Have you heard that we will be using a new English translation of the 3^rd Edition of the Roman Missal, starting in Advent of this year?

Saint Mark's
New Roman Missal

Why is there a 3^rd Edition of the Roman Missal?

The Missale Romanum (Roman Missal), the ritual text for the celebration of the Mass, was promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as the definitive text of the reformed liturgy of the Second Vatican Council. That Latin text, the editio typica (typical edition), was translated into various languages for use around the world; the English edition was published in the United States in 1973. The Holy See issued a revised text, the editio typica altera, in 1975. Pope John Paul II promulgated the third edition (editio typica tertia) of the Missale Romanum during the Jubilee Year in 2000. Among other things, the third edition contains prayers for the celebration of recently canonized saints, additional prefaces for the Eucharistic Prayers, additional Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Intentions, and some updated and revised rubrics (instructions) for the celebration of the Mass.

Source: USCCB Website Welcoming the Roman Missal: Third Edition FAQ's

The Revised Roman Missal will affect prayers and acclamations sung in the Mass. This means learning new musical settings of what is known as the Ordinary of the Mass: Penitential Act, Kyrie, Gloria, Holy, Memorial Acclamation, Amen, Agnus Dei, and potentially the Creed and the Lord's Prayer.

There will be numerous options available in the coming months and years as composers and publishers work to create new melodies that fit the revised texts. The missal itself contains simple chants for the sung parts of the Mass, and these will be used in all of the Masses at Saint Mark's for several weeks beginning in Advent. This will be a helpful way to become comfortable with the changes in the prayers and will unify our congregation by knowing at least one setting of the Ordinary in common. The various music groups will be preparing alternate settings which will be introduced after the new year. Because the Gloria is not sung on Sundays during Advent, Archbishop Nienstedt has approved its early implementation (when sung). Before the end of October the new Gloria will be introduced and used during Sunday Masses at Saint Mark's.

Practice videos are available to help you become familiar with the text and music of the missal. Please use them to begin learning this new music.

The translation of the Revised Roman Missal was a highly consultative work of several groups. The International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) is chartered to prepare English translations of liturgical texts on behalf of the conferences of bishops of English–speaking countries. The USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) and the other member Conferences of Bishops received draft translations of each text from ICEL (called “Green Books”) and had the opportunity to offer comments and suggestions to ICEL. A second draft (called the “Gray Book”) was then prepared by ICEL, which each Conference of Bishops approved (a Conference reserves the right to amend or modify a particular text) and submitted to the Vatican for final approval. At the level of the Vatican (the Holy See), the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments examined texts and offered authoritative approval (recognitio) of texts, granting permission for their use. The Congregation was aided by the recommendations of Vox Clara, a special committee of bishops and consultants from English–speaking countries convened to assist with the English translation of the Missale Romanum. The entire process took eight years, from 2002, when the Third Edition of the Roman Missal was released by Pope John Paul II, until August of 2010, when the Vatican approved the English Translation.

Father John Paul Erickson, Director of the Archdiocesan Office for Worship, was with us in January for a Saint Mark’s Liturgy Seminar. In his talk, he explained that in 2001, the Vatican issued the document: Liturgiam authenticam which set out new principles of translation for the Roman Missal. These principles strive for a “Formal” equivalence to the Latin text. This differs from the principles of translation that were set out after Vatican II in the document, Comme le prévoit: On the Translation of Liturgical Texts for Celebrations with a Congregation, 25 January 1969. This document advised translators to strive for a “Dynamic” equivalence to the Latin text.

Father Erickson also explained that the English translation (which by the way, serves not just the United States but all English speaking countries in the world) is also the “base” text for those communities for whom there is no Latin equivalent. So, our translation takes on an even greater importance.