A Challenging Time

I feel blessed to have been part of the post-Vatican II generation. That council that was convoked 45 years ago steered the Church to what was then ‘unknown sails’. Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC), one of the constitutions promulgated by that council, has been called the ‘Magna Carta of the Church’ for it sought to revise the liturgy aimed at leading all the faithful “to that fully conscious and active participation” which is the faithful’s “…right and duty by reason of their baptism”. (SC 14)

This brought about various changes in the Mass. Apart from the priest facing the people, the Mass was said in the vernacular. Also, the lay faithful could take certain roles like lector/commentator, sacristan, or Special Minister of the Eucharist. Indeed, parishes and other communities flourished because of lay participation and empowerment.

I find it then strange why a new English translation is now being introduced. If it were a much better translation of the Latin text, fine. But reading the samples available in various websites, I find these confusing and would not be in consonance with SC or worse, with Vatican II. Some words in the new translation sound too archaic as well. What’s wrong with the words “one being with the Father” and change it to “consubstantial with the Father”? Pope Paul VI, under whose watch Vatican II's actions were implemented, might be turning in his grave!

I feel that if the new translation would be implemented, we will be going back to the days when people would pray the rosary or any other devotion while Mass is being celebrated. Worse, we might see more people becoming detached from the Mass, becoming detached from God Himself! Come to think of it, isn't He Emmanuel ("God-with-us")? If our faith tells us that He is here with us then our prayers as individuals and as a community should enhance that belief. The words we use to communicate with each other could either build or weaken relationships. The current translation uses plain English so each of us regardless of our background could relate more with the Lord whom we encounter in the Eucharist.

When SC was implemented, national conferences of bishops sharing a common language were tasked to collaborate in producing a common translation. This brought about the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL). Through ICEL, bishops conferences in the English-speaking world (which includes the Philippines) have been given a kind of autonomy to see what is suitable to the local churches under their care.

ICEL proposed a new translation in 1980s which was completed in 1998. It was a much better edition to the one currently used. Unfortunately, Rome (through the Congregation for Divine Worship) initially ignored it and later rejected it following the issuance of a document called Liturgiam authenticam which calls for a more literal English translation. (Take note that this is only a document and not a constitution like SC!) Indeed, as one fellow Catholic would have observed, I never thought that fundamentalists could also be found in the Church! I share the observation by Fr Michael Ryan that such a move is “one more assault on the (Vatican II) council, and sadly, one more blow to episcopal collegiality.”

This is a challenging time for all of us who love and actively participate in the Mass. Right now, bishops in the English-speaking world are in the middle of two opposing forces. Will they simply bow to the powers-that-be? Or will they assert their role as shepherds of their flock? Alas, some conferences have chosen the former over the latter. Yet nothing is still lost.

Let’s continue to pray for them. (What a coincidence that in the web, we are remembering our bishops in our prayers this month.) Again, if you haven’t done it yet, please join in the signature campaign to ask our bishops to delay this new (and poor) translation via: http://www.whatifwejustsaidwait.org/

St Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, pray for us.