The words in the Catholic mass are changing, again. Over the protests of some liberal American

prelates, the Vatican and the US Conference of Catholic bishops recently approved changes to the

English translation of the central prayers of the liturgy. Granted, these modifications are not as dramatic

as when, nearly four decades ago, the Roman Missal of Paul VI replaced the Tridentine Mass and

allowed for the use of the vernacular. That transformation, influenced by the Liturgical movement, paved

the way for traditionalist schismatic groups like Archbishop Lefebvre's Society of St. Pius X. And while an

apostolic letter from last year supported use of the formal 1962 version of the Tridentine Mass upon

parishioners' requests, the new English translation mandates the return of formal language by insisting

upon better fidelity to the Latin Missal and, in so doing, emphasizes the hierarchal authority the Church

and the role of its representatives as mediators between God and the laity.

The reintroduction of formal, elevated language is undoubtedly part of an attempt to follow the instructions

of "Liturgiam authenticam," a guideline released by the Vatican in 2001 for how to translate the liturgy into

the vernacular. This guideline indicates that translation is not to be a work of "creative innovation," but

rather a "rendering the original texts faithfully and accurately into the vernacular language." The original

must be "translated…without omissions or additions in terms of their content, and without paraphrases or

glosses."

Some of the new changes are minor, revising only a word or two to closer adhere to the Latin version.

For instance, in the Nicene Creed, Catholics will no longer confess that Jesus is "one in Being with the

Father." Instead, Jesus is "consubstantial with the Father," a very literal translation of "consubstantialem

Patris" which introduces a vocabulary word that might well be found on a Catholic version of the GRE.

Additionally, in response to the priest's "The Lord be with you," the people will no longer say, "And also

with you" for "Et cum spiritu tuo." They will say, "And with your spirit." This change has larger

implications than just the use of advanced vocabulary. First, of modern-language translations, the

English is currently the only one that does not translate the word spiritu. Secondly, by recognizing the

priest's spirit instead of his ego, the congregation acknowledges that he is the representative of the

Church endowed with the Holy Spirit through ordination, and that the Spirit binds the hierarchy and laity,

the Church as one, under God.

Other changes involve the reinsertion of entire phrases that were glossed over. In the current Penitential

Act, the congregation recites, "I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in

what I have done and in what I have failed to do." This will change to "I have greatly sinned in my

thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through

my fault, through my most grievous fault." The repetition of "my fault" here, which is found in the Latin

text, highlights the stereotypical notion of Catholic guilt. And for guilty Catholics with their grievous faults,

salvation comes through the Church that mediates for them through the sacraments, especially those of

penance and the Eucharist, neither of which can be fully realized without the unique powers of a priest.

From the Catholic point of view, the spirit of aggiornamento (or updating the Church for modern times)

transformed the liturgy into a ritual accessible by all believers. Gone were the days of the faithful

performing private devotions to their favorite saints or reciting the rosary during Mass because they did

not understand Latin. Further developments in the early 80s allowed for lay Eucharistic ministers, lay

lectors, and altar girls, all of which helped advance the laity's "full, conscious and active participation" as

required by Vatican II's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. However, when my non-Catholic students

attend a Catholic liturgy for their field reports, they often comment on how the ritualized atmosphere

makes them feel unconnected, unwelcome, and uninvolved.

Indeed, the Catholic mass is a formal, scripted ritual with little liturgical room for the same kind of

spontaneity found in many Protestant gatherings. There is no priesthood of all believers in Catholicism,

even as its deaconate grows with the shortage of priests. Traditionally, the Holy Roman Catholic Church

and members of its hierarchy mediate for the faithful, and making the language of the Mass even more

ceremonial reinforces this arrangement.

The new translation will not be used immediately; the Vatican has instructed the US bishops to begin

preparing people for the change and does not expect to complete the full translation until 2010. I can't

help but wonder, though, if while learning the new words of the Creed, a Catholic schoolchild somewhere

will mishear the word "consubstantial," and recite "Constantinople with the Father."

References:

Summorum Pontificum

http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/b16SummorumPontificum.htm

Liturgiam authenticam

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20010507_liturgi

am-authenticam_en.html

Changes in the Parts of the People in the Revised Order of the Mass in the Roman Missal, Third Edition

http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/missalformation/peoplesparts.pdf

Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vatii_

const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html

Heather A. Hartel holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Iowa and works as an online adjunct professor for St. Leo University and the University of Maryland University College.