Last week, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDWDS) formally approved the new translation of the Ordinary of the Mass. This has been a long time coming, as I remember seeing a early draft almost five years ago. Today, the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship released the recently approved parts of the order of the Mass. In my opinion, the new translation will be well worth waiting for. The language is far more poetic, while also maintaining consistency with the original Latin. The imagery within the prayers is far more vivid. The Roman Canon almost looks like a completely different prayer, with a translation that seems to flow better and connects more evenly as a whole.
One example of the improved imagery within the prayers comes in Eucharistic Prayer II. In the Sacramentary, the epiclesis is translated, “Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” In the new translation, the same line is translated, “Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” I love the imagery of the Holy Spirit coming upon the gifts like the dew on the grass, very gently and peacefully.
I’m looking forward to being able to celebrate Mass using this translation. It’s very much worthy of the dignity and beauty of the Mass, and I pray that the rest of the translations are as beautiful as this one is!
