The New Translation: My Survey Results

While not of course a substitute for a proper statistical survey, I have been heartened by the 120 contributions to my sidebar survey of the takeup of the new translation of the Mass in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite in English.  Since I will eventually delete it and put up some other survey, here are the final results:

HAS YOUR PRIEST IMPLEMENTED THE NEW TRANSLATION YET?

Yes, fully and happily, Deo gratias!                            60 (50%)

Yes, fully, but he grumbles about it.                           11 (9%)

Only partially - he still uses the 1970's version a bit.   4 (3%)

No - he's stuck in the 1970's.                                         5 (4%)

N/A - I attend the Latin Mass.                                    28 (23%)

N/A - I'm Eastern Rite.                                                 4 (3%)

N/A - I'm not a Catholic.                                               8 (6%)

Votes so far: 120  (Poll closed) 

The last three categories demonstrate – assuming those answering are a representative subset of my blog readers – that 23% (or about a quarter) of those perusing this blog are Latin Mass attenders (O that I could number myself among such!), while 3% are Eastern Rite, and 6% are non-Catholic (but, one assumes, somewhat interested in matters liturgical).

I therefore subtract those 40 contributions in the last three groups, and find that, amongst Ordinary Form Mass-goers who answered my survey:

HAS YOUR PRIEST IMPLEMENTED THE NEW TRANSLATION YET?

Yes, fully and happily, Deo gratias!                            60 (75%)

Yes, fully, but he grumbles about it.                           11 (14%)

Total "fully implemented"                                             71 (89%)

Only partially - he still uses the 1970's version a bit.   4 (  5%)

Total "fully" and "partially" implemented                   75 (94%

No - he's stuck in the 1970's.                                         5 (  6%)

How heartening!  Despite some grumbling from a minority, the great majority have accepted and fully implemented the new translation; and amongst the minority, even most of them have put it into effect (some incompletely).  Only a very few priests are so rebellious and defiant as to refuse to use the new translation.

This little online survey of mine, of course, is no substitute for a proper survey, but it does reflect anecdotal reports to the effect that the new translation has been brought into use almost everywhere, with very little trouble.

Total: 80

A Singable Gloria at Last

I surprised myself in the shower this morning by spontaneously singing Paul Taylor's setting of the Gloria in excelsis  (the new translation of course) from his Mass of St Francis – unlike all the unmemorable settings of the old ICEL paraphrase thereof (I recall my old parish priest saying that he'd never found an appealing one), this one is singable and tuneful.  I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, however, as in my parish we began singing Taylor's setting each Sunday back in January 2011, and the congregation sings it out with gusto.  The days seem so long ago when dreadful responsorial settings of the Gloria in excelsis were what passed for Catholic music at Mass.

Noveritis EF and OF

Know, dear brethren, that, as we have rejoiced at the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, so by leave of God's mercy we announce to you also the joy of his Resurrection, who is our Saviour. [On the 5th day of February will be Septuagesima Sunday. ‡] On the 22nd day of February will fall Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of the fast of the most sacred Lenten season. On the 8th day of April you will celebrate with joy Easter Day, the Paschal feast of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the 17th* / 20th† of May will be the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the 27th day of May, the feast of Pentecost. On the 7th* / 10th† of June, the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. On the 2nd day of December, the First Sunday of the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

— Noveritis, 
the Announcement of Easter and the Moveable Feasts:

proclaimed after the Gospel on the Epiphany of the Lord 

(Roman Missal 2011 edition)

* Extraordinary Form and normative Ordinary Form date (as in Germany, where I will be for Corpus Christi);

† Ordinary Form date in some countries, where these solemnities are transferred to the following Sunday (as in Australia);

‡ Extraordinary Form only (translated from the Latin).

Three out of Five

Having heard Mass at the city church to-day, it was comforting to find that the celebrant is happily using the new translation there, and the large noonday congregation of about 35 was also content.

From what I've seen of the five local priests (my own parish priest, for the north-western part of this city; the three priests in the central parish; and the one in the southern parish), it thus appears that three out of five are happily using the new translation.

One P.P. (about whose antics at Carmel I've blogged) last time I heard him say Mass had not fully adjusted to the new texts, though he seemed to be uncomplaining, thank God – he read from the new Missal without trouble, but for texts he said without looking at it, such as the offertory prayers and Ecce Agnus Dei, he reverted to the old text familiar to him, which is understandable; while another priest, last time I endured his infuriating travesty of the sacred liturgy, was in open rebellion against this "latest wickedness of the nasty old Pope" (to put into words the inner thoughts his demeanour manifested).

I rather suspect that three, or perhaps four, out of five is about the expected proportion of Australian clergy who have more or less implemented the new translation without puerile whinging.

In a similar way

Am I the only person to find the phrase "In a similar way", employed in the new translation of the Mass in every one of the Eucharistic Prayers to render the Latin Simili modo (or rather Similiter, in the case of the first E.P. for Reconciliation), very banal?  I note that in the old translation, the words Simili modo were simply left untranslated! – except in E.P. IV, where they were rendered "In the same way", which, though less accurate, does, to be honest, sound better in English.

In the Anglican Use Mass approved by Rome, the phrase is rendered as "Likewise", which I contend is a better-sounding translation.

Good Priest, Bad Priest, Poor Crazed Layman

No, the poor crazed layman is not in fact me (though close enough), but Vincent - pray for him - who became disturbed when he heard voices after Mass the other day (my voice and Father's! - I had popped into the sacristy to drop off his Christmas present), and started praying out loud such choice orations as "Send their demons back to hell"; which made me worry for his sanity.  Father told me this morning that he calmed him down by reading Vespers and Compline with him.  Do pray for Vincent, a well-known Mass-goer in these parts, who seems to have become stranger and stranger lately.

The good priest is of course my parish priest, at whose weekday Mass I was privileged to serve this morning; how good to sing Kyrie in Greek, Sanctus and Agnus Dei in Latin; how good to hear the new translation prayed with devotion in its entirety.  The Mass was prayerful.  Alas, not all Masses I've attended this Advent have been thus...

The bad priest?  One who couldn't be bothered even to don a chasuble for Mass.  One whose Mass was badly hacked about: no Penitential Act; the bread and wine offered up together using a made-up prayer mish-mashed together from the two actually provided; the Orate fratres utterly omitted; as much as possible of the Mass recited from memory using the old translation, including the Eucharistic Prayer and the words of consecration (doubtlessly forgetting for the moment that only the new translation - the one in the Missal before him - is the only one permitted now); and us poor layfolk incited to use the old responses!  

I made sure I said the right ones loudly.  By the end of that wretched liturgy, I was furious (to the extent, I regret to say, I swore under my breath).

Does this make me as mad as poor Vincent?

Caveat Emptor

I resolved some months ago to buy a hand-missal, having the new translation of the Ordinary Form Mass I perforce attend, as soon as possible.  Enquiries suggested that layfolk would have to wait till next year, but then I saw something advertised that seemed right – thus, having paid $80.10, plus postage and handling, I had delivered today... the U.S. edition of the Roman Missal, chapel edition!

While a handsome volume, but for the ugly cover illustration, at 24 by 19 cm (or about 9.5 by 7.5 inches) it is hardly portable, being intended for use by the priest himself at the altar, and I'd look a right mental if I dragged it to church with me.

(I seem to recall that Belloc used to port an altar missal to church with him, but that was odd even then.)

Best laid plans and all that...

Mass in Hebrew, Greek, Latin – and English

The Roman Mass is of course always offered in the three sacred languages (cf. St John xix, 20) of Hebrew, Greek and Latin, at least in the Extraordinary Form thereof – for Amen, Alleluia, Sabaoth and Hosanna are of course Hebrew words, as Kyrie and Christe eleison are Greek, and the rest is Latin.

In my own parish, the weekday Mass, in the Ordinary Form, is offered in these tongues together with English: for daily the Kyrie is chanted in Greek, and the Sanctus and Agnus Dei in Latin, while of course those four Hebrew words Amen, Alleluia, Sabaoth and Hosanna occur during the liturgy, the latter two within the Sanctus, while the Alleluia is sung, and many times we say Amen.

Since to-day is a public holiday here in northern Tasmania ("Recreation Day", whatever that means), I attended the 9am parish Mass.  Our priest likes music, and, seeing as to-day is a feria, he offered a Mass for the dead in purple vestments: "The Lord's my shepherd" was the opening hymn, while a version of the commendation said at funerals, set to a hymn-tune, was used as the closing hymn.  As is done always, the Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei were chanted, as was the Alleluia (bearing in mind that this is sung even at Requiems in the modern Mass, as is done in the Byzantine Rite also).  [I cannot now recall if he sang the doxology to the Eucharistic Prayer, but he usually does so.]

For this Requiem Mass, the 1st Preface of the Dead was used, together with Eucharistic Prayer III and its specially enlarged intercessions for  the departed as may be used at Masses for the dead; the orations were those "For Several Deceased Persons or for All the Dead", as follows:

Collect 

O God, who willed that your only Begotten Son, 

having conquered death, 

should pass over into the realm of heaven, 

grant, we pray, to your departed servants (N. and N.) 

that, with the mortality of this life overcome, 

they may gaze eternally on you, 

their Creator and Redeemer. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

one God, for ever and ever.

Prayer over the Offerings 

Look with favour, we pray, O Lord, 

on the sacrificial offerings 

we present to you for the souls of your servants 

and, just as you bestowed on them 

the dignity of the Christian faith, 

grant them also its reward. 

Through Christ our Lord. 

Preface I for the Dead

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, 
always and everywhere to give you thanks, 

Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, 

through Christ our Lord. 

In him the hope of blessed resurrection has dawned, 

that those saddened by the certainty of dying 

might be consoled by the promise of immortality to come. 

Indeed for your faithful, Lord, 

life is changed not ended, 

and, when this earthly dwelling turns to dust, 

an eternal dwelling is made ready for them in heaven. 

And so, with Angels and Archangels, 

with Thrones and Dominions, 

and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven, 

we sing the hymn of your glory, 

as without end we acclaim: 

Eucharistic Prayer III, in Masses for the Dead

...

Remember your servant[s] N. 

whom you have called (today) 

from this world to yourself. 

Grant that he (she) [they] who was [were] united with your Son in a death like his, 

may also be one with him in his Resurrection, 

when from the earth 

he will raise up in the flesh those who have died, 

and transform our lowly body 

after the pattern of his own glorious body. 

To our departed brothers and sisters, too, 

and to all who were pleasing to you 

at their passing from this life, 

give kind admittance to your kingdom. 

There we hope to enjoy for ever the fullness of your glory, 

when you will wipe away every tear from our eyes. 

For seeing you, our God, as you are, 

we shall be like you for all the ages 
through Christ our Lord, 

through whom you bestow on the world all that is good.

Through him...

Prayer after Communion 

Through these sacrificial gifts, 

which we have received, O Lord, 

bestow on your departed servants your great mercy, 

and, to those you have endowed with the grace of Baptism, 

grant also the fullness of eternal joy. 

Through Christ our Lord. 

Note especially the mention of offering the Sacrifice for the souls of the departed in the Prayer over the Offerings – reference to the "souls" of the departed was often dropped in the reform of the Missal, but survives in certain of the prayers for use at Masses for the Dead.

For the Prayer of the Faithful or General Intercessions, Father took the intercessions from Lauds in the Office for the Dead, as also may be done.

After Mass and thanksgiving, I had a chat with Fr Allan, and he mentioned something sad that several priests have told of: a parishioner, quite devout, has just died – but the children, doubtless unchurched, didn't even want a Mass for her funeral, just some inoffensive private ceremony not even at the church; thus their shame and embarrassment at not being churchgoers, their rejection through laziness or sin of the practice of the Faith, deprives their Catholic mother of a proper Requiem, a terrible injustice.  Father of course indicated that, like those other priests I've heard the like from, he would be offering a Mass for the repose of her soul, lest she be deprived of the suffrages of Holy Church through the fault of her children.

(I of course do not quote kindly Father in referring to the unchurched persons in such a manner, but I think it quite true to do so.  Even an unbeliever ought have respect to the wishes of the departed, methinks.  It reminds me of the dreadful crime of Simone de Beauvoir in not letting her dying mother be told of her terminal illness, and refusing to allow her a priest when her mother would have surely wanted one.)

First Sunday using the New Missal

This Sunday, at my parish of St Francis, the new translation of the Mass was at last used for all parts of the liturgy, with the arrival of the new Missal and our priest's usage of it, not just for all the Ordinary (as he had been doing since Pentecost) but for the Proper as well – in other words, to-day, the 32nd Sunday  in Ordinary Time, we heard the Collect, Prayer over the Offerings and the Prayer after Communion in the new translation for the first time.

Before Mass began, the very handsome "chapel edition" of the new Missal was on display, open to some of its beautiful illustrations – in Australia, the Missals are published by CTS, and are very fine.  Father told me after Mass that the large altar edition was even more grand, with gold-edged pages.  Name-plates listing all parishioners who donated funds towards the purchase of these volumes will be inserted soon as a memorial to their largesse.

My own copy of the new Missal is still in transit, but such are the wonders of the Internet that I have these texts to hand:

Collect 
Almighty and merciful God, 
graciously keep from us all adversity, 
so that, unhindered in mind and body alike, 
we may pursue in freedom of heart 
the things that are yours. 
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
one God, for ever and ever.

Prayer over the Offerings 
Look with favour, we pray, O Lord, 
upon the sacrificial gifts offered here, 
that, celebrating in mystery the Passion of your Son, 
we may honour it with loving devotion. 
Through Christ our Lord.


Prayer after Communion 
Nourished by this sacred gift, O Lord, 
we give you thanks and beseech your mercy, 
that, by the pouring forth of your Spirit, 
the grace of integrity may endure 
in those your heavenly power has entered. 
Through Christ our Lord.

Standing in the pews hearing these prayed, it was obvious that the priest read them with good diction and evident comprehension; likewise, as I listened and considered their words, it was easy to understand them – not that it is my ears for whom they are meant, seeing as it is God they address! – so that furphy about the new translation being impossible to understand is easily confuted as a most stupid claim.

It is interesting to compare and contrast my own parish's uneventful reception of the new texts, and easy adjustment to the new words, to what I hear of the difficulties and unwelcoming attitude (played up and encouraged, I suspect, by the priests) in our neighbouring parish...

Come Advent Sunday, out with the old and in with the new: willy-nilly, the new Missal will be the only one allowed to be used at the Mass in the Ordinary Form.  Those who have dragged their heels and belly-ached will have to stop whining eventually and move with the times!  I must say, it amuses me no end to say this; perhaps the experience that some liberals are having will give them compassion for those who have endured far more in order to get Mass in the Extraordinary Form, but I doubt it.  How amusing it will be, that those who love the 1970's, and all its works, and all its empty promises, will have the choice of the more-accurately-translated Mass, some first fruit of the Reform of the Reform (and, with the upsurge in musical settings of the Propers in English, not to mention a push for a more solemn liturgy, is not this movement bearing yet further fruit?), or of the Mass of the Ages.

I suppose if they don't like either option they can become refugees from the Roman Rite.

Miserere nostri, Domine: quia peccavimus tibi

Now that the new translation is about to be fully implemented, one hears the second form of the Penitential Act in a more faithful version than formerly – for the Latin is:

V/. Miserere nostri, Domine.

R/. Quia peccavimus tibi.

V/. Ostende nobis, Domine, misericordiam tuam.

R/. Et salutare tuum da nobis.

and the new English thereof is:

V/. Have mercy on us, O Lord.

R/. For we have sinned against you.

V/. Show us, O Lord, your mercy.

R/. And grant us your salvation.

(In both cases, I have added the versicle and response marks for clarity.)

But whence cometh this text?

The second versicle, used for perhaps a thousand years and more in the preparatory prayers at Mass, is of course from Psalm 84, but the first, while it sounds Scriptural, doesn't occur anywhere word-for-word in Holy Writ.

Initially, it does remind one of the words of the Lenten chant Attende, Domine, et miserere, quia peccavimus tibi (which, while not directly from Scripture, are hallowed by centuries of use, and have quite a nice tune to which they are sung – a pity they weren't simply inserted into the Mass if such an alternative to the Confiteor was actually necessary).

The nearest echoes I have found are as follows.

Baruch 3:2, especially in the Vulgate (still the official Latin version when the Novus Ordo Missæ was drawn up), is quite close:

Audi, Domine, et miserere, quia Deus es misericors: et miserere nostri, quia peccavimus ante te.

(In the Neo-Vulgate, as I call the Nova Vulgata, the allusion is obscured, as the phrase quia Deus es misericors: et miserere nostri is omitted, presumably because it is not in the Hebrew, and came into the Latin via the Septuagint through the process know as dittography, whereby the first phrase is redoubled. Also, the Neo-Vulgate changes the last two words of the verse into in conspectu tuo.)

Now as to finding exact verbal correspondences, the versicle is the same as those first few words of Psalm 122(123):3, Miserere nostri, Domine; whereas the reponse instead comes from the end of Jeremias 14:20, quia peccavimus tibi (in both cases, the words are the same in the Vulgate and New Vulgate).

Why was such a strange pastiche composed and inserted?  Well, evidently the second versicle, Ostende nobis, Domine, was found worthy, and simply lifted from the versicles said by the priest at the conclusion of the prayers at the foot of the altar in the Extraordinary Form, but the versicle preceding it in that liturgy, Deus tu conversus, was evidently found "not quite suitable".  Hence, the reformers made up a "better" one themselves.  How curious.

Blessings of the New Translation

I was lifted up this morning, when Fr Allan – who celebrates the Thursday Mass at Carmel – used the new translation from the Preface onwards, complete with the Preface for Martyrs II and the Roman Canon.  It was glorious to hear in English what I am used to in the Latin – since for many years I used to make up for the impoverished ICEL paraphrase by reading along in the original.  What a great blessing to be delivered from banality and feel the holiness of the Sacrifice so much more evidently manifest in the words of our prayers!  Deo gratias.