NKCC

In the previous English translation of the Missal, we had four Memorial Acclamations.  In the new translation, there are three translations, but notice that the one we use most often, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again” no longer exists.  Each of the three Memorial Acclamations we have now corresponds with one in the Latin edition of the Missal.  The former acclamation, “Christ has died…” was an additional acclamation.  It was only found in the English edition of the Missal.

The current expectation that liturgical texts be translated according to the word-by-word translation means that there cannot be additional texts that do not exist in the Latin edition.  Yet there is another difficulty with the former “Christ has died…” acclamation that makes it unsuitable.  The entire Eucharistic Prayer is an act of thanksgiving addressed to God the Father.  In each of the revised Memorial Acclamations, we acclaim the mystery of faith by praying to God.  The acclamation “Christ has died…” did speak about God, but not to God.  The other former acclamations, as well as all of the new translations, allow our prayer to be directed to God, as is evident in the personal pronouns.  For example:  We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.

Regarding the new translation of the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal

Posted on Friday, September 17, 2010 (Archive on Sunday, October 17, 2010).  hawaiicatholicherald.com

By Bishop Larry Silva

Bishop Larry Silva

To the priests, deacons, liturgical ministers, and all the faithful of the Diocese of Honolulu

Dear brothers and sisters:

Peace be with you!

For several years now you probably have heard that there would be a new translation of the Roman Missal, the book of prayers we use to celebrate theMass. The translation is now complete, and the new translation will be implemented on the First Sunday of Advent of 2011.

Why a new translation? How will this change our way of worshipping? How will we go about learning the new translation? All of these questions will be addressed in this letter, but more importantly in the catechetical opportunities that will follow before Advent 2011 and in the first months of the use of the new translation. Before we take up those details, however, let’s talk about some more essential items.

The central place of the Eucharist in Catholic life

God has blessed us with incredible gifts: the people we love, the ability to work, our beautiful islands. These are just of few of the multitude of gifts God pours out upon us. The finest of all gifts, however, is the gift of Jesus Christ, God and man, who was sent to save us from our sins. Jesus left us a legacy of his teachings in the New Testament, particularly the Gospels. He formed a Church to carry on his mission. But there is much more! He is physically present to us in the Eucharist! He died on the cross for us, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. But he is the living bread come down from heaven; a real, living person who loves us so intimately that he offers himself to us as real food and real drink. (See John 6)

When the apostles encountered the risen Jesus, he transformed their fear into fire, their timidity into a tempest of joy. They who were simple uneducated men became the voices of the Word of God. They whose lives were confined to the territory around a little lake now went out to the ends of the earth to witness to Jesus. The small band of disciples has grown into billions who have come to know the risen Lord Jesus. And now we come to know him in the “breaking of the bread,” the Eucharist. (See Luke 24:13-35.) It is in the power of Christ that we go out to continue his work of healing the sick, teaching, changing hearts and cultures, casting out the demons of falsehood, bringing good news to the poor, and in all this proclaiming the wonderful works of God.

The Eucharist is the source and summit of who we are as members of the Body of Christ. Without it we could not accomplish much, and with it God can work miracles through us. This Eucharist, which our most ancient ancestors celebrated and which our most distant offspring will celebrate until the end of time, is indeed a living reality that maintains its essential identity even as its rites and language evolve.