Sentire Cum Ecclesia

{I am very busy this weekend, and only have the comments on this week’s propers half finished. I thought I would post what we have, however, and if I get time I will complete the job with an update]

I had to make a decision about what I would do for this week’s commentary: The Solemnity of Christ the King (which is always on the last Sunday of the Church year) or the propers for the 34th Week of Ordinary Time? Well, I decided to go with the latter, since we will use these prayers for most of the rest of the week.

The Roman Missal

Entrance Antiphon (cf. Ps 85 (84):9)
The Lord speaks of peace to his people and his holy ones and to those who turn to him.

Collect
Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord,
that, striving more eagerly
to bring your divine work to fruitful completion,
they may receive in greater measure
the healing remedies your kindness bestows.
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
Accept, O Lord, the sacred offerings
which at your bidding we dedicate to your name
and, in order that through these gifts
we may become worthy of your love,
grant us unfailing obedience to your commands.
Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon (cf. Ps 117 (116):1, 2)
O praise the Lord, all you nations, for his merciful love towards us is great.

Or:
(cf. Mt 28:20)
Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age, says the Lord.

Prayer after Communion
We pray, almighty God,
that those to whom you give
the joy of participating in divine mysteries
may never be parted from you.
Through Christ our Lord.

Missale Romanum

Ant. ad introitum (cf. Ps 84:9)
Loquétur Dóminus pacem in plebem suam,
et super sanctos suos,
et in eos qui convertúntur ad ipsum.

Collecta
Excita, quaesumus, Dómine, tuórum fidélium voluntátes,
ut, divíni óperis fructum propénsius exsequéntes,
pietátis tuæ remédia maióra percípiant.
Per Dominum…

Super oblata
Súscipe, Dómine, sacra múnera,
quæ tuo nómini iussísti dicánda,
et, ut per ea tuæ pietáti reddámur accépti,
fac nos tuis semper oboedíre mandátis.
Per Christum.
Ant. ad communionem (Ps 116, 1-2)
Laudáte Dóminum, omnes gentes,
quóniam confirmáta est super nos misericórdia eius.

Vel: (cf. Mt 28:20)
Ecce ego vobíscum sum ómnibus diébus,
usque ad consummatiónem saeculi, dicit Dóminus.

Post communionem
Quaesumus, omnípotens Deus,
ut, quos divína tríbuis participatióne gaudére,
a te numquam separári permíttas.
Per Christum…

Old ICEL

Entrance Antiphon (cf. 85 (84):9)
The Lord speaks of peace to his holy people, to those who turn to him with all their heart.

Opening Prayer
Lord,
increase our eagerness to do your will
and help us to know the saving power of your love.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Prayer over the Gifts
God of love,
may the sacrifice we offer
in obedience to your command
renew our resolution to be faithful to your word.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon (cf. Psalm )
All you nations, praise the Lord, for steadfast is his kindly mercy to us.

Or: (Mark 11:23-24)
I, the Lord, am with you always, until the end of the world.

Prayer after Communion
Almighty God,
in this eucharist
you give us the joy of sharing your life.
Keep us in your presence.
Let us never be separated from you.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

COMMENTS

You can read all about “Stir Up Sunday” on Fr Zuhlsdorf’s blog, although I can’t find any in depth treatment on his blog of this week’s propers (he focuses on Christ the King!).

Looking at the Entrance Antiphon, it is from verse 9 (or 8 in most English bibles) from Psalm 85 (84), which was psalm from which the verse for the Introit was taken in the pre-1970 rite. Although in the latter case, the Introit uses Psalm 85:2 (or verse 1 in most English bibles), perhaps there is a connection here. As far as the new translation goes, it departs from the Revised Grail at numerous points, so as it really can’t be said to be the same. The old ICEL translation conflated “his people” and “his saints”, but the two are quite distinct in the Latin. Turning to the Lord “with all your heart” (as in Old ICEL) is a nice Hebrew phrase, but although “heart” is there in the Vulgate and the Revised Grail of the Psalm, the Hebrew of this text is unclear. The Latin antiphon in the Missal just has “eos qui convertúntur ad ipsum”, ie. “those who are turned toward /converted to him”.

The traditional title “Stir Up Sunday” comes from the opening word of the Collect, and hence the practice of preparing the Christmas puddings on this day. The Collect begins with the word “Excita” – yep, we get the word “excite” from this (are you getting excited?). In the Extraordinary form, “Excite” collects occur on the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, the First and Second Sundays in Advent, and the Friday of the Fourth Week in Advent. In the new Roman Missal, they occur on the 34th Week in Ordinary time (but not Sunday any more because of Christ the King), Thursday and Friday in the First Week of Advent and Thursday in the Second Week of Advent. In other words, no more “Excita” Collects on Sundays. What a pity, because they are really great prayers. When I was a Lutheran pastor, I really enjoyed praying, on the First Week of Advent, the rousing “Stir up your power, O Lord, and come”, which is now on the first Thursday of Advent. In this week’s Collect, it is not the power of the Lord which we are asking to be “stirred up”, but the “tuórum fidélium voluntátes”, ie. the will of God’s faithful people. The Old ICEL translation of this prayer wasn’t “exciting” at all, as it replaced “stir up” with “increase”. Dull, dull, dull. AND they got whose will wrong. It is our will that we are asking to be “stirred up”, not our “eagerness to do [God’s] will. How could they have gotten it so wrong? Well, all is corrected now.

Someone had to do this. It is just common sense. Can’t understand why it wasn’t a part of the original package. Each edition of the new corrected translation of the Roman Missal should have come with an electronic edition on CD. The Church is just soooo first millenium.

Well, with or without permission, Fr Richard Healy of Wollongong Diocese in NSW has done it (HT to Mr Mullins, in fact, for the link on the last blogwatch column – for the sake of this one link, I count all forgiven). Fr Healy has published, on his blog (which has the snappy title “The Ministry of Fr Richard Healy in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ” or www.frrick.blogspot.com), an e-edition of the Roman Missal in three forms: Kindle, epub and html. Last night I downloaded the epub version on my iphone, and it works a treat in ibooks.

There are a few glitches though with the links Fr Healy’s site. I tried ringing him about it today. Last night I noticed that the link to the html (hypertext) version isn’t working. Today, I tried to download the epub version for my Sony e-reader, and found that that link now is downloading the zip file for the html version! I had to access the epub version off my iphone. I haven’t tried the Kindle version, as I don’t have a Kindle…

Okay, I’ve probably lost you all by now, but the point is that this is a good thing. The only draw backs are

1) I don’t know how reliable the text is. This is a lot of work, and as amazing as Fr Healy’s achievement is, I have trouble believing that any single human being has spent all the time necessary to check that there are no errors in the e-text version

2) I doubt very, very much whether it has copyright clearance. There is probably good reason for having copyright on a thing like the Missal (to protect the text from those who would muck about with it), but we do need to have unhindered access to the text of the Missal, and these days that means electronic access too.

Kudos to Fr Healy!

I have just returned from the Intelligence Squared debate sponsored by the Wheeler Centre and the St James Ethics Centre on the topic “The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world”.

I found the experience deeply disturbing, and it only a sense of duty to you, dear reader, that has me writing anything at the moment, when I would rather be pondering the meaning of what I experienced.

I took detailed notes of the entire debate, but it would be tedious for both me and you to reproduce it here when you can wait for the recording to come online and listen to it yourself.

I will make a few observations however.

1) The Melbourne Town Hall was full. They audience was both old and young. This is a topic in which people were interested. They were not debating the proposition “Is the Baptist Church a force for good in the world”. I don’t mean to pick on the Baptists, I am just saying that whichever way you cut the question, it at least comes to this: there is recognition that the Catholic Church is a “force”. Julian McMahan, in his opening statements, asked what “a force” meant – with reference to the largest growing “religion” according to census: Jedi Knights. The Catholic Church has been here for 2000 years, and it stirs emotions today as strongly as it did right at the beginning and has always.

2) The speakers “for” the proposition came at the question, as was to be expected, from the perspective of the immense amount of good that the Church does in charitable works, welfare and social justice. They argued that whatever failings might be attributed to the Church, these works outweigh them, so that on balance the proposition must stand. But Julian McMahon began with the important step of mentioning the “God” word: the Church is the People of God. “It is what it is” because they believe in Jesus who was divine, and “Jesus’ central them was that love is the driving force behind the authentic development of the person and society”. This angle was very popular with the audience – Sr Libby Rogerson spoke powerfully of her own experience in East Timor, Africa etc. But here is the question: it is true that the love of Christians has always been the greatest witness to the truth of the Gospel (“See how they love eachother”), but do we wrong-foot ourselves when we present this charity towards our neighbour as the Gospel itself?

3) The speakers against the motion based their arguments on three themes: feminism (Summers), anti-authoritarianism (Kennedy), and sexual libertinism (Marr). Marr was really caustic. Summers arguments were basically that the Church caused poverty by its teaching on abortion and birth control. Kennedy demanded the Church be run by “the people”. Marr twisted the Church’s teachings on sexuality into something that I couldn’t even recognised. But it is instructive that these three arguments are not about whether the Church is a force for good in the world – it is rather about whether or not I as an individual might feel in anyway restricted by the teachings of the Catholic Church. These topics are the same topics of debate that arose in the 1960s and have been with us as a part of the underlying Zeitgeist ever since. They have strong appeal to a great majority of people today, old or young. Because the Church does not endorse, but rather opposes, these themes, She is condemned without a hearing.

4) Catholics who fail to defend the Church’s teachings when the Church is under attack – perhaps in the vain hope that they will gain sympathy – do themselves, the Church and the Gospel no favours. At one point Marr asked the “For” panel point blank “Put up your hand if you think it is a sin for someone who has AIDS to use a condom.” Of course, the phrasing of the question was designed as a trap, but I take my hat off to Julian McMahon for at least stating that he agrees with the Church’s teaching that it is a sin to use artificial contraception. But the other two speakers (on the “For” side) rejected the Church’s position on this matter. They argued that the Church isn’t the hierarchy, and that it is what the people do that make the Church a force for good in the world. It is not well understood, even by Catholics, that it is precisely the unified governance and teaching of the Church’s pastors that holds the Church together. They live in a dream world where they think that all the good which the Catholic Church does in the world would still be possible if everyone were simply left to do what they felt best in their private conscience without the assistance of the authoritative magisterium.

5) Finally, I was very, very uncomfortable at some points. It is not a nice thing to be among a crowd of people loudly cheering and jeering against your community. I applaud the brave people who got up and spoke on behalf of the Church after the main speakers.

Two last comments. At one point, Peter Kennedy referred to the appointment today of Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett as the Apostolic Administrator of Brisbane. “Jarrett is well known as an ultra, ultra, ultra-conservative bishop. George Pell has enormous authority and will endeavour to put people like Jarrett in every diocese. There is no meeting between the people and the hierarchy.”

The last speaker of all was David Marr. He emphasised the world-wide dissent of Catholics from the teaching of “the hierarchy” (the magisterium). He spoke of the “miracle of silence and the miracle of obedience”. “Why do they just sit in the pews and shut up whenever some old priest starts laying into poofters? When are all these good Catholics that the “for” side has been talking about going to get rowdy, really rowdy, and start speaking up?” This comment was met with thunderous applause by the crowd, even by those around me who I know were Catholics.

Finally, the vote. There was a “pre-event poll” taken, as people entered the Hall. This gave 35% “for”, 34% “against”, and 31% “undecided”. The vote after the debate resulted in: 34% “for”, 59% “against”, and 7% “undecided”. Basically, Catholics (or Catholic sympathisers) made up about one third of the crowd. They did not find the “against” arguments convincing. But those who were “against” when they came into the room were not dissuaded by the Catholic side’s arguments, and those who were undecided were convinced by the arguments – such as they were – of the “against” side.

So my final observation after attending this event is that if next year’s “Year of Faith” is to mean anything, or to achieve anything, then we – the Catholic Church from top to bottom – will need to embark upon the “New Evangelisation” with a vigorous determination, and without any illusions about the battle before us. We cannot live in a dream world: if the Church is a force for good in the world – and I truly believe that it is – then we need to be aware that there are other, very influential, forces that are aligned against it. If it were not for the promise of Christ – that the Gates of Hell will not prevail against his Church built upon the Rock of Peter – then I would indeed be fearful for the future of the Catholic Church. But instead we hear Christ’s words: “Do not be afraid; put out into the deep.”

Here is an event Melbourne Catholics might like to get along to:

Intelligence Squared Debate: Is the Catholic Church a Force for Good in the World
Melbourne Town Hall, 6:30PM – 8:30PM, Tuesday 15 November 2011

For almost two millennia, the Catholic Church has been the author and repository of some of the highest ideals of humanity. Yet, as humanity is flawed, so is the Church. Few would deny that the Catholic Church has dark chapters in its history. So much is expected of an institution that claims to bridge the sacred and the secular. Do these darker moments unfairly obscure the light? Or is the Catholic Church simply the most ancient of wolves in sheep’s clothing?

Speaking for the proposition will be Helen Coonan, Julian McMahon and Sister Libby Rogerson. Speaking against the proposition will be Father Peter Kennedy, Anne Summers and David Marr.

Presenters

Helen Coonan
Senator Helen Coonan was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing New South Wales from July 1996 to August 2011.

Julian McMahon
Julian McMahon is a barrister and member of the Melbourne Catholic Lawyers Association.

Libby Rogerson
Sister Libby Rogerson IBVM is a Loreto sister currently working with Mary Ward International Australia, the Loreto Sisters’ aid, development and volunteer organisation.

Peter Kennedy
Father Peter Kennedy is a former Catholic priest who was forced to stand down from his position as parish priest in the South Brisbane diocese of St Mary’s in 2009.

Anne Summers
Dr Anne Summers AO is a best-selling author, journalist and thought-leader with a long career in politics, the media, business and the non-government sector in Australia, Europe and the United States.

David Marr
David Marr is the multi-award-winning author of Patrick White: a Life and The High Price of Heaven, and co-author with Marian Wilkinson of Dark Victory.

Of course, this was done before, disasterously, in the UK, when the Catholic speakers just were not up to the eloquence of the opposition (notably Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens). I think that debate was lost simply on the grounds of oratorical skill and entertainment. Hopefully that will not be the case this time around, as at least two of the speakers on behalf of the Church are professionals orators. Nevertheless, David Marr and Anne Summers are also very skilled debators, and it won’t be easy. I have also noted that the Catholic side has not been weighted with experts in either history or theology, but social justice (in particular Sr Rogerson and Julian McMahon). Perhaps that makes sense in this context, where the question is about the “good” the Church has done. Still, the Church has been a “force for good” in our culture in ways far beyond its charitable and social justice actions.

Just what “Father” Peter Kennedy will bring to the debate, we will have to wait and see.

Go here to book.

[UPDATE: I hadn’t read Father Zuhlsdorf’s comments on these propers before I wrote the following post. The comparison of his ideas and mine might be interesting. He is a much better latinist than me, and also knows more of the history of the texts:
Collect here and here and here
Super Oblata here
Post-Communion here]

I am running a little late with this commentary, and I started with the hope that it would be short, but instead, it grew into a rather long post.

First, I have made a quick check of the online resources and apps with regard to the new translation of the missal.

The Universalis app and web page (British?) have been updated to the new order of the mass – you can even download an e-book format of the mass from there. Unfortunately, while the Universalis app neatly incorporates the proper prefaces and Eucharistic prayers into the order of service, it doesn’t (at this point any way) incorporate the proper antiphons and collects etc. Hopefully, one day, they will do this, and then Universalis will be all you need.

The Magnificat app and web page (American?) have been faithfully using the old ICEL order and propers all the way along, but if you download the resources for the First Sunday in Advent onwards, voila! There is the new order of mass and all the new propers. The only thing that doesn’t quite work here is the Psalm response and Gospel Acclamation, which are still in a different translation to our. We have to wait for a universal lectionary translation for that one, I think.

Then I went and checked on what was happening with our local boys, Liturgyhelp.com. I use this quite a bit, as our parish has a subscription to it (it ain’t cheap!). It is very helpful as an online resource, as it uses all the translations we have been using, providing all the propers and all the readings (not, note you, a full order of mass though for some reason…). BUT… when I clicked on the First Sunday in Advent, what did I find? OLD ICEL!!! I clicked on into the future, and, Sunday after Sunday, week after week, it’s still the outdated, outmoded, obsolete, defunct translation! Now, perhaps this is something they are working on at the moment. To be fair, they do have fourteen days to fix this little problem….

Anyway, on with the show. Here are the propers for this week:

The Roman Missal

Entrance Antiphon (cf. Jeremiah 29:11,12,14)
The Lord said: I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction.
You will call upon me, and I will answer you,
and I will lead back your captives from every place.

Collect
Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God,
the constant gladness of being devoted to you,
for it is full and lasting happiness
to serve with constancy
the author of all that is good.
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
Grant, O Lord, we pray,
that what we offer in the sight of your majesty
may obtain for us the grace of being devoted to you
and gain us the prize of everlasting happiness.
Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon (cf. Psalm 72 (73):28)
To be near God is my happiness,
to place my hope in God the Lord.

Or:
(Mark 11:23-24)
Amen, I say to you: Whatever you ask in prayer,
believe that you will receive,
and it shall be given to you, says the Lord.

Prayer after Communion
We have partaken of the gifts of this sacred mystery,
humbly imploring, O Lord,
that what your Son commanded us to do
in memory of him
may bring us growth in charity.
Through Christ our Lord.

Missale Romanum

Ant. ad introitum (Ier 29, 11.12.14)
Dicit Dóminus:
Ego cógito cogitatiónes pacis et non afflictiónis;
invocábitis me, et ego exáudiam vos,
et redúcam captivitátem vestram de cunctis locis.

Collecta
Da nobis, qu?sumus, Dómine Deus noster,
in tua semper devotióne gaudére,
quia perpétua est et plena felícitas,
si bonórum ómnium iúgiter serviámus auctóri.
Per Dominum…

Super oblata
Concéde, quaesumus, Dómine,
ut óculis tuae maiestátis munus oblátum
et grátiam nobis devotiónis obtíneat,
et efféctum beátae perennitátis acquírat.
Per Christum…

Ant. ad communionem (Ps 72, 28)
Mihi autem adhaerére Deo bonum est,
pónere in Dómino Deo spem meam.
Vel: (Mc 11, 23-24)
Amen dico vobis, quidquid orántes pétitis,
crédite quia accipiétis, et fiet vobis, dicit Dóminus.

Post communionem
Súmpsimus, Dómine, sacri dona mystérii,
humíliter deprecántes,
ut, quae in sui commemoratiónem
nos Fílius tuus fácere praecépit,
in nostrae profíciant caritátis augméntum.
Per Christum…

Old ICEL

Entrance Antiphon (cf. Jeremiah 29:11,12,14)
The Lord says: my plans for you are peace and not disaster;
when you call to me, I will listen to you, and I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.

Opening Prayer
Father of all that is good,
keep us faithful in serving you,
for to serve you is our lasting joy.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God,
may the gifts we offer
increase our love for you
and bring us to eternal life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon (cf. Psalm 72 (73):28)

It is good for me to be with the Lord and to put my hope in him.

Or: (Mark 11:23-24)
I tell you solemnly, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours, says the Lord.

Prayer after Communion
Father,
may we grow in love
by the eucharist we have celebrated
in memory of the Lord Jesus,
who is Lord for ever and ever.

COMMENTS

There will be a surprise at the start of this week’s mass: an Entrance Antiphon that isn’t from the Psalms. It is from Jeremiah 29:11–14, which, in most English translations, reads something like this:

11 For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, 14 I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. (The Revised Standard Version)

Clearly what we have in this week’s Entrance Antiphon is an abbreviation of these verses. In the Nova Vulgata they read as follows (I have highlighted the bits that go to make up our Antiphon):

11 Ego enim scio cogitationes, quas ego cogito super vos, ait Dominus, cogitationes pacis et non afflictionis, ut dem vobis posteritatem et spem.
12 Et invocabitis me et ibitis; et orabitis me, et ego exaudiam vos.
13 Quaeretis me et invenietis, cum quaesieritis me in toto corde vestro.
14 Et inveniar a vobis, ait Dominus, et reducam captivitatem vestram et congregabo vos de universis gentibus et de cunctis locis, ad quae expuli vos, dicit Dominus; et reverti vos faciam ad locum, de quo transmigrare vos feci.

So you can see that it is a bit of a scissor and paste job. I don’t know the history of this antiphon and its use prior to the Missal of Paul VI, so I can’t say anything about that. I am not exactly sure why this antiphon has been chosen for this time of year either; perhaps it is an eschatological theme? One interesting thing is that instead of “scio cogitationes”, the Antiphon has “cogito cogitationes”. “Cogitatio” is “a thinking, considering, deliberating” (LS) so it is as reasonable translation of the Hebrew as “plans” is in the RSV. But whereas the Hebrew, the RSV and the Vulgate (both Nova and Clementine) have “scio” (“I know”), our Antiphon has “cogito” (“I think”) giving us a clumsy “I think thoughts”. Perhaps this is a result of the cutting and pasting (“ego scio cogitationes pacis” would not have worked), but I do think it rather ugly in English. Forgive me for going on about it, but even the old Gregorian Missal (also used by the Simple English Propers project) recognises this and has “I am pondering thoughts of peace”. The new ICEL is absolutely spot on accurate, and maintains perfectly the double use of the stem “cogito”, but I wish they had found something better. Old ICEL was definitely influenced by the original Hebrew of Jeremiah 29:11 (and majority English translations), in giving “my plans for you are peace etc.”, but admittedly, this wasn’t a translation of the Latin antiphon. The new Missal is not adverse to straying from the Latin for the sake of keeping with the new Revised Grail when the antiphons are from the Psalms – perhaps they could have permitted themselves to stray a bit here too… Another point on which one may quibble is the phrase “your captives”. This is, of course, a correct translation of “captivitatem vestram”, but it might sound like “captives” which the Israelites have taken, rather than “captives” who are Israelites. Note that few English translations translate the Hebrew word here as “captives”, but rather as “fortunes”. The Vulgate is a literal translation of the Hebrew, however. Old ICEL fudged right over this phrase.

On to the Collect. In the Collect we see a theme that emerges in several places in this week’s propers – in the new English translation anyway – that of “happiness” arising out of “devotion” to God (it occurs again in the Prayer over the Offerings; see also the first Communion Antiphon). The Latin actually uses different words for “happiness”: “felicitas” in the Collect, “beata perennitas” in the Super Oblata (literally “blessed everlastingness” – the new translation turns the noun and adjective around to result in “everlasting happiness”), and “bonum” (“good”) in the Communion Antiphon. The translators follow the form of the Latin Collect exactly, but this does give rise to a rather awkward “it is” expression, when a simpler translation might have been:

for to serve with constancy
the author of all that is good
is full and lasting happiness.

The old translation conflated “to rejoice” (“gaudere”) with “felicitas” (effectively leaving the latter out entirely), and put the final phrase “bonórum ómnium auctóri” (“author of all good things”, translated inaccurately as “Father of all that is good”) into the address at the beginning. All in all, Old ICEL was not really a translation at all. Note also how the overused term of address “Father” instead of “Lord our God” has crept in here to as usual. The “O” before “Lord our God” is there because of the strong vocal stress on “pray” which precedes it. This is standard in the new translation. The only other time when the vocative “O” is used is when the term of address is a single syllable, such as “God” (becomes “O God”) and “Lord” (becomes “O Lord”).

We have already said something about the Prayer over the Gifts. Old ICEL wasn’t a translation of this prayer. We see the usual things dropped: “grace”, “majesty”, and “devotion” (the latter becoming “our love for you”). In the old translation “blessed everlastingness” became “eternal life”. The new translation puts greater stress on the “blessedness/happiness” of this “everlastingness” than the old did, thus connecting it with the thought of the Collect. I don’t know about using the term “prize” for “effectus” (the Latin asks that we “acquire the effect of blessed everlastingness”), but that does fit with the “race” imagery that we have seen in the propers for this time of year to this point, so I won’t quibble about that. Non-Catholics will be scandalised by the theology here: that our offerings of bread and wine might obtain this eternal reward. The prayer in fact does a bit of a “thought jump”. Bread and wine of course have no such power as an offering to achieve this effect in themselves.The full thought is that when God takes these gifts which we offer (bread and wine) and transforms them into the Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood, then they will have the power to “acquire” for us “the effect of blessed everlastingness”.

In new translation, we see the word “happiness” spring up for the third time – this time translating “bonum est”. The old translation had “be with” for “adhaerére”, the new one has “to be near”. “Adhaere” actually means “to cleave or stick to a thing” (LS), which is stronger than either translation. I don’t know what would have been wrong with “to cling to God”. Oh, I was forgetting! When we check the Revised Grail version of Psalm 73:28, we find:

To be near God is my happiness;
I have my hope in the Lord God.

That explains the first line, but the new Missal doesn’t follow the RG in the next line – unhappily I think. Note the way in which “to place my hope in God the Lord” is left hanging? Indeed that is exactly how the Latin is written but the Psalmist’s style of parallelism shows that “bonum est” actually governs both halves of this verse. Thus:

It is good for me to cleave to God,
to put my hope in God the Lord.

Actually, had they gone this way, I could have understood another odd little detail here: why did they use “God the Lord” for “Dominus Deus” instead of “the Lord God” as in the RG?

Anyway, there we are. The second Communion Antiphon is, as usual, taken from the New Testament, this time Mark 11:23-24. Actually, it is really only verse 24, with the “Amen dico vobis” from the beginning of verse 23 thrown in. Old ICEL used “I tell you solemnly”; most English translations would use “Truly I tell you”; the new translation preserves the original Aramaic “Amen”, which was also kept both in the Greek and Latin New Testaments. There is a significant difference between the old translation and the new with the tense of “receive”: the old translation had “believe that you have received it“, whereas the new translation accurately translates the Latin future tense “that you will receive“. It seems here that there was some variation in the Greek manuscripts of this passage. The RSV went with the aorist (past or present) tense, but the English Standard Version (a contender for the new lectionary translation) goes with the future. The Vulgate definitely went with the future tense, and that is the tense in the Missale Romanum, so the translation here is accurate.

Finally (yes, this is a very, very long post), the Prayer after Communion. This is a very strange “prayer” even in the Latin, because it doesn’t have a petition. It simply tells God what we have done, and the hope in which we did it! Old ICEL “rectified” this “problem” by turning it into a petition. Old ICEL also (as usual) replaced “this sacred mystery” with “this Eucharist”. It also talks about the Eucharist which “we have celebrated” rather than the mystery of which “we have partaken”. Finally, it leaves out the line “nos Fílius tuus fácere praecépit”, “your Son commanded us to do”. Was that superfluous, do you think? The only other thing (characteristic of the new translation) is that “caritas” is actually translated as “charity”, rather than the overused word “love”.

My new Anima Education course starts on Monday Night:

“On your Mark!”

A quick dive into the Gospel of St Mark for Year B

Starting in Advent this year, our Gospel readings at Sunday Mass will be taken (largely) from St Mark. St Mark’s Gospel is so short, it can be read in one sitting! But it is packed with exciting events and insights into the ministry and person of Jesus. This short five-night course will give you an overview of the Gospel as well as diving into some deeper points of interest, and give you a starting block for a richer engagement with the Sunday Gospels in the coming year.

10 hours of interactive lecture/discussion (5 x 2 hour sessions)

Monday nights 6:30pm to 8:30pm November 7, 14, 21 and December 5 and 12

Mary Glowrey House 132 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy (oppositeCarltonGardens)

Total cost $15 per night ($75 for the whole course)

Enrol and enquiries: 0400 978 938 or dschutz@cam.org.au

Sponsored by the Anima Women’s Network and the Catholic Women’s League of Victoria and Wagga Wagga

There is great diversity in our Church – legitimate diversity, even within the Roman rite. As a small example, my experience this morning: First I attended the morning mass at St Phillip’s, Blackburn North, where Fr Dillon celebrated a Low Mass for the Dead in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. I downloaded the iMass app on my iPhone to guide me along the way (although the rubrics in the iMass don’t tell me when to sit, stand and kneel: can readers please give me a bit of advice on this?). It was, of course, all in Latin except for the closing prayers, and much of it inaudible. I reflected on how in the East the Divine Liturgy is shrouded from sight by the Iconastasis, while in the West a similar impulse of respect for this great mystery led to an audible shrouding in silence.

Then I hopped in my little blue car and tootled off to St Benedict’s in Burwood, where the Archbishop was opening and blessing the new Seminary building for the Missionaries of God’s Love. As fits with their charismatic charism, it was all guitars and clapping to the singing – quite a contrast with my earlier experience (it wasn’t, of course, a mass). Yet the two common denominators with both experiences was: young men in the priesthood or answering the call to the priesthood, and orthodox Catholicism. Thus we see two complementary faces of the future of the Church here in Australia.

And now, here are the propers for the coming week from the new Roman Missal:

Entrance Antiphon:
(cf. Psalm 87 (88):3)
Let my prayer come into your presence.
Incline your ear to my cry for help, O Lord.

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 in loving devotion.
Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon
(cf. Psalm 22 (23):1-2)
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose,
near restful waters he leads me.

Or:
(Luke 24:35)
The disciples recognised the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

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.

Latin

Antiphona ad Introitum:
(cf. Psalm 87 (88):3)
Intret orátio mea in conspéctu tuo;
inclína aurem tuam ad precem meam, Dómine.

Collecta
Omnípotens et miséricors Deus,
univérsa nobis adversántia propitiátus exclúde,
ut, mente et córpore páriter expedíti,
quae tua sunt líberis méntibus exsequámur.
Per Dominum…

Super oblata
Sacrifíciis praeséntibus, Dómine,
quaesumus, inténde placátus,
ut, quod passiónis Fílii tui mystério gérimus,
pio consequámur afféctu.
Per Christum…

Ant. ad communionem
(cf. Psalm 22 (23):1-2)
Dóminus regit me, et nihil mihi déerit;
in loco páscuae ibi me collocávit,
super aquam refectiónis educávit me.
Vel:
(Luke 24:35)
Cognovérunt discípuli Dóminum Iesum in fractióne panis.

Post communionem
Grátias tibi, Dómine, reférimus sacro múnere vegetáti,
tuam cleméntiam implorántes,
ut, per infusiónem Spíritus tui,
in quibus caeléstis virtus introívit,
sinceritátis grátia persevéret.
Per Christum…

Old ICEL

Entrance Antiphon:
(cf. Psalm 87 (88):3)
Let my prayer come before you, Lord;
listen, and answer me.

Opening Prayer
God of power and mercy,
protect us from all harm.
Give us freedom of spirit
and health in mind and body
to do your work on earth.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Prayer over the Gifts
God of mercy,
in this Eucharist we proclaim the death of the Lord.
Accept the gifts we present
and help us follow him with love,
for he is Lord for ever and ever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon
(cf. Psalm 22 (23):1-2)
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
In green pastures he gives me rest,
he leads me beside the water of peace.

Or:
(Luke 24:35)
The disciples recognised the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

Prayer after Communion
Lord,
we thank you for the nourishment you give us through your holy gift.
Pour out your Spirit upon us
and in the strength of this food from heaven
keep us single-minded in your service.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

COMMENTS

Not a great deal that is new to comment on in this week’s propers. We see the same translation idiosyncrasies in both Old and New ICEL. The Entrance Antiphon in the new Missal is from the Revised Grail Psalter, with the addition of “for help, O Lord” at the end. The antiphon in the Missale Romanum is not quite the same as the verse in the New Vulgate which has “Intret in conspectu tuo oratio mea” instead of the Missal’s “Intret orátio mea in conspéctu tuo”. The “Dominum” is there in the Missale Romanum (hence that addition), but I am not sure why the new Missal added “for help”, as it isn’t really there in the Latin (which uses “prayer” (“prex”) rather than “cry”). If any change was to be made to the RG translation, a simple exchange of “prayer” for “cry” could have been used. In any case, the second line is closer to the words of the Psalm than the Old ICEL’s “listen, and answer me”. It retains the Hebrew anthropomorphism of God “inclining” his “ear”, which I think is a rather nice and strong image.

Once again, as last week, we get “Almighty and merciful God” instead of “God of power and mercy”. Once again the Collect, in the original Latin and in the new ICEL, has images of running the race, asking that we can “pursue” “unhindered” the “things that are [God’s]” (“quae tua”). Old ICEL completely obliterated this image as usual, and “your work on earth” again unreasonably narrowed the meaning of “quae tua”. While the new translation is accurate, I do think that the two phrases beginning “in” (“in mind and body” and “in freedom of heart”) could have been varied for greater understanding and better cadence along the lines of

so that, unhindered in mind and body alike,
we may pursue with hearts set free
the things that are yours.

In the Prayer over the Offerings, the notions of “sacrifice” and “mystery” are restored to the English translation. “[I]n this Eucharist we proclaim the death of the Lord” simply is not a translation of “quod passiónis Fílii tui mystério gérimus”. The “passion of [the] Son” is more than just “the death of the Lord”, as it embraces the whole Paschal Mystery, and that Paschal “Mystery” is celebrated in the “mystery” of the Sacrament (note that the Greeks have always called the sacraments the “mysteries”).

The first Communion antiphon is exactly the translation in the Revised Grail, which, to be honest, is not a strict translation of the Latin text. The second Communion antiphon from Luke 24:35 is exactly the same as in the old translation and both are good translations of the Latin (not much that could go wrong in such a simple sentence).

Finally, in the Prayer after Communion, both the Old and New ICEL use “nourish” to translate “vegeto”. It is funny that in English, “vegetate” has come to mean lying dormant and inactive, whereas in Latin it means “to arouse, enliven, quicken, animate, invigorate” (LS). Any of those words might have been stronger than “nourish”, which I think is a little overused in the new translation. The prayer really doesn’t refer to “food from heaven”, as in Old ICEL, but “heavenly strength (“virtus”)”, nor does it ask so much for “single-mindedness” in God’s service (Old ICEL) but rather the “grace of sincerity” (or “integrity” as in the New ICEL). Note once again that the word “grace” was not translated in Old ICEL.

A final word. Fr Corrigan, on his blog, commented about the various printed editions of the new Roman Missal, and addressed the question of “phrasing”. This is, without doubt, an important consideration for priests as they begin to use the new corrected translation. It strikes me that this is the case with the Post-Communion prayer, which has many separate ideas in it. Of course, many priests will read it off without giving attention to the sense of the prayer, but if you do, Father, what will you emphasise in order to get the sense across to people who – at this stage – don’t have printed missals before them?

May I suggest:

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.

(BTW, Fr Corrigan might like to change his “about me” page, which still proclaims him as a “transitional deacon”. He has well and truly transitted!).

Some of you will be familiar with Fr Paul Turner, the Parish Priest of St Munchin Parish in Cameron, Missouri, and a facilitator for the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) who attended meetings by the Bishops as they worked on the revised Roman Missal translation. You may know his books on the liturgy, especially the cheap and excellent little manual introducing the new liturgy, “Understanding the Revised Mass Texts”. Fr Paul was here a few years ago, and now he is back.

Yesterday I attended with about twenty others his two hour seminar at the Cardinal Knox Centre organised by the Archbishop’s Office of Evangelisation. This seminar was an introduction to the new Roman Missal – a kind of exploration of the contents pages. Fr Paul has an in-depth knowledge of the new missal, and is even aware of small details such as the addition to the prayer “for an end to storms” of prayers – specifically for use in Australia – “in times of bushfires”, “in time of drought”, “in time of flood” and “in time of cyclones”. He wondered at small details such as why we would have “times of bushfires” (plural), but “time” of flood, drought and cyclone. He also pointed out the amusing error in the index of the missal, which references the prayer “in time of drought” as “in time of draught”… (beer? sheep?)

For those who missed this workshop, Fr Paul will be back again next Monday for another two hour seminar specifically looking closely at the Third Eucharistic Prayer. For full details, see here.

Sometimes we need to tell good news stories.

In these  last two days, I have found great joy and happiness in celebrating the Sacred Liturgy at the parish of St Phillip’s (60 Junction Road, Blackburn North). I wish to commend the people of St Phillip’s for embracing the couragous example set by their new (and young) priest, Fr Nicholas Dillon. I want everyone to know that here something very special is happening.

Yesterday, All Saints Day, was a public holiday in Melbourne (not for the Feast, but for a completely different kind of festival). The people at Blackburn North took the opportunity to turn out in droves for the 9am Mass – there were as many there as there would usually be for a Sunday morning mass. And indeed the mass was celebrated with all the usual gusto of a Sunday Mass, as befits this high festival: a fully chanted/sung mass, with hymns to boot.

Today, if possible, it was even better. Fr Dillon had mass sheets printed (see below) with the Introit (sung by all, led confidently by Fr Dillon), chant Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei (in Greek and Latin as appropriate), hymn by Blessed John Henry Newman, and Salve Regina sung at the end. I marvelled that so many members of the parish remembered all these chants and were able to sing them unaccompanied. The memory has not died, and is living again!

Here is Fr Dillon at the lectern, and the mass sheet he provided. If you are yearning for the Divine Liturgy of the Roman Rite, and have been frustrated in your search, here you will find joy! (click the pictures for full size)