In the June-July 2001 BCL Newsletter...
On June 14, 2001, in the course of the plenary session of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, USCCB President, announced that he had received the confirmation of Volume II of the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America. Following this announcement, Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb, Chairman of the Committee on the Liturgy, addressed the Bishops, noting that the Committee on the Liturgy had "carefully reviewed the final manuscript which includes some changes in the light of the recent Instruction on translation, Liturgiam authenticam." He described the changes introduced by the Holy See in the course of its review for confirmation as "moderate and reasonable, especially in the light of Liturgiam authenticam." The Archbishop continued:
Three years ago, Archbishop Hanus stood before you and introduced
you to the final revisions in the Lectionary for Mass. The Committee
on the Liturgy has applied the same careful scrutiny to the present manuscript which this body did at that time and in its approval of the second volume several years ago.
Following that careful review, the Committee on the Liturgy recommends this final volume of the Lectionary to you as an
excellent pastoral resource, a pastorally appropriate and vitally
needed tool for the proclamation of the Word of God in the litur-
gical assemblies of the dioceses of the United States. It is our
view that this body should be gratified that over a decade's worth
of work on this important project has come to such a fine conclusion.
I am, therefore, pleased to report that at the conclusion of our discussions, the Committee unanimously requested that I ask you to approve the following motion:
In response to a pressing pastoral need, do the members of the
NCCB direct that the second volume of the Lectionary for Mass
be published as expeditiously as possible?
The motion carried unanimously.
The second volume of the Lectionary for Mass consists of all readings from the Ordo Lectionum Missae not contained in the first volume. These remaining readings will, in actuality, be published in three volumes (bringing to four, the total number of books which will make up for the entire Lectionary). Volume I (readings for Sundays and Solemnities) constitutes the first book in this series. Volume II will be made up of three books: the first will contain the readings for Year I along with a complete sanctoral cycle; the second will containe the readings for Year II, again with a complete sanctoral. The third will contain and all other readings of the Lectionary for Mass (ritual Masses, Masses for Various Needs and Occasions, Votive Masses, etc.) Such an arrangement, similar to that adopted by other Conferences of Bishops, will allow for a minimal "change of books" in parishes throughout the year.
The base texts, principles for translation, and arrangement of the second volume remain the same as for the first (see BCL Newsletter, June, 1997). A limited number of changes have, however, been introduced by the Holy See in the light of the recent Fifth Instruction on the Right Implementation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, Liturgiam authenticam. The manuscript of the second volume (2,736 pages in length, with almost 3,000 readings) has been changed in approximately 800 instances, consisting principally of a single word or letter. A summary of the changes follows:
Since Liturgiam authenticam (LA) insists upon greater correspondence with the Neo-Vulgate (NV), the following changes have been made by the Congregation:
- When the New American Bible (NAB) uses the term Israelites where the Neo-Vulgate uses filiorum Israel or a similar phrase, the phrase children of Israel has been introduced.
- In some instances where the word unigentius appears in the Neo-Vulgate, it has been rendered as only-begotten son in the Lectionary for Mass.
- A limited number of words ( e.g., Twelve, Eleven, Scripture(s)) have been capitalized in correspondence with the Neo-Vulgate text.
- Because LA 41 insists that "care is to be taken so that the translation expresses the traditional Christological, typological and spiritual sense," a limited number of changes have been introduced for the purpose of more clearly expressing typological references as they are found in the Neo-Vulgate. For example, in keeping with the Neo-Vulgate and an acceptable rendering of the Hebrew at Num. 21.8-9, God will be heard instructing Moses to "Make a saraph and place it as a sign" (NV=Fac serpentem ignitum et pone eum pro signo) instead of "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole."
- In consideration of the liturgical context of individual passages (see LA 42), changes have been introduced in individual instances, such as when Jesus asks his disciples, "Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" (LFM 232) Here cup will be changed to chalice, as in the Neo-vulgate.
- As in Volume I, variations between the NAB and the Neo-Vulgate in the Books of Wisdom, Judith, Tobit, etc. have been reconciled in favor of the Neo-Vulgate. When verses are missing from the manuscript tradition followed by the NAB, the English language rendering of the Neo-Vulgate text has been changed to reflect the style of the NAB as much as possible, sometimes with recourse to the Confraternity Version. This same process was followed in Volume I of the Lectionary for Mass.
In a limited number of instances, the Congregation has removed nouns which were previously substituted for pronouns, either by the editors of the Lectionary or the translators of the NAB or the Revised New American Bible (RNAB). In a letter accompanying the confirmation, Cardinal Medina, Prefect, notes that while the Congregation often "concurs that such an insertion is warranted," in "in a few instances...the insertion of such a word seemed a departure from the original text, so that the text [noun] has been restored..."
In the light of the teaching of LA 41 that "...the words of the biblical passages commonly used in catechesis and in popular devotional prayers be maintained" and in keeping with the policies applied in editing Volume I, the Congregation has introduced changes "with due regard for the norm of fidelity to the original text" (LA 41) in employing the popular vocabulary of liturgical and devotional prayer in the scriptural passages. For example, the version of the Lord's Prayer would retain the use of trespasses rather than debts.
While the principles observed by the Working Group for the Revision of the Lectionary in regard to gender inclusivity have been maintained, minor modifications have been introduced in isolated instances. For example, when in reference to Jesus, the RNAB text has his guards say, "Never before has anyone spoken like this one" the Congregation has changed it to read: "Never before has anyone spoken like this man."
Decree for the Publication of Volume II, Lectionary for Mass
On June 29, 2001, Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza signed the following decree, calling for the publication and use of the second volume of the
Lectionary for Mass:
UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DECREE
In accord with the norms established by decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites in Cum, nostra ζtate (January 27, 1966), this edition of the Lectionary for Mass, Volume II: Proper of Seasons for Weekdays, Proper of Saints, Ritual Masses, Masses for Various Needs, Votive Masses and Masses for the Dead, is declared to be the vernacular typical edition of the Ordo Lectionum Missae, editio typica altera in the dioceses of the United States of America, and is published by authority of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The second volume of the Lectionary for Mass was canonically approved for use by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops on June 20, 1992, and was subsequently confirmed by the Apostolic See by decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on June 6, 2001 (Prot. 492/00/L).
On Ash Wednesday, February 13, 2002, the second volume of the Lectionary for Mass may be used in the liturgy. On Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2002, the use of the entire Lectionary for Mass is mandatory. After that date no other edition of the Lectionary for Mass may be used in the dioceses of the United States of America.
Given at the General Secretariat of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. on June 29, 2001, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.
Most Reverend Joseph A. FiorenzaB
Bishop of Galveston-Houston
President
National Conference of Catholic Bishops
Reverend Monsignor William P. Fay
General Secretary
The members, consultants and advisors of the NCCB Committee on the Liturgy met in Atlanta, Georgia on June 12-13, 2001 to consider several major actions and to discuss a wide range of liturgical questions. After hearing a presentation on the recently published Fifth Instruction (Liturgiam authenticam), the committee reviewed 299 modifications proposed to their previously proposed draft of the Appendix to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and revision of This Holy and Living Sacrifice (THLS). The Committee accepted 69% of the suggested modifications and produced two revised documents. At a subsequent meeting, the Committee received nearly fifty additional amendments.
A proposed revision of the RNAB Psalter in the light of the criteria articulated by Liturgiam authenticam was discussed. The Committee will recommend that the idea for such a revision be sent to the Ad-Hoc Committee on the Review of Scripture Translations, chaired by Bishop Richard Sklba. As well, the BCL began a more extensive dialogue with the Ad-hoc Committee on the implications of Liturgiam authenticam for future common projects. The Committee also began discussion of the latest ICEL translation of De Ordinatione, deciding to convene a special meeting in early September to consider this translation alongside the ICEL translation of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. It is the hope of the Committee to present both these translations for consideration by the NCCB at its November, 2001 meeting.
Various pastoral and liturgical questions surrounding the commemoration of Divine Mercy Sunday were also discussed, along with the widespread practice of blessing children during the distribution of Holy Communion. Finally, an extended report on the implementation of the indult provided by the Apostolic Constitution, Ecclesia Dei, was considered.
On June 15, 2001, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops considered revisions of two important liturgical documents containing adaptations to the soon-to-be-published Missale Romanum, and most notably, the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani. These two documents the Appendix to the GIRM 2000 and This Holy and Living Sacrifice are reviewed below.
Following recently made revisions to the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a revision of This Holy and Living Sacrifice: Norms for the Celebration and Reception of Communion Under Both Kinds for the Dioceses of the United States of America (THLS). These norms were developed in the light of GIRM, no. 283 which empowers Conferences of Bishops to publish guidelines describing "the methods of distributing holy Communion to the faithful under both kinds..." As a directory, THLS includes both a summary of those theological reflections necessary for a catechesis on distribution of Holy Communion under both kinds and practical norms for its implementation. THLS was developed in consultation with the Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices and several of the Committee's theological consultants. The Secretariat for the Liturgy bore primary responsibility for incorporating into a final draft those revisions made by the NCCB Committee on the Liturgy at three separate meetings in March, June and November, 2000. In addition to other provisions, the norms provide for three actions which are requested by way of indult, granting to diocesan Bishops in the dioceses of the United States of America the faculty of permitting extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion (1) to assist with distribution of the Precious Blood into other chalices; (2) to assist with the consumption of what remains of the Precious Blood and, (3) to assist with the purification of sacred vessels. On June 15, 2001, two hundred fourteen Latin rite members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops approved these adaptations with two negative votes and no abstentions. One hundred seventy-seven affirmative votes were required for approval. The norms may not be published or applied, however, until they have been confirmed by the Holy See.
The second set of adaptations took the form of an appendix to the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani formulated in response to the faculty granted to Conferences of Bishops by the Missale Romanum and Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, no. 380 in particular. On June 15, 2001, two hundred-five Latin rite members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops approved these adaptations with two negative votes and no abstentions. One hundred seventy-seven affirmative votes were required for approval. While these adaptations were approved as particular law for the dioceses of the United States of America they may not be published or applied, however, until they have been confirmed by the Holy See.
On July 1, 2001, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) changed its name to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). With this name change the previously separate entities of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) have been merged. The NCCB website may be accessed at either www.usccb.org or www.nccbuscc.org.
In the course of the plenary meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops on June 14, 2001, Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb, Chairman of the Committee on the Liturgy, addressed the Bishop members on the recently published Fifth Instruction on the Right Implementation of the Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, Liturgiam authenticam. The Archbishop's remarks are reprinted here as a service to our readers.
During the past decade, few topics have been of greater concern to the bishops of this Conference than the translation of liturgical texts. We have been most acutely aware of the pastoral implications of the structures and principles utilized in the publication of vernacular editions of the Roman editiones typicae in our consideration of revised translations of the Missale Romanum, the Ordo Lectionum Missae and De Ordinatione.
This concern has been at the forefront from the first days of the liturgical reform. Recall, if you will, the words of Pope Paul VI shortly after the council in his November 10, 1965 address to translators of liturgical texts:
"Like a caring mother, the Church, through the teaching of Vatican Council II, has called on her children...to share actively in liturgical prayers and rites. For this reason, the Church has permitted the translation of texts venerable for their antiquity, devotion, beauty and long-standing use."
So concerned were the members of this Conference that in June, 1994 we sponsored a study day on liturgical translation which was followed by a Forum on the Translation of Liturgical Texts in the fall of l998.
It was the hope of Archbishop Hanus and his Ad Hoc Committee on the Forum that their work would inform not only the Bishops of our Conference, but would be of service to the Catholic Church throughout the world.
I am pleased to announce that the papers presented at that Forum have recently been published under the title, The Voice of the Church, and are now available from the NCCB Office of Publishing and Promotion Services. A copy of this book has been sent to each bishop in the weekly mailing of June 1, 2001.
As important as the publication of these proceedings are, an event of even greater significance in the translation of liturgical texts occurred on April 25, 2001 with the issuance of the Fifth Instruction for the Right Implementation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council. With the title, Liturgiam authenticam, the Instruction describes in some detail the use of vernacular languages in the translation of the books of the Roman Liturgy.
While I am sure you have had an opportunity to review the Instruction, please allow me to take just a few moments to reflect with you on some of its provisions which will most significantly impact the work of this Conference and your own BCL.
First, Liturgiam authenticam fulfills the desires of Pope John Paul II, who thirteen years ago called upon us to "remedy certain defects or inaccuracies, to complete partial translations, to compose or approve chants to be used in the Liturgy, to ensure respect for the texts approved and lastly to publish liturgical books in a form that both testifies to the stability achieved and is worthy of the mysteries being celebrated"(Vicesimus Quintus Annus, December 4, 1988, no. 20).
On February 1, 1997, Pope John Paul II mandated in a letter to Cardinal Sodano, Secretary of State, that a new instruction on translation be prepared. At the Pope's request and with his approval, the new Instruction insists on the production of vernacular editions of liturgical books which both reflect the unique style, structure and modes of public prayer in the Roman Rite and are also suitable for the expression of that Rite in the parish Churches of each country.
Second, the translation endeavor, the Instruction indicates, is not so much an act of creativity or reformulation of rites, as it is an exact and faithful rendering of the editiones typicae. Thus, the normative value of the editiones typicae and of the Neo-Vulgate, in the case of scriptural texts, is insisted upon.
Third, the vocabulary of the vernacular translation must be at once comprehensible to ordinary people and still expressive of the dignity and oratorical rhythm of Roman liturgical texts. Liturgical translation must permit us entry into the Church's dynamic dialogue of faith and praise with the Blessed Trinity. At times, modern modes of expression must give way to expressions which, drawn from patristic sources and harmonized with biblical texts, may strike some as less contemporary, but which have traditionally evoked the mysteries of our faith in deep and inexpressible ways.
Fourth, syntactical concerns are addressed at some length, with an insistence that such practices as the use of parallelisms and extended subordination be precisely translated. The primary meanings of Latin words are to be followed, as well as the connections between various expressions together with a respect for the literary and rhetorical genres of each text. The goal is to develop a dignified liturgical vernacular which precisely renders the Roman liturgical books and is fit for worship in our particular cultural context.
Fifth, much ink has been spilt over the Instruction's relatively brief comments on gender inclusivity. I would simply note that there is nothing new here, over and above what we already possess in the revised Lectionary for Mass. There is, indeed, a remarkable correspondence between the guidelines in the Instruction and the principles applied by the Working Group for the Final Revisions of our own Lectionary, both for Sunday and Solemnities, and now for weekdays. In this regard, I remind you of the confirmation of the final volume of the Lectionary for Mass announced by Bishop Fiorenza just a few moments ago. By that confirmation the Congregation has sanctioned the use of all of the techniques devised by the Working Group to produce a liturgical translation with a moderate degree of horizontal gender inclusivity appropriate to the English language as spoken in the United States today.
Sixth, the Instruction addresses not only liturgical texts, but as well, scriptural translations intended for liturgical use. The Committee on the Liturgy spent considerable time this week studying the specific issues associated with the preparation of biblical texts for liturgical use, and is in dialogue with other committees of the Conference on ways in which we can prepare translations more suitable for liturgical proclamation. The Instruction challenges the translators of sacred scripture to produce texts which are at once exegetically sound, consonant with authentic Catholic interpretations of scripture, and set clearly within the liturgical context for which they are destined. The Instruction clearly provides new insights on the role of the Neo-Vulgate, the proper influence of typological and liturgical interrelations for the translator, and the proper contexualization of problematic phrases. As a welcome innovation, the Instruction also directs that a version of the scriptures be prepared which incorporates into it all of the liturgical readings as found in the Lectionary for Mass. In short, Liturgiam authenticam calls for the creation of a "liturgical bible" for popular use.
Seventh, the Instruction also treats of Mixed Commissions charged with the actual work of translation. It notes that they must clearly be seen as instruments of the Bishops who bear the sole responsibility for developing vernacular typical editions. Such Commissions are erected by the Holy See at the request of individual Episcopal Conferences. Without entering into the many complexities of this section, let it suffice to say that the work of restructuring ICEL will continue under the direction and guidance of our liaison to the mixed Commission, Cardinal Francis George, OMI. The Instruction provides challenging but clear guidance to this important work.
There are many other sections of the Instruction which will bear on the work of this Conference in the coming months and years, including the development of a ratio translationis, or an application of the principles of translation for a given language, the role of Conferences of Bishops in overseeing sung texts, and the proper editing and publication of liturgical books.
Allow me to conclude these brief reflections with the words spoken by Pope John Paul II in the same address which first called for a renewal in the translation of liturgical texts. "The time has come," the Holy Father proclaimed, "to renew that spirit which inspired the Church at the moment when the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium was prepared, discussed, voted upon and promulgated, and when the first steps were taken to apply it. The seed was sown; it has known the rigors of winter, but the seed has sprouted, and become a tree. It is a matter of the organic growth of a tree becoming ever stronger the deeper it sinks its roots into the 'soil' of tradition." (Vicesimus Quintus Annus, no. 23)
May God make us worthy stewards of this special garden!
Over the past year the Secretariat for the Liturgy has developed a series of formational materials which may be used on the occasion of the publication of the new General Instruction of the Roman Missal by diocesan offices and parishes. These materials will be distributed free of charge to bishops and their diocesan offices for worship once the USA adaptations to the General Instruction have been confirmed by the Holy See. These formational items will include:
AT MASS - a series of five outlines, one or two pages in length, for liturgical ministers. Each outline will begin with a brief theological introduction and be followed by a practical outline of the role of the Reader, the Altar Server, the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, the Cantor and the Choir at Mass. Lengthier pieces will describe the roles of the priest and deacon at Mass.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE REVISED GIRM (approximately 30 pages) - a presentation which may be used in whole or in part to reflect on four major theological themes of Sacrosanctum concilium. A methodology is proposed whereby the same theological perspectives can found in the GIRM and may be seen to develop organically into the rubrics and prayers of the Roman Missal.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW GIRM - a Corel Presentations/Microsoft Powerpoint presentation of approximately 20 minutes which describes the origin and content of the new General Instruction of the Roman Missal.
BULLETIN INSERTS (9) - designed to introduce basic questions of eucharistic theology and practice at Mass for a popular audience.