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CISA REPORT: NAIROBI, January 13, 2012 (CISA) -The Kenya Episcopal Conference Commission for Liturgy will officially launch the use of the new English translation of the Roman Missal (3rd typical edition) on Sunday January 15, 2012 at the Holy Family Minor Basilica during Mass starting at 11.30 a.m.
The New Roman Missal changes the order of saying Mass in the Catholic Church. The Roman Missal is the book containing the prescribed prayers, chants, and instructions for the celebration of Mass in the Roman Catholic Church.
Below is a text on the new Roman Missal for use in educating Catholics compiled by Fr. Januarius Kioko:
I. THE NEW ENGLISH ROMAN MISSAL (MISSALE ROMANUM, EDITIO TYPICA TERTIA)
The process of implementing a new edition of the prayers of Mass is not new, it has occurred at numerous times throughout the history of the Church, as the Liturgy developed and was adapted to particular circumstances to meet the needs of the Church. In the earliest centuries of the Church, there were no books containing prescribed liturgical prayers, texts, or other Mass instructions. Because the faith of the Church was (and still is) articulated in liturgical prayer, there was a need for consistency and authenticity in the words used in the celebration of the Liturgy.
Collections of prayers contained in Libelli (booklets) developed gradually for use in particular locations and situations such as for a particular monastery, for the Pope, or for other local churches.
The libelli were over the centuries drawn together into larger more organized collections of prayers assembled into “sacramentaries” (liber sacramentorum or sacramentarium), which contained some, but not all, of the prayers of the Mass. The earliest of these sacramentaries were attributed to Pope Leo I, “Leo the Great” (440-461), and Pope Gelasius (492-496), but surviving versions of those sacramentaries date from centuries later.
Other early manuscripts (such as the Ordines Romani) contained detailed descriptions of the celebration of the Mass with the Pope in Rome.
Those written accounts may have gradually served as instructions or rubrics for the celebration of Mass in other settings. Liturgical books grew as they passed from one community (a local church, a diocese, a monastery, etc.) to another, often with prayers added in margins or in blank spaces.
The process of sharing text was by copying by hand. This was a laborious task which at times led to inconsistencies and errors.
“Missals”
The first true liturgical books which could be called “missals” were found in monasteries beginning around the 12th and 13th Centuries. A missal contained not only the prayers but the biblical readings, the chants, and the rubrics for the celebration of Mass. It is difficult to trace exact origins of the first missal.
Missale Romanum :
The Roman Missal is the book containing the prescribed prayers, chants, and instructions for the celebration of Mass in the Roman Catholic Church. The first book bearing the name Missale Romanum appeared in 1474, perhaps not coincidentally in the same century as the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg (1440).
Published first in Latin under the title Missale Romanum, the text is then translated and, once approved by a recognitio by the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, is published in modern languages for use in local churches throughout the world.
1570 – Pope Pius V: Missale Romanum. It was not until after the Council of Trent that Pope Pius V, in 1570, promulgated an edition of the Missale Romanum (in Latin) that was to be in obligatory use throughout the Latin Church (except in cases where another rite had been in place for at least 200 years).
This marked the first official attempt at uniformity in the celebration of the Mass in the history of the Church.
New Typical Editions of the Missale Romanum
Since that time, to accommodate the ongoing evolution and development of the Liturgy, new Typical (i.e. all other printings must conform) Editions of the Missale Romanum were promulgated by Popes for use in the Church:
1604 – Pope Clement VIII: His was a revised Typical Edition of the Missale Romanum of Pope Pius V (1570).
1634 – Pope Urban VIII.
1884 – Pope Leo XIII.
1920 – Pope Benedict XV.
1962 – Pope John XXIII.
International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL).
In 1964, the Establishment of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) came up as a result of Vat II decision to allow public celebration of the Catholic Liturgy in vernacular (SC 36).
- In 1970 – Pope Paul VI: Vat II, published the 1st Typical Edition of the New Missale Romanum.
- In 1975, Pope Paul VI: Vat II., published the 2nd Typical Edition of the New Missale Romanum. (Order of subdeaconate was abolished, roles of acolytes and lectors were defined (GIRM 142-152).
- In 2002, Pope John Paul II introduced the 3rd New Typical Edition of the Missale Romanum (editio typica tertia, [since the Second Vatican Council]) for use in the Church. It was printed in 2008. Soon after, the complex work of translating the Latin text into English began. As the Church throughout the English-speaking world prepares to introduce the new edition of the Missal, so does the Church in other countries as the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia is translated into other languages.
Other Minor Revisions to the Text: In addition, there were a number of other minor revisions to the text, published as “reprints” which incorporated minor changes. The most recent of these were in 1957 after Pope Pius XII’s revisions to the rites of Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum in 1955, and in 2008, when Pope Benedict XVI incorporated a number of additional prayers, included those for recently canonized saints as well as for the celebration of an extended Vigil for Pentecost.
Understanding the New English Translation (Edition).
The Vatican has revised its principle of revision and translation. The English Texts of the Mass that we are using now are revised and translated in order to make sure that they are in harmony with the Latin texts of the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia. The encouragement of Rome to use a single English Version is based on the fact that English has become for many countries the basis from which they make their translations.
This present translation uses the principle of formal equivalence which means that when translating a text you do not have to follow the word order and the structure of the original text: but have to aim at having the same effect on the reader of your translation that the original text had on its original reader. Faithfulness to the original language helps to preserve the sacred language of worship and to pass on the richness which those texts contain. Preserving the original language of the text helps to preserve the language of faith, which in turn passes the tradition from generation to generation. It is a continuity of what the Lord handed on to us. Hence, this new translation offers a new opportunity for a profound catechesis, a spiritual renewal and a rediscovery of the liturgical treasure that the Church has always possessed from the beginning. Liturgical catechesis is essential for us to appreciate and appropriate what the Liturgy reveals and discloses.
This new text has been brought closer to its original sources: Scripture, tradition and the writings of the Church Fathers.
Renewed Focus on Scripture
Many of the prayers we pray in the liturgy have expressions and imagery drawn from scripture. The Word that is proclaimed is really that which the Lord is speaking to us throughout the liturgical celebration. This new translation is profoundly a biblical gesture, by its almost radical faithfulness to Scripture, trying to give more importance to Scripture, the Word of God, to the life of the Church. As people begin to celebrate Mass with the new order of Mass, they will gradually realize how scriptural the text of the Roman Missal is. The words used in the prayers are very scriptural. For instance, the third Eucharistic prayer: “from East to West a perfect Sacrifice is made to the glory of your name” translates something from the prophet Malachi who uses, not from ‘East to West…’, but from the ‘Rising of the Sun to its setting…’ this translation has been restored because it is closer to the original text and closer to the scriptural text. In this Missal, there is a richness we will discover which will help and challenge us to take time and read and pray over the texts. This is an advantage because it is a great Catechetical moment.
Tradition:
The language in which the prayers of the Church were written was Latin and in that way the new translation of the Roman missal helps us to preserve the language of faith. This new translation has tried as much as possible to be faithful not only to Scripture, but also to the writing of the early Church Fathers; which were mainly written in Latin and which in turn became the language of the Church. Hence, in being faithful to the original text and Scripture, the new Missal helps to pass on the tradition of the Church from generation to generation.
It Is An Up-date:
In addition to the above, the new Roman Missal introduces the New Prefaces, Eucharistic Prayers and new feasts or Saints celebrated universally. Besides, it has the new calendar proper to the Saints of Africa.
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