Church soon to implement changes in Mass translation

CHANGES in the English translation of the Order of the Mass are soon to hit parishes across the country when the full implementation of the new liturgical text is adapted next year.

The adoption of the new English translation of the Roman Missal has been approved by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) during its plenary assembly in January this year.

Some parts of familiar responses and prayers have been amended to reflect the true meaning in the original Latin text, the language of the Roman liturgy.

In the Introductory Rites, for instance, the response of the faithful “And also with you” to the priest’s greeting “The Lord be with you” has been replaced with “And with your spirit.”

Similar changes have also been introduced in other parts of the Mass, such as the Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Concluding Rites.

Also in the Eucharistic prayer, the text “…cup of my blood” has been changed to “…chalice of my blood.” Likewise, the text “it will be shed for you and for all men” has been changed to “which will be poured out for you and for many.”

English-speaking countries including the Philippines are currently using the 1973 English translation of the Roman Missal prepared by the International Commission on English Liturgy (ICEL) which followed a sense translation.

Catechesis

To prepare the faithful for the liturgical changes, the CBCP has asked Fr. Anscar Chupungco, OSB, former executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy, to make a catechetical primer on the liturgical development.

Chupungco was a professor and president of St. Anselm Pontifical Institute of Liturgy in Rome and currently the director of the Paul VI Institute of the Liturgy in Bukidnon.

Addressed to both clergy and laity, the primer explains the major changes in translation and gives an analysis and catechesis on the translated text.

“The text to be discussed is shown in Latin and in the 1973 and 2010 English translations. This facilitates quick comparison between the Latin text and its translations,” Chupungco explained in the primer’s preface.

He said the catechesis offered in the primer is in the form of reflection on the text or a part of the Holy Mass.

“Comprehension of the meaning of liturgical prayers and other formulas is necessary for active participation as desired by the Second Vatican Council,” Chupungco explained.

‘Tools for translators’

Although the primer has been prepared mainly to aid pastors in catechizing the faithful regarding the changes, Chupungco said the material also serves “to provide some tools for translators in other languages”.

He explained that translations of the liturgy in other languages should be made from the original Latin text. Translating from English is not advisable, he said, “because English has linguistic and cultural properties that are proper to it and may not be present in other languages.”

The Holy See has twice issued Instructions on how translations of the Roman Missal to other languages should be done, first in 1969 and second in 2001. The first Instruction preferred the sense translation while the second insisted on literal translation.

Because of almost 40 years of familiarity with the 1973 English translation, there is a need to explain well to the people the rationale behind the changes, Chupungco said.

“It should be pointed out that the previous and the new translations do not differ in doctrinal content, although each expresses it in distinctive styles proper to the methods of translation known as dynamic equivalence and formal correspondence,” he said.

For his part, Fr. Genaro Diwa, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy said any changes always usher in some difficulties, hence the need for liturgical catechesis for everybody, including the bishops and priests.

The new translation will be introduced throughout the Philippines on the first Sunday of Advent in December 2, 2012. The season of Advent is the beginning of a new liturgical season in the Church calendar.

Manila to hold 60-hour adoration for pope’s 60th sacerdotal anniv

THE Archdiocese of Manila will hold a 60-hour Eucharistic adoration to mark the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s sacerdotal ordination on June 29.

In a communiqué sent to all parish priests, rectors and religious superiors throughout the archdiocese, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said the 60-hour adoration “presents an inspired occasion for us to present a sincere manifestation of our spiritual union” with the pope.

The Holy hour will be offered for the sanctification of priests and will begin on June 29, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, (also the pope’s presbyteral ordination date) and ends on July 1, Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

A prayer booklet in English and Tagalog has been prepared by the archdiocese’s Liturgical Commission to be used for the occasion by parishes and religious communities.

The cardinal further urged the parish priests, chaplains, rectors and religious superiors to document their 60-hour adoration or part of it and furnish the archdiocesan chancery with a copy together with a written summary of the activities.

The documentation will be sent to the Holy Father, Rosales said.

The Vatican’s Congregation of the Clergy on June 16 has encouraged bishops all over the world “to promote 60 hours of Eucharistic adoration for the sanctification of all priests, for new vocations, and for Pope Benedict XVI, who will celebrate 60 years as a priest on June 29.”

So what if we are the only country left without divorce law?

The lawmakers who are pushing for divorce to become a law in the Philippines argued that the Philippines is the only country (aside from the Vatican) left without divorce law after Malta, a Catholic nation like ours, has finally allowed divorce after the people voted for the measure in a referendum. This argument of the lawmakers borders on the simplistic if not idiotic, to say the least. So what, if we are the only nation left standing without a divorce law? I find it sad that as a people, we tend to imbibe so easily the practices of other countries even if these are contrary to our long held cultural values. Is having no divorce in the country something to be ashamed of? No, in fact, love of family and children are at the very core of our cultural identity as a people.

Former CBCP president Archbishop Oscar Cruz even said having no divorce in the country is a distinction and indeed, we should be proud of it. He said the Filipinos are known internationally as being family and children oriented. In fact, he said, when the Holy Father was asked on one occasion what the Filipino culture was noted for, the Pontiff reportedly declared, it was ‘love for the family.’

The Philippine Constitution upholds the sanctity of marriage and family life. Article II, Section 12 of the 1987 Constitution states that “The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution.” Since the very aim of divorce is to break the marriage of a husband and wife, and consequently the family, then there’s no doubt the bill goes against the provision of the constitution.

And yet, despite what the Constitution clearly says, one of the authors of the bill, Gabriela Party-list Representative Luzviminda Ilagan stands pat on her argument that the divorce bill will not violate the Constitution. Hello?

Another argument is that divorce will allow women to get out of a bad marriage and be able to remarry. The lawmakers even quoted some statistics on the increasing number of cases of battered women in the country. Still, I believe divorce is not the answer to the problems raised. Instead divorce will only weaken the foundation of marriage, because individuals may enter into marriage with a person without much thought and preparation, since anyway, it would be easy to divorce the person once the relationship does not work.

The Family Code of the Philippines allows couples to separate in the event that the two cannot live together because of serious reasons; and the Catholic Church also permits annulment on some cases. But both situations do not allow the individual to remarry again.

Marriage is a sacrament, a sacred covenant between two individuals with God as their witness. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “The love of the spouses requires, of its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of the spouses' community of persons, which embraces their entire life: ‘so they are no longer two, but one flesh’.” The love that binds the couple in marriage is a reflection of the love that God has for man.

Legalizing divorce in the country will only lead to more broken families and kids growing up without parental guidance. Children always end up as victims in the event of a family breakdown caused by the separation of parents. Divorce will certainly open a floodgate of problems that would eventually destroy the family—considered the basic unit of society.

Lost innocence

One of the many children begging in the streets
He came up the jeep I was riding in
And distributed dirty envelope to passengers
I glanced at the envelope the child shoved on my knee
Did not say a thing
I raised up my eyes and noticed the other passengers
Indifferent, staring at nothing
I looked down again
This time on a small paper bag I had on my lap
Inside it were bits of chocolates
And a boiled saba
Extra of what I had for lunch
I couldn’t give him money
I didn’t want to
‘Coz he might just spend it for sniff
Or gamble it away, so I thought.
But will give him the bag
So he can eat the chocolates and the saba
He stood up and gathered again the envelopes
Dirty, empty envelopes from the knees of passengers
Unmindful of his presence.
I handed him the bag
Did I see a flicker of gratitude lights up his eyes?
Would those pieces of chocolates and saba
Stab the pangs of hunger in his stomach?
Or somebody else’s?
A mother… or a younger sibling perhaps…
waiting for him to come home?