The Catholic Church in the English-speaking world has only a few weeks to wait until the new Mass translations are unveiled (on November 27). Many of us who knew of the translation project have been waiting for thirty years…. This long-term translation project may be compared to building a bridge.
Do you ever take the Bay Bridge into San Francisco? If so, perhaps you have noted with interest the eastern span of the bridge that they’ve been rebuilding over the last ten years. The original span, an icon of the Bay Area, was completed in 1936 and serves as a vital transportation artery—more than the population of Modesto passes under its cables every day (almost 2 million vehicles per week). It is a beautiful and essential part of the City’s culture.
And yet, they must rebuild it.
The existing bridge was the best construction available at the time, although a section of it did collapse during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. It was built rather quickly (in three years), and certainly not with the technology available today. It served the Bay Area for 80 years, but now we are in a position to replace it with a much more beautiful and solid structure.
Do you ever take the Bay Bridge into San Francisco? If so, perhaps you have noted with interest the eastern span of the bridge that they’ve been rebuilding over the last ten years. The original span, an icon of the Bay Area, was completed in 1936 and serves as a vital transportation artery—more than the population of Modesto passes under its cables every day (almost 2 million vehicles per week). It is a beautiful and essential part of the City’s culture.
And yet, they must rebuild it.
The existing bridge was the best construction available at the time, although a section of it did collapse during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. It was built rather quickly (in three years), and certainly not with the technology available today. It served the Bay Area for 80 years, but now we are in a position to replace it with a much more beautiful and solid structure.
The current English translation of the Mass used resources available at the time, although it has led to liturgical collapse in some areas of our worship. It was done rather quickly (in two years), and certainly not with the scholarship available today. It has served the Church for the last 40 years, but now we are in a position to replace it with a much more beautiful and accurate translation.
Like the eastern span of the Bay Bridge, the translation project of the new Mass prayers has taken well over ten years. The work was done with utmost care, employing experts and input from thousands of sources. The Church was able to craft English prayers with 40 years of experience as to what works and what doesn’t in real parishes. The first translation was serviceable, but the second is a work of art.
The Bay Bridge is one of the world’s longest spans, almost five miles long. An engineering miscalculation of just one inch would result in a disastrous gap when amplified by the entire length of the bridge. In a similar way, one small word mistranslated or omitted in the Mass, when repeated by billions of Catholics over forty years, would result in disastrous defects in our understanding of the faith. And it has. For example, the 1970s translators routinely omitted the word “holy” when referring to the Church. Over forty years, this error has led Catholics to think of the Church less in terms of her essential holiness, less as a divine institution, and more as a human organization.
The Mass will be “under construction” for a few months. Like driving over the eastern section of the Bay Bridge just now, this will be a bit frustrating. But be patient, and try to see the beauty and depth of these newly-translated prayers. The effects of praying these truly authentic words will not be evident at once, but in the long run they will bring us to love the Holy Mass with a whole new depth and passion.
Additional Study:
Like the eastern span of the Bay Bridge, the translation project of the new Mass prayers has taken well over ten years. The work was done with utmost care, employing experts and input from thousands of sources. The Church was able to craft English prayers with 40 years of experience as to what works and what doesn’t in real parishes. The first translation was serviceable, but the second is a work of art.
The Bay Bridge is one of the world’s longest spans, almost five miles long. An engineering miscalculation of just one inch would result in a disastrous gap when amplified by the entire length of the bridge. In a similar way, one small word mistranslated or omitted in the Mass, when repeated by billions of Catholics over forty years, would result in disastrous defects in our understanding of the faith. And it has. For example, the 1970s translators routinely omitted the word “holy” when referring to the Church. Over forty years, this error has led Catholics to think of the Church less in terms of her essential holiness, less as a divine institution, and more as a human organization.
The Mass will be “under construction” for a few months. Like driving over the eastern section of the Bay Bridge just now, this will be a bit frustrating. But be patient, and try to see the beauty and depth of these newly-translated prayers. The effects of praying these truly authentic words will not be evident at once, but in the long run they will bring us to love the Holy Mass with a whole new depth and passion.
Additional Study:
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