The New Translation of the Roman Missal

Many people have heard that there is a new translation of the Roman Missal that will be implemented in the United States (and other countries) in the near future. However, I have found that there is a lot of confusion as to what that this new translation is all about. I have heard some people hail it as the second coming of the messiah, and others view it as an attempt to undo Vatican II. So I would like to use this article as a cursory explanation of these upcoming changes.

To begin with, what is the Roman Missal? No, it’s not some top-secret arms initiative hidden in a silo underneath St. Peter’s Basilica. The Roman Missal, in simple terms, is the official book that contains all the prayers used in the celebration of Mass. The “definitive” version of the Roman Missal is the Latin text. This is because the official language of the Church is Latin. That is to say, just as the official language of the International Business is English, the Church also has an official language. All official church documents (including prayers) are written in Latin, and then translated into other languages by official Church committees. In the case of the liturgy, the committee responsible for providing the English translation of liturgical prayer is called the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, or ICEL (commonly pronounced eye-cell). ICEL has numerous people who work on translations, consisting of both clergy and lay people.

In the year 2000 the Latin text of the Roman Missal was revised and promulgated by Pope John Paul II. ICEL has been working on developing an English translation for several years since then. In the process of revising the English text, ICEL decided to look at the entire text of the Liturgy, and not just the areas that were revised in Latin. Their goal in doing this is to make the English translation as close to the authoritative Latin text as possible. Some people believe in doing this there is an attempt to undo the second Vatican Council, which gave permission to use some vernacular (i.e. the local language of the people). What many people don’t realize is that Vatican II did not state that the vernacular language was to be exclusively used. In fact, it stated that Latin should be preserved in the liturgy. To alleviate fears that there is a secret movement to unravel the Second Vatican Council, it should be noted that the text being translated from Latin into English is not the 1962 Roman Missal (the one often referred to as the Pre-Vatican Mass) but the Novus Ordo (or the New Mass) that was given to us after Vatican II.

So there is no rational reason to believe that the Pope, bishops, ICEL or any other Vatican authority is trying to undo Vatican II. Rather, this translation is trying to bring our English text more in-line with the official Latin text. Why is this important? It is important precisely because we are a universal Church. If we are universal, our prayer should be universal, and we should try to the best of our ability to express a common thought in prayer. Whether you pray in Spanish, English, Latin, Russian or any other language, during the liturgy we are united in the same prayer. But, as happens with any text that is translated from one language to another, there are often different ways of translating a text. This is where some of the controversy comes in regarding the “new translation” of the Roman Missal that will be used in English speaking countries in the near future.

In translating this edition of the Roman Missal, ICEL has changed many of the phrases that we have become so accustomed to hearing in the English-speaking world. One common example is when the priest says “The Lord be with you” we often respond “and also with you.” In the new translation we will be responding “and with your spirit.” Why is this?

First, to be sure this is not Rome attempting to be heavy handed with English speaking people. In fact, ICEL, who revised the text, is composed of English speaking bishops. Rather, what ICEL has noted is that in some of the translations that we have been using, we have not been as faithful to the Latin text as we could (and perhaps should) have been. So in order to enhance our sense of unity with other Catholics throughout the world, ICEL has revised the translation to more closely follow the Latin text. This not only brings us into closer unity with the official Latin text, but with other languages as well. For example, with the previously cited example, many Spanish speakers will immediately recognize that this new translation brings the English text into greater unity with the Spanish text, which uses the phrase “y con tu espiritu.” Both of these closely match the official Latin text “Et cum spiritu tuo.”

This new translation therefore should not be seen as an attempt to abrogate English or any vernacular language from the liturgy. Rather it is meant to be unifying. That is, it is meant to bring us to a closer conformity with the official text of the church, and with all other vernacular translations of the liturgy. This notion of unity is a central concept in Catholicism. So rather than view this translation with skepticism, as many people have, we should view it with great joy. It should not be seen as an attempt to abandon the second Vatican council. Rather, we should see it as an attempt being made by English speakers to become more united with the worldwide community when we are at prayer.

Certainly maintaining this unity is not always easy, and does require work. Some people may find certain words or phrases are difficult to pronounce, or use words that are unfamiliar. But these struggles provide great opportunity for knowledge. We may learn a new word or two, or perhaps even have a certain element of our faith brought to a deeper level. In other cases, we may also be reminded that the liturgy is about something bigger than our individual or even communal preferences. It is a prayer that does not belong to any one person or even to any one time. Rather, it is a prayer that transcends all time, and all cultures. This means that at times, in order to preserve our unity, we may have to put cultural preferences aside, so that we can look at people from all cultures and all times and enter into solidarity with them. When we do this, we will be able to worship our one true God with one voice.