Friday, July 25, 2008

Vatican Approves New English Translation For The Order Of Mass

This was released today by the USCCB:

WASHINGTON— The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has received approval (recognitio) from the Holy See’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for the new English-language translation of the Order of Mass (Ordo Missae).

This is the first section of the translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal. It includes most of the texts used in every celebration of the Mass, including the responses that will be said by the people.

In its letter, the Congregation pointed out that while the texts are binding, the approval “does not intend that these texts are to be put into use immediately.”

Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation, explained the reasons for providing the text at this time. The purpose is to provide “time for the pastoral preparation of priests, deacons and for appropriate catechesis of the lay faithful. It will likewise facilitate the devising of musical settings for parts of the Mass.”

The text is covered by copyright law and the Statutes of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy.

The more significant changes of the people’s parts are:

  1. et cum spiritu tuo is rendered as “And with your spirit”


  2. In the Confiteor, the text “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault” has been added


  3. The Gloria has been translated differently and the structure is different from the present text


  4. In the Preface dialogue the translation of “Dignum et justum est” is “It is right and just”


  5. The first line of the Sanctus now reads “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts”


  6. The response of the people at the Ecce Agnus Dei is “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

At this time, no date is available as to when the entire translation of the Roman Missal will be released.


As far as I can see, the text of the new translation of the ordo Missæ itself has not been officially released.

More recent articles:


Launching “Theological Classics”: Newman on the Virgin Mary, St Vincent on Novelty & Heresy, Guardini on Sacred Signs
At a time of turmoil, nothing could be better or more important than rooting ourselves more deeply in the Catholic tradition. One of my favorite quotations is by St. Prosper of Aquitaine (390-455), writing in his own age of chaos: “Even if the wounds of this shattered world enmesh you, and the sea in turmoil bears you along in but one surviving shi...

Low Sunday 2025
With his inquisitive right hand, Thomas searched out Thy life-bestowing side, O Christ God; for when Thou didst enter while the doors were shut, he cried out to Thee with the rest of the Apostles: Thou art my Lord and my God. (The Kontakion of St Thomas Sunday at Matins in the Byzantine Rite.)Who preserved the disciple’s hand unburnt when he drew n...

The Easter Sequence Laudes Salvatori
The traditional sequence for Easter, Victimae Paschali laudes, is rightly regarded as one of the greatest gems of medieval liturgical poetry, such that it was even accepted by the Missal of the Roman Curia, which had only four sequences, a tradition which passed into the Missal of St Pius V. But of course, sequences as a liturgical genre were extre...

The Paschal Stichera of the Byzantine Rite in English
One of the most magnificent features of the Byzantine Rite is a group of hymns known as the Paschal stichera. These are sung at Orthros and Vespers each day of Bright Week, as the Easter octave is called, and thenceforth on the Sundays of the Easter season, and on the Leave-taking of Easter, the day before the Ascension. As with all things Byzantin...

Medieval Vespers of Easter
In the Breviary of St Pius V, Vespers of Easter Sunday and the days within the octave present only one peculiarity, namely, that the Chapter and Hymn are replaced by the words of Psalm 117, “Haec dies quam fecit Dominus; exsultemus et laetemur in ea. – This is the day that the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice therein.” In the Office, this...

Summer Graduate-Level Sacred Music Study - Tuition-free
The May 1st application deadline is approaching for summer graduate courses in sacred music at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music. Graduate-level study structured for busy schedulesIn-person, intensive course formatsAffordable room & boardFree tuitionLearn more and apply here.Courses:Choral InstituteComposition SeminarOrgan ImprovisationIn...

The Last Service of Easter
Following up on Monday’s post about the service known as the Paschal Hour in Byzantine Rite, here is the text of another special rite, which is done after Vespers on Easter day itself. It is brief enough to show the whole of it with just one photograph from the Pentecostarion, the service book which contains all the proper texts of the Easter seaso...

Should Communion Sometimes Be Eliminated to Avoid Sacrilege?
In a post at his Substack entitled “Nobody is talking about this in the Catholic world,” Patrick Giroux has the courage and good sense to raise the issue of the indiscriminate reception of the Lord at weddings and funerals where many attendees are not Catholics, or, if Catholics, not practicing, not in accord with Church teaching, or not in a state...

Update on the Palestrina500 Festival in Grand Rapids
On Friday, February 14th, the feast of Saint Valentine, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Grand Rapids, MI welcomed Gesualdo Six from London to sing a choral meditation and Mass for the parish's yearlong Palestrina500 festival.The choral meditation consisted of:Palestrina: Litaniae de Beata Virgine Maria a6Antoine Brumel: Sub tuum praesidiumJosquin d...

Catholic Education Foundation Seminar 2025: The Role of the Priest in Today’s Catholic School
July 16-18, at the Athenaeum of Ohio (the seminary of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati).Fr Peter Stravinskas of the Catholic Education Foundation is once again offering this excellent three-day seminar, intended primarily for bishops, priests, and seminarians. It is entitled The Role of the Priest in Today’s Catholic School.For further information: c...

For more articles, see the NLM archives: