Change: “It Is Right and Just”
On the surface, the modification of the Mass’s language to more closely resemble its Latin predecessor is a minor, inconsequential one: most other translations of the Mass, such as Spanish, already use a much more direct and literal interpretation, and any difficulties with learning the correct expressions & amendments to existing prayers are being offset by guides illustrating the new rendering of the Mass.
This is not to say, however, that there has not been a fair share of confusion regarding the changes. With the new Mass parts, especially where there has been a greater degree of revision (like the Nicene Creed, for example), the spontaneous reaction of the community is to revert to the old translation, regardless of whether or not the “cheat sheet” is present and despite the fact that more than a month has passed with the recent adaptation being used.
Exact Words Meet Metaphorical Allegory
The reasoning behind the changes to the current version of the English Mass raise an interesting and fundamental question of the Church: when is religious text meant to be taken at face value and when is it intended as parable? I am all for becoming closer in touch with God and the original inspiration for the Mass, but when it is filled with idioms that simply sound awkward in English (e.g., “I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof”), that discomfort potentially carries over into the rest of the celebration and provides the opportunity for distraction and discouragement.
Also, in Matthew 5:28-30, the Bible reads, “…whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it away from you…and if your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off and cast it away from you…” Now, common sense tells us that we shouldn’t cut out our eyes or chop off our hands even if we’ve sinned with them, and yet a literal interpretation of this passage would seem to insist we do just that. Where does the line begin and end? What constitutes an exact guideline as opposed to a construed suggestion? How can we be told to take one part of the Holy Mass as directly as possible and yet refer to the majority of the Word of God as divinely inspired stories?
A Light to Lead Through the Darkness
Thankfully, there does exist a manual to help us determine how to properly construe the Holy Scripture, and that is the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). As the official text regarding the teachings of the Catholic Church, the CCC presents a clear diagram of what and how the Bible and other religious texts portray their stories to the community, specifically paragraphs 101-119.
“In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm, and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words.” ~ CCC 109
While again this may seem to a somewhat subjective way of understanding Scripture, it is important to note that the divinely inspired text was written in a completely different era and culture, as well as having a distinctive style of narration and mode of figurative illustration. All in all, although the new interpretation of the Mass may seem unnecessary or distorted to some, the change was made in order to provide the Catholic community with an improved connection with Jesus Christ, and as with all things, only time will tell if the venture was a successful one.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers the teachings of the Church in straightforward, easy-to-navigate compilation. You can find the Catechism online on the Vatican website and also at the USCCB website (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops).