To the joy of most and the dismay of a few, it looks as if the new ICEL translation has been approved, though it won’t be available for a while yet.
The Vox Clara commission, formed as a liaison between ICEL and the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, met in Rome. Here are the Holy Father’s remarks to the group as they completed their work.
From the VIS:
Dear Cardinals,
Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,
Members and Consultors of the Vox Clara Committee,
I thank you for the work that Vox Clara has done over the last eight years, assisting and advising the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in fulfilling its responsibilities with regard to the English translations of liturgical texts. This has been a truly collegial enterprise. Not only are all five continents represented in the membership of the Committee, but you have been assiduous in drawing together contributions from Bishops’ Conferences in English-speaking territories all over the world. I thank you for the great labour you have expended in your study of the translations and in processing the results of the many consultations that have been conducted. I thank the expert assistants for offering the fruits of their scholarship in order to render a service to the universal Church. And I thank the Superiors and Officials of the Congregation for their daily, painstaking work of overseeing the preparation and translation of texts that proclaim the truth of our redemption in Christ, the Incarnate Word of God.
Saint Augustine spoke beautifully of the relation between John the Baptist, the vox clara that resounded on the banks of the Jordan, and the Word that he spoke. A voice, he said, serves to share with the listener the message that is already in the speaker’s heart. Once the word has been spoken, it is present in the hearts of both, and so the voice, its task having been completed, can fade away (cf. Sermon 293). [HERE IT IS…] I welcome the news that the English translation of the Roman Missal will soon be ready for publication, [That means approval.] so that the texts you have worked so hard to prepare may be proclaimed in the liturgy that is celebrated across the anglophone world. Through these sacred texts and the actions that accompany them, Christ will be made present and active in the midst of his people. The voice that helped bring these words to birth will have completed its task.
[NB:] A new task will then present itself, one which falls outside the direct competence of Vox Clara, but which in one way or another will involve all of you – the task of preparing for the reception of the new translation by clergy and lay faithful. Many will find it hard to adjust to unfamiliar texts after nearly forty years of continuous use of the previous translation. The change will need to be introduced with due sensitivity, and the opportunity for catechesis that it presents will need to be firmly grasped. I pray that in this way any risk of confusion or bewilderment will be averted, and the change will serve instead as a springboard for a renewal and a deepening of Eucharistic devotion all over the English-speaking world. [But it is going to happen.]
Dear Brother Bishops, Reverend Fathers, Friends, I want you to know how much I appreciate the great collaborative endeavour to which you have contributed. Soon the fruits of your labours will be made available to English-speaking congregations everywhere. As the prayers of God’s people rise before him like incense (cf. Psalm 140:2), may the Lord’s blessing come down upon all who have contributed their time and expertise to crafting the texts in which those prayers are expressed. Thank you, and may you be abundantly rewarded for your generous service to God’s people.
The following comes from the National Catholic Register (the good "NCR"):
Cardinal George Pell, chairman of the Vox Clara Committee, the international group of bishops advising the Vatican about the translation, told the Register yesterday that although formal approval will be given today, the new Missal certainly won’t be available before 2011.
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I welcome this news. But how soon can we see this translations in our parish liturgies?
So we’re looking at a rollout for Advent 2012, right? That’s what I expected. It would take at least a year for the publishing industry to gear up for this.
When I was first reading “A new task will then present itself” I was thinking new missal, new missal! LOL. One can dream! I truly believe that the end goal is to make it that the Novus Ordo looks as much as possible like the Tridentine that we can almost immediately get rid of the Novus Ordo, institute the changes into the Tridentine Mass that were stated in the LETTER of Vatican II and be done with this whole affair. How do we get participation? CATECHESIS!!!
JosephMary: From what I have heard Advent 2011, meaning Fall 2010, the process is supposed to begin, at least in the United States, to start to slowly incorporate the new translation into the Mass. By Advent 2012, it is to be fully implemented. Also, I have heard that some of the rubrics (the RED) have changed, especially for the Easter Vigil :-)
I’m curious about what special national exceptions (or whatever they are called) were or were not approved. For example, did the ghastly “Christ has died…” memorial acclamation survive the cut?
TrueLiturgy,
My parish priest here in unnamed parts of Canada had decided to jump the gun and include elements of the new missal. But of course he is only picking and choosing what he wants to include (in particular, we have added the sprinkling rite w/o any of the prayers or responses, but also inexplicably eliminated the Kyrie). Thus, he is now violating rubrics in two missals simultaneously!
Great news. I assume Father Larson and Bishop Trautman are devastated. Perhaps this will cause them to retire from the active ministry. Although, in fairness, I would guess Bishop Trautman will follow the new texts, butI suspect Larson won’t. Tom
Deo gratias!
(That’s “thanks be to God” and not “yay God!”)
That certainly is good news. I would suspect the change will not be as seamless as imagined though. I would argue this….if priests would start now, by say preaching about it at Mass, or doing “a catechesis” after Holy Communion, then it would be a very easy transition. I fear, though that this won’t be the case, even the most well-intentioned areas…
I will pray for a smooth transistion though.
My priest said a while back that the new translations are going to be implemented in Advent 2011. Has anyone else heard that or did he pull that out of the air?
Vox borealis:
WOW!!! I laughed in shock when I read your post. Not only is he violating the rubrics, he is also being disobedient to his Bishop. The issue that can happen if this is implemented poorly, especially if there are two priests at a parish and are not doing the same thing, is complete confusion and the faithful not knowing what to do or respond and therefore don’t do anything at all. Now that I have a Sacramentary in front of me to confirm what I am saying in that if there is a sprinkling rite, then the Kyrie is supposed to be omitted. However, I don’t believe that the new translation is doing away with the prayers or responses, especially the absolution at the end.
Also, from what I have read and heard, I believe that “Christ has died…” will be included in the new translation. This was do in part to pleading on the U.S. Bishop’s part. I also believe it was partly due to the fact that canonically, something becomes a custom after 30 years and it’s been 40 since the first translation came out.
Jayna: Yes, Advent 2011 is what I have heard and I believe it was posted by the USCCB at one point. Can’t find it right now though. Have to write a paper :-)
Jayna: liturgical year 2012 starts on the first Sunday of Advent, at the end of 2011…
And just how long does it take to typeset, print, and bind something that is already in digital form?
Just sayin’.
It seems to me that this could be in the hands of pastors ready to go by September *If They Really Wanted To*.
Of course, you have to have endless meetings, discussions, preparation by the usual suspects, comments, position papers on the how (now…Deo gratias, not whether) and other inclusive activities…as well as give Haugen et al time to write more show tunes to fit the new texts.
Thanks be to God for this!
That’s very good news. I wish it could go into effect sooner, athough of course I don’t think it’s a bad idea to provide some preparation.
But how much preparation do people really need for something that is in their own language and not radically different, anyway? Just a little heel dragging by certain bishops, I’d suspect. I’m surprised the liturgical presses aren’t out there agitating for earlier implementation, since they will probably make a fair amount of money from the replacement of pew missals.
TrueLiturgy,
Too bad to hear about the “Christ has died…” bit. Its inclusion means that the more accurate translation of the Memorial Acclamation will never be heard.
As for the Sprinkling Rite–I did not realize that in the newer Missal it also displaced the Kyrie. I checked the Missal that our parish has in the pews and, unless I misread, there is always a Kyrie, though the Sprinkling Rite may displace the rest of the Penitential Rite. In either case, if I recall correctly, the Sprinkling Rite includes some sort of prayer and response. My priest merely walked down the aisle sprinkling holy water, returned to the sanctuary, then proceeded directly to the Gloria.
As for disobeying the bishop, well, last week for Good Shepherd Sunday, the bishop had the priests of the diocese at all masses replace the second reading with an open letter that he wrote. So, no worries about a little priestly creativity with the Missal(s)!
The reason for the delay (until Advent 2011 at the earliest) is that it is anticipated to require 12 to 18 months of “catechesis” to prepare pew-sitters for the ineffable shock of hearing these new accurate translations. From an article by Bishop Arthur Seratelli in the current Adoremus Bulletin (http://www.adoremus.org/0410RomanMissal.html):
“Third, we turn our attention to the process of catechesis, which needs to be undertaken to prepare for the reception of the new text. The bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship has suggested a two-part process to lead us to the implementation of the Missal. At the present moment we are in the remote stage of preparation, and this remote stage will last until the recognitio is given for the text.”
“This period should include efforts at general liturgical catechesis: the nature and aim of the liturgy, the meaning of “full, conscious, and active participation”, and the background of the Roman Missal. The proximate preparation will begin when the recognitio is given, and then will last for a period of 12 to 18 months, and will look more specifically at the particular texts of the Missal to prepare pastors and the faithful to celebrate the liturgy using those texts.”
…….
“A wide range of resources is being developed by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (FDLC), and many catechetical and liturgical publishers. In addition, representatives of English-speaking countries have been working together to produce an international multi-media catechetical resource. The bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship launched a web site last year to serve as a central hub of information regarding the new Missal, and we hope that it will encourage the development of even more resources for use in parishes, schools and homes. (www.usccb.org/romanmissal/)”
Did everyone see this quotation?
“Cardinal George Pell, chairman of the Vox Clara Committee, the international group of bishops advising the Vatican about the translation, told the Register yesterday that although formal approval will be given today, the new Missal certainly won’t be available before 2011.”
One would conclude, then, that it would not be available before the calendar year of 2011. One would also take that to mean, NOT Advent 2011 (since “mostly 2012” still includes 2011). Now, maybe the good Cardinal can shed some more light on this, except maybe he already has.
Meanwhile, ICEL has made available the musical texts for the sacramentary. There are a lot of them to go through, so first you might want to start here …
http://icelweb.org/ICELMusicIntroductionRev809.pdf
… with an explanation of the whys and wherefores. The entire collection can be found here:
http://icelweb.org/musicfolder/openmusic.php
Now, if you find going through all those texts to be entirely too tedious, you’d be just like me. That’s why I compiled the whole magilla, with the intro, into one big book-sized file, for private use only — at the moment.
Is the new version available online in a side-by-side comparison with current version?
How many years has this been in development? By now, everyone who’s been waiting for it could have learned Latin.
The way progressives are carrying on about this you would think the Church was asking English speaking people to learn Swahili or something.
WONDERFUL news! Thank you, Pope Benedict !!!
The timeline looks as if it was pre-determined (pace Calvin) to be introduced on Advent Sunday 2011, approximately 18 months after the Recognitio. The long period is necessary, since Irish Catholics detest anything new at all, and automatically consider it to be worse than the old, however bad the old may have been.
“Too bad to hear about the “Christ has died…” bit. Its inclusion means that the more accurate translation of the Memorial Acclamation will never be heard.”
That’s a pity. A church I attended in England (St. Joseph and the English Martyrs in Bishop’s Stortford) at least used the “dying, you destroyed our death…” Memorial Acclamation. That was the only one I really liked and the setting that the choir sang it in was quite beautiful. Still, with all the other prayers changed, maybe liturgists will be forced to stop using that banal Haugen Mass setting and perhaps be swayed to not use “Christ has died…”
Maybe Marty Haugen will be so disappointed with the new missal that he’ll stop writing music. One can only hope.
I cannot resist one more arch comment. Poor Bishop Trautman simply didn’t stand a chance crying in the pidgin English wilderness over the new translation. For the professional liturgists, who are his natural allies, this is a full-employment bill. They are salivating. The publishers make millions, the composers make tens of thousands, the liturgists make countless power point presentations. What’s not to like?
So correction, Advent 2011 begins November 27, 2011. Sorry for the confusion. (If I am wrong Fr. Z, please let us know)Due to the comment made by Cardinal Pell, this timeframe may be moved up to the the beginning of the year 2011. YAY!!! This would then be ahead of schedule!
vox borealis: Ok, I’ve got the Sacramentary in front of me. The bit before the Rite says that there are 3 options: the Holy Water, penitential rite, and the third option states that “C. If the Mass is preceded by some part of the liturgy of the hours, the penitential rite IS omitted, and the Kyrie MAY BE omitted.” (Capitalization = my emphasis) This seems to show that the Kyrie is not thought to be part of the penitential rite. This is where it could be confusing. The clarification comes after the prayer (I don’t use the word absolution because it is not titled as such in the Sacramentary) after the sprinkling of the Holy Water:
‘…the priest faces the people and, with joined hands, says: “May almighty God cleanse us of our sins,….”
The people answer: “Amen.”
When it is prescribed, the Gloria is then sung or said.’
As we all know, the Missal tells the priest what is to be done, not what is not to be done (for the most part). IMHO, the Kyrie is omitted if there is a sprinkling rite, which is supposed to contain the prayers and responses.
Also, WOW about the bishop. That is an abuse of his power to regulate the liturgy!
The USCCB website has the final missal. Maybe more people will use the Roman Canon, too? Deo gratias! I like the Complete Text (Scripturally annotated) (PDF) version. E.g., the confession of sins (Confiteor) now has the mea culpa, and et cum spiritu tuo is translated as “and with your spirit.” The consecration now reads “for all and for many.” It still retains the new “fruit of the earth and work of human hands” and “fruit of the vine and work of human hands,” which has always struck me as a little strange. Also, the saints have been added (still optional to say these, though): “Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia.” (Of course that one is from the Roman Canon—i.e., Eucharistic Prayer #1—which I have never heard Novus Ordo priest do anyways…)
For list of some changes:
of the People’s Parts
of the Priest’s Parts
Also, is scrapping Eucharistic prayers II through IV, and just retaining the Roman Canon, too much to ask for right now? Maybe this will happen sometime after 2012, but knowing Pope Benedict’s excellent leadership, this dream of mine might come true.
I love the new Gloria, too! Wow! And the Credo now says “was incarnate of the Virgin Mary” instead of just “born of,” and it contains another “Almighty.” And “Lord, I am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof”! This makes me so glad!
Mine uses it nearly every week, which pleases me no end.
I was disappointed to see that the “Christ has died” version of Mystery of Faith is listed as “yet to be decided by Holy See.” I would dearly love to be shot of that one.
Thank you and may God bless you abundantly, Pope Benedict!!!!
Does this outlaw those awful guitar Masses, by the way? LOL I remember as a 6 or 7 year old having to listen to guitar “Kumbayuh” during our Catholic school Masses. Ugh! Didn’t help the bullies in the school either!
Wonderful news. Now, I pray we waste no time getting Round II of the Reform of the Reform underway.
Unleash heaven. Let GIRMwarfare begin!
Geremia:
“The consecration now reads “for all and for many.””
That would be crazy, but, fortunately, it does not say that.
I note that the presumably final and binding texts of the Order of Mass posted at http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal, which have received the Recognitio from the Holy See, do not — repeat NOT, Deo gratias, Thank God Almighty! — do not include the Peter, Paul, and Mary “Christ has died, …” acclamation which is not (repeat NOT) a translation from either of the three Latin acclamations, as Liturgiam authenticam requires.
As I understand it — if indeed I do — what is “yet to be decided” by the Holy See is whether to grant the USCCB’s ineffable (i.e., “unspeakable”) request from one of those U.S. adaptations (like standing for receiving on the hand) that we’re all too familiar with.
Posted at NLM this afternoon:
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments is to issue its formal approval of the new English translation of the complete Roman Missal later today.
So we should soon know the truly final answers to all questions such as that implicit in my preceding post.
It still seems absurd that the 2002 Missal won’t be in use until Advent of 2012 when you remember that the 1970 version went into effect on Advent of 1969. However, considering how well *that* turned out…
What is this “sprinkling rite”? Is it the Asperges, or something like it? Pardon my ignorance, I don’t attend the NO.
Is there any reason why a specific parish MUST wait until 2011 or 2012 to begin using the new translation?
What is to prevent a particular Priest from running a single copy and then taking it down to the local Office Max and print out as many copies as needed for his Parish? I am sure that there would be quite a few parishoners willing to help foot the bill.
asophist: As I am new to the EF I am not fully versed in it or the ritual for the blessing of Holy Water and sprinkling, but as far as I know, the Sprinkling Rite is a washed/dumbed down version of the Asperges. After this summer, hopefully I will be versed in the EF since I intend to ask to be trained at Mary, Mother of God in D.C. :) Basically, in the Sprinkling Rite, the priest blesses the water (this is really dumbed down!) which is in the Aspergum (sp?) (yes we kept the name) and then walks around the church and “sprinkles” the people with the water while music plays.
MichaelJ: We all owe obedience to our bishops! However, technically a priest could do whatever he wanted, as we have seen done for the past 40 years. BUT, if a priest was to do as you say, the Mass would technically be illicit :( unfortunately. I can’t wait for the new translation. I want to represent my parish at the training but unfortunately by the time it will be implemented, I will have graduated university.
I think that the process of catechesis that will initiate the new translations are of critical importance. It is a great time to gently lead people into the proper ways of liturgical worship and avoid abuses or silliness that have become virtual institutions here an abroad (such as: the congregation extending their hands as they respond, “An also with you”). There is a reason for each correction, and I, for one, hope that this will lead to a greater dignity for priests, a clearer idea of a layman’s vocation to bring Christ to the world, and, above all, an increased reverence for the Almighty.
I don’t expect to hear a thing about it for about a year yet. It’s been dead silent here. I think most people aren’t even aware a new translation was in the works, even though this has been going on for years.
How exciting! I look forward to the improved version!
“Is there any reason why a specific parish MUST wait until 2011 or 2012 to begin using the new translation?”
This has been explained about a gazillion times in one place or another. Here’s the short version. It will take at least a year (at LEAST) for the publishers to do ALL the books required — not just an altar missal, but worship aids, hymnals, choir settings, and so forth. They must be designed, typeset, laid out, proofread umpteen times by several people who do nothing but that, revised again with corrections (probably two or three rounds of that), signed off on by the publisher, and then FINALLY, sent to the local ecclesiastical authority for approbation.
This does not count the three to four weeks (at least) it would take to print everything, and up to several months for sale and/or delivery to customers. That, and to be ready for Advent, the stuff has to be out by Labor Day.
SOOOO …. you’re looking at a year for preparation, and four to six months JUST for the sale and distribution. That pretty well fills up eighteen months, doesn’t it? And before the days of desktop publishing in the mid-1980s, it would have taken three to four months longer for the whole process.
And THAT(!!!) is why it takes so long. (I’ve spent thirty years in publishing. I know these things.)
manwithblackhat,
I know, I know (I’m in a tiny corner of the publishing world) . . . but when they foisted more or less the same abomination on us when I was an Episcopalian (jettisoning Cranmer’s marvelous prose for something uncannily like the old ICEL translation) they had cheap printed booklets out in the pews within weeks. More thorough editions and the rest of the stuff followed along behind.
One of my parents’ friends held the booklet up between thumb and forefinger and sniffed, “I am underwhelmed.” But it didn’t make any difference how much we all complained, the train had left the station.
many of us have seen the revised texts via the net and this site but I am curious as to what will be changing with the “red”. How will rubrics be tightened or changed since this is so much part of the flaw in design of the current Missal. This is what leads to wild abuses or at least a fractured Mass every time you attend a different parish. Does anyone have a lowdown on some rubrical changes? As for the text, it is a good time to implement. Now more than ever people are connected to the net and can research changes even if their Priest is 100 % mum on what is coming.
Due to the current nature of publications in the American Church, it wouldn’t take as long as manwithblackhat suggests. Missalettes, used almost everywhere, are published up to 4x year, so they could certainly be ready by this coming Advent; that’s pretty much a SUNK cost as far as the parishes are concerned. As far as hymnals go, that wouldn’t require immediate action, and I would suggest that due to the nature of hymnals, some parishes wouldn’t be able to afford immediate purchase anyway. A Kyriale-type pub could take care of all the ordinary music, and that would not be a large document either for the general parish use or choir settings. Many choir settings are 3-ring anyway, so binding is a non-issue, and could even be sent out via CD or download with license for limited distribution. The publisher could even build into the pdf a watermark identifying the licensee, which would go on every page. Automation these days makes such things easy and cheap, but of course, not foolproof.
Two years ago, I gave my home parish organist a complete set of Adoremus Hymnals (1 each Organist, Choir, and Pew editions). I’m glad I waited to fund a complete set for the Church (a small one, btw), since within a year, we should have a new version, I’m guessing.
Mitchell NY: I don’t think we’ll see much change in the norms in this edition (though we can hope to see increased adherence to the GIRM now in effect). This would be the Round II of the reform of the reform to which Jon @ 2:59 pm 28 April 2010 refers.
Although–as Cardinal Ratzinger himself has pointed out–the rubrics could certainly use some tightening and decrease of options, I believe the problem is not with our missal but with our priests (and also ourselves, of course).
For instance, back in the mid-1960s before the Novus Ordo had appeared, we already saw every kind of liturgical aberration–because of priests with the attitudes that are still with us–despite the fact that these aberrations were absolutely prohibited by the missal then in use.
Consequently, I think we will be free of liturgical abuse only when we are free of priests who abuse the liturgy, and not because we have a missal that prohibits such abuse.
I think many missed the point of the question I asked. Now that the translation has been approved, there is no question of disobedience or illicitness if it is used immediately.
While I also recognize that the publishing industry will take time to get up to speed, I personally could get this done for my Parish in time for this Sunday’s Mass. Obviously, it would not be as “pretty” as a professionally published Missal, but it would have all of the correct translations.
It really seems that many people are not particularly bothered by the fact that the existing missals have an incorrect translation which, in some cases, dramatically alters the meaning.
While this is most welcome news to the clergy and faithful who embrace the hermenutic of continuity, I have to admit to being somewhat apprehensive about the kinds of instruction that will be comming out of the “Spirit of Vatican II” types. I fear that we have not yet seen them begin to fight. Nor have we heard the last of the whining and moaning about the oppressiveness of Rome, the cowtowing of the Bishops, the rigidity of the clergy, and the lack of openness to the supposed work of the Holy Spirit that liberals are so keen to press everyone about. Given some of the ideas about resistance to the implimentation of the new trasnlations so far, I suspect we are in for a very bumpy ride in the next few years. There is just too much at stake (Salvation of souls) for this to done without some people fighting every step.
First off, MichaelJ, I apologize. I understand what you were getting at now. Believe me I wish the Bishops would promote sooner distribution. But I guess this will work to make sure that unlike how things were in the late 60s, we don’t have it so that different parishes are doing different things.
Secondly, in regards to changes in the rubrics, I have only been able to fine out a little bit: http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/eastervigil.shtml
Thanks for catching my error in my earlier post. I meant to say that the consecration now says: “for you and for many.”
On NLM, someone posted:
Is this true? Thanks
Geremia: It has indeed been approved! YAY!!! Also, the USCCB has only the new Order of the Mass, not the the new proper of seasons, commons, or votive Masses yet. http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal/samples-order.shtml
Sorry, the other link did not post. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the press release from Vox Clara. http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2010/04/and-with-your-white-book-missal-is.html