An interesting commentary on the Latin Mass and the new translations

[hedgehog]

headed down the pike:

The Liturgy - Lost In Translation?

February 2, 2009 | by Anthony Egan

Amidst growing opposition to the new English translation of the Mass it is worth reflecting on the historical development of the Liturgy of the western Church and consider what has changed – perhaps what is ‘lost in translation’ of the tradition – and how historical insights might move us beyond the impasse and ill-feelings many have today.

First, contrary to popular beliefs, Latin was not in fact the original language of the Church. Pride of place goes to Aramaic, then to koine < First Century > Greek, followed by the many dialects of the Roman Empire of the first century. Latin was the language of government, law and Roman civil religion. Greek was the language of trade and commerce – and became the lingua franca of Empire. Early Christians worshipped and celebrated the Eucharist in their own languages in their own homes.

Second, as with language, so too the people of God celebrated the Eucharist in different ways without any set forms. The earliest Christian writings on church polity like the Didache offer no set forms for the Eucharist. In his First Apology (c150AD), Justin Martyr said to his readers that at Mass the presider “sends up prayers and thanksgiving to the best of his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen”. In short, the Eucharistic Prayer was to be a spontaneous expression of the one leading the congregation. Since not all presiders were that articulate various Eucharistic prayers evolved in different regions. While most had the same content we know today – the invocation of the Spirit (epiclesis), the account of the last supper (institution narrative) and the prayer of thanksgiving, though not all in that order – regional prayers in regional languages evolved.

Third, even as the Church in the West took on Latin as the language of worship, many local rites persisted: in many parts of Spain (to this day in Seville, in fact) there was the Mozarabic Rite; in England, the Sarum Liturgy; and in France people used the Gallican Liturgy (which heavily influenced the Roman Rite, what is now Eucharistic Prayer I). Diversity was not something to be feared; local idioms did not seem lacking in the necessary gravitas to be pleasing to God’s ear.



Lots more at:

http://www.scross.co.za/2009/02/the-liturgy-lost-in-translation/



The South African Bishops jumped the gun and started using the new English translation of the Mass. Now the Vatican is mad at the bishops for jumping the gun, and the bishops are requesting permission to continue using the new translation
and

"The anger of the people in the pews and many priests (and some bishops) seems to be rooted not so much in what they feel are anachronistic and clumsy translations - vexing though they appear to be to many - but in what they see as an arbitrary imposition of liturgical values that are foreign to them by faceless bureaucrats in distant Rome,"

http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/2009/03/southern-africans-rebel-against-new.html

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1. Kýrie, Eléison

Kýrie, Eléison was a way of honoring the Greek roots of the Mass. It was the only Greek that survived in the pre-Vatican II Mass.