CARDINAL GEORGE: LA in LA

Hat tip to Shawn.

Cardinal George: LA in LA (Liturgiam Authenticam in Los Angeles)
(link is to the whole story)

(I will print snips here in italics, with my own commentary, snarky or otherwise, in regular type)

At the center of the bishops’ concerns during our meeting was the approval of a partial translation of the latest edition of the Roman Missal. The Roman Missal was revised after the Council and published under the authority of Pope Paul VI. That first edition of the Pauline Missal was translated into English and is still being used. Since the late 1960s, however, the Holy See has published a second edition of the post-Vatican II Missal and then, a couple of years ago, a third edition. The third edition has several more canons and prefaces and a number of new feast days to mark the celebrations of saints recently canonized. Because there is a new edition of the Missal in Latin, there has to be a new translation in the vernacular languages of the Catholic world. Some people have asked why we are bothering with new translations of the Mass. The reason is because we’re still using the first edition of the revised Roman Missal when we should be using the third edition.

Wow - we've really slacked here. So, we never even saw a second edition. OOF! The big question... WHY?

Let's scroll down to the explanation of And with Your Spirit.

A case in point is the much-discussed translation of “et cum spiritu tuo” as “and with your spirit” rather than the current “and also with you.” Our current translation might seem more personal and friendly, but that’s the problem. The spirit referred to in the Latin is the spirit of Christ that comes to a priest when he is ordained, as St. Paul explained to St. Timothy. In other words, the people are saying in their response that Christ as head of the Church is the head of the liturgical assembly, no matter who the particular priest celebrant might be. That is a statement of faith, a statement distorted by transforming it into an exchange of personal greetings.

Distorted to the point where many celebrants still begin Mass with those two dreaded words: Good morning, and the people reply with those dreaded three words: Good morning, Father. This exchange should take place in the narthex.

The texts of the Order of Mass approved by the U.S. bishops last week are both beautiful and interesting. It will take some time and personal investment to pray them well. The full Missal will not be in use for two or three years, and this will give us time to become more instructed in the matter.

Cool. Now, as we await Rome to give the green light, let's compose some settings shall we? I should get to work on these. Then if anything changes, I can do a rework of some sort. ;)

Peace,
BMP