Br. Stephen Fahrig, OMV has recorded a two-part discussion of the changes and the additional meanings that are brought out. Fr. John Wykes, OMV, Director of Communications for our province, made the videos which are posted on the OMVUSA YouTube channel. I just learned this morning that today's workshop on the new translation at my home parish, staffed by the Oblates, St. Peter Chanel in Hawaiian Gardens, CA, will show Br. Steve's talk as part of the day's activities. Here is the first part of his talk:
My favorite new text from the Mass is the prayer just before Communion. Currently, it reads, "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed." The Spanish, "Señor, no soy digno de que entres en mi casa, pero una palabra tuya bastará para sanarme." and this translates: "Lord, I am not worthy that you enter into my house, but a word of yours will suffice to heal me." The Latin, which reads, "Domine, non sum dignus ut entres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea" and this is now translated: "Lord, I am not worthy that you enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed."
As you can see, the imagery of entering "into my house" or "under my roof" is more clear and conveys a more precise image than simply that I "receive you." It also makes clearer the primacy of spiritual healing upon reception of the Most Blessed Sacrament in saying not just that "I shall be healed" but "my soul."
The common response "And also with you," now replaced by the more accurate "and with your spirit" (from the Latin "et cum spiritu tuo") has far-reaching theological ramifications. Whereas the current wording could indicate that the priest has given us something that we should wish him to have also, the new wording indicates that, acting "in persona Christi" (in the Person of Christ), he is granting us peace or the Lord's presence, and precisely because of the sacramental character that the priest has received, the people acknowledge that he does have that presence of Christ in his soul. In a very careful way, the priest is able to recognize both his humanity and the gift of the sacramental power of priest, by Christ's own choosing him for this ministry. Aware of this great and unmerited gift, he can humbly serve the people with the full power of Christ.
This week has been so busy for me, and continues to be very busy as I prepare to write my term paper in Contemporary Philosophy. The weather in Boston has been up and down, and as suddenly as the peak of the Fall colors came, it was gone. We now descend into the New England winter, with temperatures falling to highs in the low 30s and teens to zero overnight - let's see how many Nor' Easters we get this year to spice things up!
But now, it's time to get back to work. More soon!
Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca
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