Roman Mass Translation Accepted... Sort Of

Yesterday the nation's Romanist bishops accepted 173-29, with many slight amendments, the new ICEL translation of the third typical edition of the Missale Romanum.

Additions to the official text are: a continued increased prominence for the rite of blessing and sprinkling of Holy Water; the maintenance of two alternative introductions for the penitential rite; seven additional formulae for the penitential rite; keeping the familiar four additional introductions to the Lord's Prayer; two alternate forms for the dismissal; the 'insertion of a prayer over already blessed water' for the sprinkling rite; and the maintenance of the phrase 'Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again,' which was not included in the ICEL text.

The word 'dew' was removed from the Eucharistic Prayers, 'chalice' remains. Several proposals to change the word to the current 'cup' were rejected by the Bishops' Committee on Liturgy, which expressed its preference for the rationale established by ICEL. Several bishops also requested striking 'precious' from the submitted rendering of 'precious chalice' in the Eucharistic Prayers, but the committee declined these on the grounds that to do so would not be faithful to the Latin use of the term praeclarum calicem. In Eucharistic Prayer IV, and at other instances in the text where ICEL rendered unigenitus as 'only-begotten' without adding 'Son' to it, several prelates sought a change to include 'Son,' which the bishops accepted. Two bishops sought to return the phrase 'for the many,' pro multis, to the consecration of the precious chalice. The BCL rejected the proposal given the purported overwhelming view of the USCCB membership in favor of 'for all.' Another bishop sought to have the Gloria's rendering of peace to 'all people of good will' changed to 'all men.' The Committee refused, saying that 'people' is the most accurate rendering of hominibus in English as spoken in the United States. In other areas, 'Look with favor on your church's offering' -- a 1970 translation in Eucharistic Prayer III -- is staying put, 'undefiled' in the Canon becomes 'unblemished,' the deacon's pre-Gospel request will not be the traditional Pray, Father, your blessing,' but the pedantic 'May I have your blessing, Father.' And the Mortem tuam has been proposed by the USCCB as reading 'We announce your death, O Lord, and proclaim your resurrection until you come in glory.' A proposal to change the words of the Nicene Creed from the odd 'one in being' to the proper 'consubstantial,' which is closer to the Latin, failed.

Rome may yet reject some of the American alterations to the ICEL text and require a return to the original translation. As for me and my house, we shall stand with the traditional Missals and the Book of Common Prayer, which are vastly superior liturgical texts, theologically and aesthetically...