. This document provides the vision for all subsequent liturgical reforms in the Roman Catholic Church. The bishops, then, reformed the liturgical books for the sacraments, including the Eucharist or Mass. The result was the 1969 Missal of Paul VI, a fully revised book though published in Latin. Subsequently, the Missal was translated into vernacular languages around the world.

In 2000, to commemorate the new illennium, Pope John Paul II established a third edition of The Roman Missal. This edition includes more ancient prayers and saints’ days that have been established since the publication of the Missal of Pope Paul VI. As with all liturgical books, this edition of The Roman Missal was first published in Latin. Thus, national bishops’ conferences have been working to translate the Missal in the local languages of the people.

One reason for this revised translation is obviously the additions to the Missal. The second is due to new norms for translating liturgical texts. The document Liturgiam authenticam (Fifth Instruction for the Right Implementation of the Constitution), from the Holy See, called for a more literal translation of the Latin. A considerable amount of time has been spent trying to accurately translate the Latin texts into English in a literal manner.

After approving the revised English translation of The Roman Missal, the Englishspeaking bishops’ conferences sent the texts to the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments for review. Once reviewed, the translation is submitted to the Holy See for recognitio. Basically, recognitio is the Latin term for “recognizing” the translation. After the recognitio was given, the Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship determined the changes the Congregation has made to the translation. Then the text was sent to publishers. The publishers will have to typeset and send proofs to the Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship for final approval before printing The Roman Missal. This process will take more than a year because of the enormous amount of texts included in The Roman Missal. The new ritual edition will be available in October of 2011.

Although the Holy See approved some of the texts in 2008, they were not to be used at Mass until Rome had given recognitio to the entire translation and provided an implementation date. The wait for the approval of all of the prayers of the Mass allowed time for the composition of music for the Gloria; the Holy, Holy, Holy; and other parts of the Order of Mass. It also provided time for pastoral leadership to understand the reasons for the revisions and to begin educating their assemblies. In this time between the implementation of the revised edition of The Roman Missal and the implementation, parishes will continue to educate their communities.


As your parish studies the revised translation, you will see that many of the priest’s and people’s parts have changed. For example, when the priest celebrant proclaims, “The
Lord be with you,” the people will reply, “And with your spirit.” That response is the direct translation of 2 Timothy 4:22. Other revisions, too, will help assemblies relate the prayers
of the Mass to scripture. The response to the Lamb of God, for example, clearly alludes to the Centurion’s request that his servant be healed (see Matthew 8:8 and Luke 7:6).

You may find it helpful to review the information on The Roman Missal at www.RevisedRomanMissal.org. The revised prayers of the Mass will be implemented on November 27, 2011.

Preparing Your Parish for the Revised Roman Missal: Homilies and Reproducibles for Faith Formation 2011 Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 3949 S. Racine Ave., Chicago IL 60609; 1-800-933-1800; www.LTP.org. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roamn Missal, 2010 International Committee on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL). All rights reserved. The copyright notice must appear with the text. Published with Ecclesiastical Approval (Canon 823,1).