Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is with great joy that I learned today that the Vatican has approved the English Translation for the United States of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal. The full text of the press release can be found at the U.S. Bishops’ website by clicking here.
The date for the implementation of the new MIssal is set for the first Sunday of Advent, 2011, just about a year and a half away. This gives us plenty of time to do a full and proper education for the parish on the new Missal, which has some changes in some of the English texts and responses we’ve used for so many years.
On occasion, the Church updates the texts for the Mass, and issues them in the (still) universal language of the Church, which is Latin. Since the Novus Ordo Mass was implemented after Vatican II, there have been three editions of the Missal.
Each major language group then has to translate the texts to the vernacular language, and submit those translations back to Rome for approval. This is done so that the vernacular translations can be as close as possible to the meaning and if possible the poetry of the Latin texts.
The English version we have been using was approved for ‘temporary’ use for the first edition of the Missal, all the way back in the 1970’s. The translations were sometimes in more of a paraphrase style, rather than including as much of the sacred Theology and beautiful poetry of the Latin prayers. Several years ago, the Vatican informed the English translation committee that they needed to work very hard and get this newest edition (third edition) of the Mass translated quickly and properly.
Their hard work has finally been approved for use, and now we start the process of bringing this new, beautiful, theological, and poetical translation to our people.
I will be posting more on the new translation, on our parish efforts to learn the new translation, and how this moves us to a greater and deeper love and relationship with our Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
(I am almost giddy with excitement!)