The Happy Priest On Continuing Our Preparation of the New Mass Translation

Perhaps the words for many and the words and with your spirit will be the most noticeable changes that we will have to become accustomed too, but we need to keep in mind that deeper words will bring our attention to a deeper understanding of the profound theology within the Catholic Mass. 

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - Let us continue our reflection on the Catholic Mass by picking up where we left off last week.  Just as we can lift up the hood of a car and examine the components of the engine, we have already begun a closer investigation of the Catholic Mass by taking a look at the first principal part of the Mass which is called the Liturgy of the Word.  Let us now take a look at the second principal part of the Mass which is called the Liturgy of the Eucharist. 

The Liturgy of the Eucharist has four components: the Preparation of the Gifts, the Eucharistic Prayer, the Communion Rite and the Concluding Rite.  This week we will look more closely at the Preparation of the Gifts and the Eucharistic Prayer.  Next week we will consider the Communion Rite and the Concluding Rite. 

"At the beginning of the Preparation of the Gifts, the gifts of bread and wine which will become Christ's Body and Blood are brought to the altar" (General Instruction on the Roman Missal. 38).  This part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist has a special significance because the act of bringing up the gifts is one of the important manifestations of the active participation that the Vatican II document on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, envisioned. 

"Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participation by the Christian people as 'a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people' (1 Pet. 2:9; cf. 2:4-5), is their right and duty by reason of their baptism" (Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium #14).

The very act of the lay faithful bringing up the offertory gifts of bread and wine is an act that proceeds from the priesthood of the faithful. Thus with these offertory gifts we bring the combined sweat and blood, sorrows and joys of the assembly gathered together for Sunday worship. 

In the early days of the Church the offertory processions were more elaborate and the gifts themselves were of an immediate practical nature.  Everything that the Bishop and the priests of the community needed for their weekly sustenance was brought up at this time. Bread and live animals were carried in the procession that the clergy of the community might eat that week. Thus, the parish community had a real sense of supporting not only a church building, but equally important the clergy that shepherded them.  

The celebrant washes his fingers at the end of the Preparation of the Gifts precisely because in the early Church the nature of the offerings brought up by the lay faithful actually demanded that the celebrant cleanse his hands before entering into the Eucharistic Prayer.

After the Preparation of the Gifts, we then proceed to the Eucharistic Prayer.  The Eucharistic Prayer is really the central moment of the Catholic liturgy.  The General Instruction of the Roman Missal calls it "the center and summit of the entire celebration - the prayer of thanksgiving and sanctification" (40).

The Eucharistic Prayer is always preceded by the Preface.  The reform of the Second Vatican Council not only gave us the use of more Eucharistic Prayers or Canons besides the use of the Roman Canon or the First Eucharistic Prayer, but it also gave us the use of a large number of Prefaces. 

For many centuries, the Mass had only one Eucharistic Prayer, which we now call Eucharistic Prayer I. Immediately after the Second Vatican Council, the Church added three more Eucharistic Prayers to the collection. Eucharistic Prayer V, Eucharistic Prayers I and II for Reconciliation and Eucharistic Prayers of Children have followed since.

Eucharistic Prayer II is an adaptation of the Eucharistic Prayer found in the third century.  Scholars believe that Saint Hipolitus composed this prayer.  Eucharistic Prayer III is a new composition. Although it is similar in some respects to the First Eucharistic Prayer, it does incorporate some elements from other sources. Eucharistic Prayer IV is related to an ancient prayer used in Egypt and later adapted into what came to be known as the Anaphora of Saint Basil.

The high point of the Eucharistic Prayer is the consecration.  This is when the miracle of the Eucharist takes place.  "By means of words and actions of Christ, the Sacrifice is carried out which Christ himself instituted at the Last Supper, when he offered his Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine, gave them to his Apostles to eat and drink, and left them the command to perpetuate this same mystery" (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, p. 41).

Regarding the new translation of the Roman Missal, perhaps the most noticeable change in all of the Eucharistic Prayers is the literal translation of the Latin words pro multis, found in formula for the consecration of the Precious Blood of Jesus. 

Currently the Latin words pro multis are translated as for all.  However, the new translation renders these words as for many. 

The pro multis theme was a common topic of heated debate after the Second Vatican Council.  It is interesting that the Catholic Church has addressed this issue again with the new translation.

It is true that Our Lord died on the Cross for all men and women (cf. John 11: 52; 2 Corinthians 5: 14-15; Titus 2: 11; 1 John 2:2).  However, the reasons behind the decision to return to the literal translation were laid out by the Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in a letter to the presidents of all the national bishops' conferences on Oct. 17, 2006 (Prot. N. 467/05/L).  The document states:  

"The expression 'for many,' while remaining open to the inclusion of each human person, is reflective also of the fact that this salvation is not brought about in some mechanistic way, without one's willing or participation; rather, the believer is invited to accept in faith the gift that is being offered and to receive the supernatural life that is given to those who participate in this mystery, living it out in their lives as well so as to be numbered among the 'many' to whom the text refers."

Perhaps the words for many and the words and with your spirit will be the most noticeable changes that we will have to become accustomed too, but we need to keep in mind that deeper words will bring our attention to a deeper understanding of the profound theology within the Catholic Mass.

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Father James Farfaglia is the pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Visit Father James on the web at http://www.fatherjames.org and purchase his new book Get Serious! A Survival Guide for Serious Catholics and his first book, Man to Man: A Real Priest Speaks to Real Men about Marriage, Sexuality and Family Life.  Father has a hard hitting blog called Illegitimi non carborundum.  You can contact Father James at fjficthus@gmail.com.  Click here for the audio podcast of this homily which is posted every Sunday afternoon.

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