ACTION ITEM! POLL ALERT at Huffington Post on new, corrected translation… imagine

At the ultra-liberal Huffington Post there is a poll about preferences concerning the new, corrected translation or the obsolete, bad translation.

I ask readers to vote and I ask bloggers to pick this up as well.

Remember: This is about the translation not the Ordinary and Extraordinary Form.  Whoever did this poll used bad terms.  “New Mass” = “New Translation”, not Novus Ordo.

As of this writing, the results …

CLICK HERE to to go the poll.

UPDATE 28 Nov 1402 GMT:

We seem to be moving the poll a bit.

UPDATE 28 Nov 1824 GMT:

Progress.

UPDATE 28 Nov 2128 GMT:

I’m proud of you. And thanks to other bloggers, if any of you picked it up.

0

How about a nice coffee break?

You might try some

Jingle Bell Java or Christmas Blend 2011.

Prefer tea?  Let It Snow!

And as we continue to grind out those good votes, get yourself a grinder, too.

It’s swell!

UPDATE 29 Nov 0220 GMT:

Press on!

UPDATE 29 Nov 1429 GMT:

It’s going very well!

UPDATE 29 Nov 2042 GMT:

Excellent.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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56 Comments

  1. acardnal says:

    I voted. Did you notice the photo the Huffington Post used?? Disgusting abuse of Liturgical rubrics.

  2. acardnal says:

    I wish I recognized that bishop but I don’t.

  3. acardnal says:

    Perhaps it’s an Episcopal bishop. Does any one know??

  4. How can “both are equally meaningful to me” even be an option when the old translation is no longer approved for use? It’s not as if the Church is a democracy and we have the ability to stick with the old translation. In fact, how can anybody say both are equally meaningful when the whole reason for the new translation was precisely that the old one failed to convey much of the meaning of the original Latin?

  5. Phillip says:

    “Maribeth Lynch, 51, a publisher from the Milwaukee suburb of Elm Grove, said she was “distraught” over the changes and would refuse to ‘learn the damn prayers.’

    ‘It’s confusion. All it’s doing is causing confusion,” she said. “You want to go to church and be confused?'”

    A great way to avoid confusion might be to…nah, that’s asking too much.

    I voted that I prefer the “new Mass,” though I didn’t really like the options. Mass was as “meaningful” in the older translation as it is now. A better option might have been “indifferent to the changes.”

  6. truthfinder says:

    Voted. I think we should all say a prayer for Maribeth Lynch,who, in my favourite line from the article, says she will not “learn the damn prayers.” Entertains me the damn is used as the adjective to describe prayer. Hmmm.
    I really like most of the prayers, and have been saying many of them mentally for a while now. My larger concern is that my diocese will properly follow, in a generous way, the understanding of kneeling as forwarded by the Canadian GIRM, and not make us standing during the whole of the Communion procession and let us kneel once we’ve gone back to our pews. Time will tell.

  7. guatadopt says:

    Is that even a catholic bishop in the picture? The zuccheto appears to be the wrong shade plus he shouldn’t be wearing it while the elements are on the altar.

  8. bwfackler says:

    maybe all those former mass voters thought they meant the pre VII former mass

  9. Interesting. One of my local news stations is running the story on its website, and that version has Maribeth Lynch saying something different:

    “It’s ridiculous. I’ve been a Catholic for 50 years, and why would they make such stupid changes? They’re word changes. They’re semantics,” she said. The priest “spent 40 minutes today on the changes instead of on the important stuff, like changing water into wine.”

  10. historyb says:

    I voted the second option

  11. APX says:

    @guatadopt

    Is that even a catholic bishop in the picture? The zuccheto appears to be the wrong shade plus he shouldn’t be wearing it while the elements are on the altar.

    Not to mention that giant piece of what looks like a plain pizza crust on a pizza serving platter for bread.

  12. guatadopt says:

    APX…yes and the “pitcher” of wine that looks like the pitcher of coke served at a Pizza Hut.

  13. LarryD says:

    Father – the “What If We Just Said Wait” group has a survey at their website, asking for input on the corrected translation. Here’s the link: http://whatifwejustsaidwait.org/Default.aspx

    Oh, and I voted at HuffPo. “The New Mass” is now up to 24.9%

  14. Mike says:

    I voted.

    Every time I see a photo like that, I think the SSPX better ride over the hill, circle them wagons, and start shootin’.

  15. leonugent2005 says:

    I’m positively shocked, Catholics preferring the older, to the new? What is the church coming to?

  16. robtbrown says:

    The poll shows clearly that the readers of the Huff Post are people who resist change.

  17. eiggam says:

    It is interesting that a number of people have said something to the effect that ‘only the words’ have changed as if clarity of language is not important. Things went fairly well at my parish where many responses were sung. There were errors in the spoken responses as it was easy to slip into old habits. But time was taken before Mass to introduce the pew cards. Nice job.

  18. Dax says:

    “The poll shows clearly that the readers of the Huff Post are people who resist change”.

    ……..and are not very tolerant, either.

    I really don’t think all of the folks are even Catholic. Check out this quote:

    Adapting to the changes “was a lot less difficult than I thought it might be,” said Mattox, 55, adding, “even though probably all of us are going to end up holding our worship folders for a few weeks until we memorize all the new language.”

    Worship folders? That in the new translation too?

    Zsa Zsa Huffington needs a new man on the street, dahling!

  19. Christine says:

    What made me sad was the comments. So many people who don’t know anything about their faith. I was, however, amused by the men who think that because they were an altar boy that somehow means that they know everything there is to know about Catholicism.

  20. Maribeth sounds like me, when I first heard of the Luminous Mysteries. Sometimes people just need to blow off steam and get used to things, and that’s what she sounds like she’s doing. Time will tell.

  21. historyb says:

    I voted for the old several times and it hasn’t changed much. I can’t stand the huff post but on this one I like the old mass better

  22. RichardT says:

    What is a “worship folder”? It sounds ghastly.

  23. Dr. K says:

    That a Les Paul guitar in the background on the Huff. site?

  24. leonugent2005 says:

    Maybe the bishops can let the old translation be used in a few parishes in their diocese during some afternoon masses for the people who aren’t able to keep up with what the church is doing. [Ummmm… no.]

  25. nykash says:

    One would hope that the pic used was photochopped. The “new mass” is a clear improvement, although I would prefer an EF mass any day.

    I’m surprised that they didn’t seek out the more nutty modernists for the article. My favorite: A “former school teacher” was thrown by consubstantial. “What is that word?” Really?

  26. Will D. says:

    Eh, what do you expect from the Puffington Host?

  27. Charles E Flynn says:

    Carl Olson at the Ignatius Insight Scoop blog has a few well-thought-out comments:

    If I read of any more stilted uses of the adjective “stilted”, I might just…
    .

  28. jbosco88 says:

    I think the formation of the Laity-Inclusive Society of Paul VI (LISP) is close at hand.

    Perhaps a Mass on the fourth Sunday of months which have a “s” in the name, would be appropriate.

    The “Old translation” option is advancing

  29. JeffTL says:

    A worship folder is a liturgical bulletin, like the ones you find in Protestant churches but often with less content either than that or a missalette (though those being put out for the new translation remind me much more of an Episcopalian or Presbyterian bulletin in their level of completeness). It typically includes hymn numbers, music for the Mass parts, and the like.

  30. aliciakay says:

    Voted. Loved the new translation yesterday.

    DO NOT read the comments on that article. I made the mistake of reading a few, which were enough to nearly bring me to tears.

  31. RuariJM says:

    I voted, for the first option.

    Regular readers will be aware that I support the vernacular, and will also be aware that I thought the previous translation was clunky and lacked poetry, rhythm and majesty.

    (It was also plain wrong in places, which is probably worse…)

  32. Fr. Andrew says:

    RE: the photo. It’s a stock photo from Alamy. Probably staged using an actor. No need to get in a “Huff” over that image. It’s just annoying is all.

    BTW, the comments over at that place are mostly pretty awful. Very sad, they need our prayers.

    A Blessed Advent to All!

  33. Johnno says:

    It’s confusion. All it’s doing is causing confusion!

    Why would I want to vote in a poll set up to be so confusing? Why to pollers keep doing this? Which is the new mass and the former mass? Is the new mass the Novus Ordo or the new translation? Is the former Mass the Latin Tridentine or the Novus Ordo? Is this dependent on what date it is when I take this poll, before or after Advent?

    This is like those polls that want to know how many people support stem cell research? Option one is “yes”, option 2 is “no.” But I support adult stem cell research, not embryonic stem cell research. Will “yes” mean I support both kinds of research? Will the data be skewed in favor of embryonic stem cell research?

    They’re doing this on purpose I tell you!

    I will not take this damn poll until they clarify what is what in a vernacular that I can understand! Why did the paper not consult polling experts? Or maybe this is becase they did? [Settle down and work with what they presented. It is clear what they meant by this poll.]

  34. UPDATE 28 Nov 2128 GMT:

    I’m proud of you. And thanks to other bloggers, if any of you picked it up.

  35. HighMass says:

    Have not read all the posts/blogs, but really do find it interesting at all the “concerns” about the New Roman Missal……….

    To those who were not here 40 yrs ago +++ when the Holy Mass Went from Latin to English I have one thing to say…………

    This is very very mild compared to the POOR IMPLEMENTATION of Bugnini Mass, N.O.

    WHat a Shocker that was, NOW ITS TIME TO HAVE THE PRIEST FACE THE TABERNACLE!

    VIVA IL PAPA!

  36. benedetta says:

    It is sort of deceptively presented. As far as both being “equally meaningful”, to every Catholic, this would be the fairest response with respect to the NO and the EF. But in this poll the equally meaningful is what is called in statistics to be the “distractor” vote…

  37. Sword40 says:

    I really don’t care for either the old or the new. My preference is the 1962 Missal. However, the new is better than the old by far. But its kind of asking which do you like better, a broken down Chevy or a broken down Ford.

  38. Mary Jane says:

    I prefer the EF, but these changes for the OF are a good step in the right direction!

  39. tealady24 says:

    You see, I have no problem with the new mass as opposed to the old translation, or the former mass or both are equally meaningful to me, because . . . I go to the LATIN MASS!

    As it should be, and should never have been done away with.

  40. BobP says:

    Where’s the Latin option? In the 60’s any Catholic Mass in English would have been called “progressive.”

  41. Elizabeth D says:

    Some extremely vile comments there for sure and if you post something explaining the Faith they crowd around to throw feces. Still, I find I can actually feel a sincere pity for them and see just how blind and warped they are. These are people who are absolutely starving for Jesus’ mercy (and usually trying to satisfy the hunger in all the wrong ways), I think they may be more ripe for evangelization than they appear. But they have been so miseducated that it is very hard for them to get their heads around the Faith. When I first came back to the Church I honestly found the idea of “natural law” preposterous, for instance, I had a very different philosophical perspective than I do now. There was a journey to be undergone.

  42. cowboy says:

    With all the ignorant/arrogant articles being put out by the National Fishwrap, Huff Post, and other liberal media concerning the new translation, I propose that we all send a bunch of prayers the Holy Father’s way. He has a near-impossible job trying to catechize and reform at the same time, and it must be very difficult for him to make the decisions he needs to make when there’s so much ill-will on the part of his critics.

  43. Gail F says:

    Our paper ran a hybrid version of this — local stuff with some of the national AP quotes — and my favorite part was this:

    “Maribeth Lynch, 51, a publisher from the Milwaukee suburb of Elm Grove, said she was “distraught” over the changes and would refuse to ‘learn the damn prayers.’

    HA HA HA HA HA. What maturity! But you know what? I bet she learns them eventually…

  44. Gail F says:

    Miss Anita Moore OP: It’s a long quote. The HuffPost version used some of it, your paper used a different part of it. My paper actually had the whole thing. That’s how wire service stories work — you chop them up to fit and, as in the case at my paper, you can add things to them.

  45. contrarian says:

    I voted (once) and noticed that it’s up to 39%! Cool.
    And yes, it is a very illuminating comment thread. Very sad as well. I remember that Father Barron made a great little video about the prevalence of atheists in the comment threads for CNN religion articles. Me thinks that what holds for CNN holds for HuffPo. But yes, it’s terribly sad to read some of the things written over there.

  46. wmeyer says:

    Yes, still climbing in our favor!

  47. John V says:

    For all those commenting about the photo that ran with the story: It’s a stock photo licensed by Alamy, as indicated by the tag in the lower right corner. With a little digging, I found the image on Alamy’s web site. The info indicates that it was taken in 2004 in Philadelphia, PA. There are a couple other photos in the group that appear to be the same altar, but different priests/bishops. They don’t look like they were staged just to create stock photos of a Catholic Mass. Perhaps some readers from the City of Brotherly Love will recognize the location or the celebrants.

  48. historyb says:

    So do you all consider someone who does not like the new translation a liberal? Because I do not like it myself

  49. Jael says:

    I don’t know about the other folks, but I prefer the corrected translation because it is more accurate theologically, richer with allusions to the scriptures, and more literary. And it more closely matches the English on the right-hand side of my missal when I was a child. The sisters taught us to pray silently as we stood in the communion line, “Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, say but the word and my soul shall be healed.” The dumbed-down version has annoyed me for 40 years. I’ve also been annoyed by the “We believe…” because I grew up with “I believe…” which is the correct translation of Credo. Etc. I considered the simplistic translation an insult to our intelligence. I don’t think people who prefer the old translation are liberals, necessarily. I just think they don’t appreciate the value of beautiful English and more accurate theology. I feel sorry for them, like I feel sorry for people who have a dulled sense of taste and can’t appreciate fine cooking. Perhaps the reason for some of them is a public school education where students are not taught how to think, especially about theology, and are fed a diet of mediocre writing. (I am licensed to teach reading, biology, integrated science, and elementary grades K-9, and have observed the dumbing-down in public schools).

  50. Glen M says:

    It seems very weird to describe the corrected version as the ‘new mass’. We’re in a lot of trouble when the Novus Ordo gets referred to as the “old liturgy”.

  51. UPDATE 29 Nov 1429 GMT:

    It’s going very well!


  52. HighMass says:

    P.S.

    I also prefer the Mass of 1962, EF.

  53. Mary Jane says:

    Someone may have already pointed this out (I haven’t read through all the comments) but the language of the poll over at Huffington is confusing…it may lead people to vote the wrong way, if people don’t read the article correctly. People may take “the new mass” to mean the OF, and “the former mass” to mean the EF. I wonder a bit if that’s why the numbers aren’t swinging more towards “the new mass” (which should just mean the new translation for the OF).

    There was a lady who asked one of our fellow parishioners, I think it was, if we were getting a new translation too. I chuckled (not in front of them) because we’re at an EF-only parish. =P

  54. Mary Jane says:

    Oops…I see that Fr Z already pointed out what I just did…in like his 2nd paragraph…

    Apologies, haven’t had my coffee yet.

  55. I voted and asked the members of my forum to do so as well. [Thanks!]

  56. AnnAsher says:

    I’m trying to figure out that photo with the poll. Is he as orientem or is that a band behind him? What’s up with the panini and the glass goblet on the table runner ? Is this Mass or lunch ? So confused.

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