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Short (4 pages) explanation of the revised prayers of the Holy Mass
Goal and criterion of the new English translation: Maximum fidelity to the Latin
text with more precise and theological expression of faith in conformity with the
biblical texts, using more sublime language suited for divine worship.
Why were the changes in wording necessary? 1) A number of rich biblical
metaphors and images in the original Latin text were lost in the earlier English
translation. 2) Some theological concepts were not very clear and several biblical
allusions were not noticeable. 3) Superficial contemporary expressions and
phrases in English continued to rob the Roman liturgy of its richness. 4) The
sacred language of the liturgy seemed to be lost in the more secular usages that
were employed.
What are the unchanged items? The structure, essence and order of the Mass and
the wording of most of the prayers remain unchanged.
What are the main changes? They are the new, literal and more theologically and
biblically accurate translations of a few words and sentences in some prayers
from the original Latin text, Missale Romanum. Additional Eucharistic prayers,
additional Masses for various needs and intentions and updated instructions
have also been included. There are several changes in the priest’s prayers. But
essentially, this new translation is a literal translation of the Latin Mass that was
used ever since the Council of Trent 1545.
1) Change in people’s response to the initial greeting by the priest: “The Lord be
with you.” “And also with you” is changed to And with your spirit.” This is the
literal translation of “et cum spiritu tuo” better reflecting St. Paul’s usage and
recognizing the unique work of the Holy Spirit through the priest-celebrant. The
congregation declares that the priest is celebrating the Mass “in the person of
Christ the head of the Church” and hence the Spirit of Christ dwells within, and
acts through, the priest. By our response: “And with your spirit” we are also
asking God to shower His gifts upon the priest, so that he may help to build us
up into one body. This ancient response (215 A.D), is inspired by the concluding
passages of the Epistles II Timothy 4: 22, Galatians 6: 18, Philippians 4: 23, and
Philemon 25. Saint Paul bids farewell to all the churches of Galatia, “The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (Gal 6:18), and to his beloved disciple, the
bishop Saint Timothy: “The Lord be with your spirit” (2 Tm 4: 22).
2) Two changes in the wording of the penitential prayer “I confess to Almighty
God.” a) “that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts…b) and in what I have
failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous
fault, therefore I ask Blessed Mary.. The three repetitions add emphasis to our
culpability and accountability for our sins and express more clearly the
seriousness of our sins against our Triune God, God the Father, God the Son and
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God the Holy Spirit, and the sincerity of our contrition. We confess the humbling
truth three times, as each of our sins is a rejection of the love of the Holy Trinity.
3) Changes in the short penitential prayer for ordinary days: Priest: Have mercy
on us O Lord instead of “Lord have mercy.” The people’s response is: For we have
sinned against you. Notice the shift in accountability resulting from this change.
It means that we need to see our sins as they are. We must admit them personally
and seek forgiveness for them in order to be considered truly penitent.
4) Gloria: Five of the 8 changes in the wording are: a) Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will. The wording “people of good will”
represents a return to the Scriptural roots of the text (Luke 2:14). It also reminds
us that in order to become the people of good will we must first recognize, and
have true contrition for our sinfulness because it is only in the forgiveness of sin
that true peace – the peace of Christ – can exist. b,) We praise, adore, bless and
glorify God (Psalm 40) by singing His praises, by magnifying Him among the
peoples, and by telling all the lands of His greatness. c) In the passage for your
great glory there is the addition of the word great because the Scripture itself
describes the Lord’s glory as “great” numerous times. By using the word great,
we acknowledge that our God is an awesome God whose greatness exceeds our
comprehension. d) The main change is our addressing Jesus as the Only
Begotten Son. “Only Begotten Son” is the literal translation of the words in the
Latin text: Fili Unigenite. This is the biblical language used by the early Church to
show that Jesus is uniquely God’s Son, sharing the same divine essence with the
Father, and that he is co-eternal with the Father. e) The plural sins is used in the
new translation you take away the sins of the world as it is in the Latin text, to
indicate that Jesus takes away not just generic sin from the world, but individual
sins, meaning that he forgives people their personal sins. In short, the revised
translation of the Gloria reflects the long tradition of this hymn and makes it
better suitable for singing.
5) Gospel proclamation: When the gospel is announced by the priest or Deacon,
the people respond: Glory to you, O Lord while making the threefold sign of the
Cross on head, lips and heart. The word O is added, here and elsewhere in the
missal before the words “Lord’ and “God’ to show more respect. In the DouayRheims Bible (a faithful English translation of the Latin Vulgate), for example, the
expression O Lord appears nearly 500 times!
6) Changes in the Nicene Creed: 8 of the 10 changes (three made for sound
theological reasons), in the wording of the Creed are: i) We believe is changed to I
believe (“Credo” in Latin) to make our profession of faith more personal as we do
when we renew our baptismal promises in Holy Week. This enables each one of
us to proclaim the Creed, asserting our personal faith together with other
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believers. ii) of all things visible and invisible (instead of all that is seen and
unseen): When we speak of things invisible, we are acknowledging that there is
yet another reality of which God is Creator; the angels for instance (Colossians
1:16) and the souls of humankind. iii) consubstantial with the Father: Instead of
referring to Jesus as “one in being with the Father,” a more correct, traditional
rendering of the Nicene theological term “consubstantialem Patri” is used. The
term means that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, equal to the Father (having the
same substance), sharing the same glory and the same divinity. iv) The older
version, “eternally begotten of the Father” is replaced by “born of the Father before
all ages.” It teaches us that Jesus dwelled with the Father before time began. v)
In reference to the birth of Jesus, instead of the wording, “Was born of the Virgin
Mary,” the new translation is “Was incarnate of the Virgin Mary.” The Latin
word “incarnatus” means that Jesus actually took on human flesh in the womb of
Virgin Mary at the moment of his conception and was born of her. vi) Suffered
death: Here the emphasis is on the manner of his death; a violent immolation to
atone for our sins. vii) I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins: This is a
personal statement of faith meaning that at we not only acknowledge this
doctrine, but also personally endorse and submit to the truth of its teaching. viii)
“I look forward to the resurrection” replaces the older version “look for the
resurrection.” This is a more faithful translation of the Latin word, more
powerfully expressing our confidence and hope in the resurrection. Since the
Creed is both a profession and a prayer we conclude with the Amen that means
to say that we confirm and adopt as our very own, before God and one another,
the faith we have just professed.
7) Preface Dialogue: There are two changes here: “And with your Spirit” and “It
is right and just.” Giving thanks to God is right because this is exactly what the
Lord has asked of his Church, “Do this in memory of me.” It is just because the
Eucharist is the justice of the New Law. It is the sacrifice through which sinners
are justified. It is the sacrifice that unites us with the Father, in the Son, by the
action of the Holy Spirit. It is, therefore, both right and just that we “give thanks to
the Lord our God.”
8) The Sanctus (“Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts.”) The older version “Holy,
Holy, Holy, Lord, God of power and might” is changed to “Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God of Hosts.” “Lord of Hosts” more faithfully expresses the praising of
God by the angels given in Isaiah’s vision (Is 6:3): “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of
Hosts” and highlights the infinite breadth of God’s power. Angels are the
heavenly hosts! The title “Lord of hosts” appears in the Old Testament more than
230 times.
9) The Words of Institution: The older version: “This is the cup of my Blood” is
changed to “This is the chalice of my Blood.” Chalice is the more accurate and
formal word reminding us that it is no ordinary cup, but the Eucharistic cup (Lk
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22:20 and I Cor 11:25ff), that Jesus consecrated at the Last Supper. Chalice is the
traditional term we use to refer to the cup on the altar. Everlasting covenant in the
older version is replaced by eternal covenant and shed for you is replaced by
poured out for you. Another change in the wording is “for many” instead of “for
all.” “For many” is a faithful translation of the original Latin phrase, “pro multis.”
It is biblically more accurate because it is the word Jesus himself used at the Last
Supper according to Matthew 26:28. It also recalls “the many” mentioned three
times in Isaiah 53:11-12. Isaiah 53:12 prophesied that the Messiah would take
away “the sins of many,” and Christ himself also said his blood would be shed
for “many” (Mt 26:28, Mk 14:24). According to The New American Bible “many is
the translation of an original Semitic term meaning “all.”
10) The Mystery of Faith: After the consecration, the priest simply announces,
“The mystery of faith” (“Mysterium fidei”) instead of the old version: “Let us
proclaim the mystery of faith.” It is a simple faith-filled statement like “the word of
the Lord,” or the gospel of the Lord” that prompts a response from the people. The
people’s response or acclamation when the priest announces, after the
consecration, “The mystery of faith.” is “We proclaim your death, O Lord, and
profess your resurrection until you come again.”
11) Behold the Lamb of God: The new wording in people’s response to the
priest’s invitation: “Behold the Lamb of God, Blessed are those called to the supper
of the Lamb” is “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but
only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” The new wording in the priest’s
invitation reminds us that the Eucharist is not an ordinary meal, and people are
challenged to accept the invitation given by the angels for the marriage supper of
the Lamb in the Book of Revelation 19:9: “Blessed are those who are invited to the
marriage supper of the Lamb.” The prayer, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should
enter under my roof,” reflects the humility and trust of the Roman centurion in
the gospel (Matthew 8:8).
12) The Final Blessing and Dismissal: “May Almighty God bless you the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit.” The priest by virtue of his ordination simply invokes
the blessing of the Holy Trinity on the congregation and the wording of the
blessing is the same as in the old missal. But our current three “dismissal
formulas” will be replaced by these four: “Go forth, the Mass is ended,” “Go and
announce the Gospel of the Lord,” Go in peace, glorifying the Lord in your life,”
and “Go in peace.” Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI himself selected the last three
beautiful dismissal formulas and they were added to the Latin text of the Missal.
All the four begin with the command “Go” reminding us of Jesus’ missionary
command to his disciples given Matthew 28:19: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit.” After receiving the final blessing we are commanded to go into the world
to proclaim the Gospel both in word and deed, thus bearing witness to Christ. Fr. Tony
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Note: The original 9 page article is summarized into 4 pages to fit in a flyer or
insert in the parish bulletin. Fr. Tony (akadavil@gmail.com) St. John the Baptist
Catholic Church, 12450 Hwy 188, P. O. Box 417, Grand Bay, AL 36541 (L/11)