IN KEEPING WITH A PROMISE, #5

The yearning for an “elevated language” for worship is a noble desire, it seems to me. It is only a verbal component of the desire of the liturgy, in the pre-Preface dialogue, that we “Lift up [our] hearts,” along with the response, “We lift them up to the Lord.” Surely we want to lift up ALL of ourselves to the Lord…

One example of what is intended is effective for seeing what and where we are moving in our worship. In the opening portion of Eucharistic Prayer #3, the current translation reads: From age to age you gather a people to yourself, so that from east to west a perfect offering may be made to the glory of your name.

Now for those attuned to such things, here is the Latin: …et populum tibi congregare non desinis, ut a solis ortu usque ad occasum oblatio munda offeratur nomini tuo.

Let’s see what is happening in this brief illustration.

If I were to translate the Latin my rendition would be:

…and you never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure offering may be made to your name.

And here is how the proposed new Missal actually renders it:

…and you never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.

Interestingly, the new version and I (and yes, I did this independently), agree on the Latin to English process; what else is there to say? A few things, I think.

First of all, the argument for changing “from east to west” to “from the rising of the sun to its setting” is based on the language of Malachi 1:11. This is good, so far as it goes, but it must be remembered that “from east to west” also reflects Biblical imagery, as can be found in Psalm 103:11-12.

Second, one may quibble about my translation of oblation: I prefer offering (as does the New American Bible, by the way); the translators prefer sacrifice for what I believe are theological reasons (Eucharist is a sacrifice). But this is agenda, not translation.

Finally, the “older” translation simply does not take into account the Latin non desinis, which both I and the “newer” version render as “you never cease.” This is so much more effective and meaningful than the statement that ignores its existence entirely. It also emphasizes the mercy of God which (so to speak) never quits—it ALWAYS calls us together to be (in fact, to become) God’s People, forgiven and forgiving, in Jesus Christ… This new emphasis is a good thing.

We will never have (nor can we ever have) the “elevated language of the Book of Common Prayer. It is not our linguistic heritage, as it is for the Anglicans and Episcopalians who have used these words for more than 500 years. But our language can glorify God, nonetheless, so long as we remember to “Lift up [our] hearts,” as well as our language.