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Fathers Know Best
(I write this post in full recognition that most of you don't give a shit.)
SO. There is a new English translation of the Roman Missal, and it'll start being used in Catholic churches across America this coming Sunday (I think).
The Roman Missal is the stuff that the priest and the laypeople say during mass. If you've ever been in a Catholic church and gotten creeped out that everyone was chanting the same words at the same time, this is where the words came from.
Pre-Vatican II, everything was done in Latin. When each group of bishops came up with their own translation, people rejoiced - they could understand the mass for themselves!
But now the United States Council of Catholic Bishops has decided that their translation at the time of Vatican II was too rushed, too "simple," not reverent enough. By not only translating the Latin to English, but also making it easier to understand, many worried that the text was too "down to Earth." So they've added words like "consubstantial," changed "cup" to "chalice," etc.
Here's a sample quote that shows us dwelling the fact that it's a person's own fault if they sin, as if Catholicism didn't emphasize this enough.
We go from I confess to almighty God,
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that 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;
to
I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that 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;
It seems pretty absurd to me that making things easier to understand and not as elevated somehow sullies the reverence of people's faith. One of the most attractive parts of Christianity to me is that one is not worshiping a God who has never cried, never suffered, never experienced extreme pain/anguish. It's the coolest thing (to me) that God became an actual person.
Works of Aaron Sorkin aside, elitism doesn't usually sit well with me, and I am not looking forward to this change. I think it is yet another example of the church hierarchy's inability to listen to and respect the laity. They are forever the paternalistic shepherds who truly believe that they, and they alone, know best.
There are multiple perspectives on this.
Propoganda!
A 10-part series published by the Catholic News Agency that is basically also propoganda.
I like this commentary quite a bit; it raises many pointed questions.
SO. There is a new English translation of the Roman Missal, and it'll start being used in Catholic churches across America this coming Sunday (I think).
The Roman Missal is the stuff that the priest and the laypeople say during mass. If you've ever been in a Catholic church and gotten creeped out that everyone was chanting the same words at the same time, this is where the words came from.
Pre-Vatican II, everything was done in Latin. When each group of bishops came up with their own translation, people rejoiced - they could understand the mass for themselves!
But now the United States Council of Catholic Bishops has decided that their translation at the time of Vatican II was too rushed, too "simple," not reverent enough. By not only translating the Latin to English, but also making it easier to understand, many worried that the text was too "down to Earth." So they've added words like "consubstantial," changed "cup" to "chalice," etc.
Here's a sample quote that shows us dwelling the fact that it's a person's own fault if they sin, as if Catholicism didn't emphasize this enough.
We go from I confess to almighty God,
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that 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;
to
I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that 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;
It seems pretty absurd to me that making things easier to understand and not as elevated somehow sullies the reverence of people's faith. One of the most attractive parts of Christianity to me is that one is not worshiping a God who has never cried, never suffered, never experienced extreme pain/anguish. It's the coolest thing (to me) that God became an actual person.
Works of Aaron Sorkin aside, elitism doesn't usually sit well with me, and I am not looking forward to this change. I think it is yet another example of the church hierarchy's inability to listen to and respect the laity. They are forever the paternalistic shepherds who truly believe that they, and they alone, know best.
There are multiple perspectives on this.
Propoganda!
A 10-part series published by the Catholic News Agency that is basically also propoganda.
I like this commentary quite a bit; it raises many pointed questions.
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no subject
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You seriously have to say "through my fault" three times? Look, humility and self-reflection are wonderful things, but I think that crosses the line into self-flagellation. That would be super-alienating for me, and I can't imagine I'm alone in that.
This all seems very sad, and frustrating. I hope it's not too off-putting for you. <3 Is it possible a rogue congregation or two will go back to the original version, or is this ruling totally absolute?
no subject
....makes the message so unavoidable.
If my memory serves, the last three lines were
mea culpa
mea culpa
mea maxima culpa
in the old Latin liturgy.
In Latin there's a definite pulse and rhythm to that, but the English version just seems clumsy.
It takes us non-Catholics a while to understand that there have been many edge theologies in the Catholic Church over the last two millennia, and some of them definitely included self-flagellation, daily.