Mass Transit
The new English translation of the Mass went into the effect today. This is the biggest change in the Roman Rite Mass to happen in the English speaking world in decades. The old translation had its own share of problems and shortcomings, but no translation is ever perfect. Usually there is a tradeoff between an esthetic appeal and accuracy, and either way something is always lost.
The new translation aims to be closer to the original Latin. There are many good reasons why this is a good idea. The most important, in my opinion, are the theological considerations. The old translation all too often shuns the high-minded theological concepts and in their stead substituted more commonplace terms and phrases. Unfortunately this desire to make the Mass immensely accessible strips it of many of the most eloquent expressions of the profundity of our faith. In many instance it effectively substitutes orthodox Christianity with something that verges on moralistic therapeutic deism. The new translation will hopefully make us all mindful of the deepest truths of our faith and reclaim the traditions that have sustained untold generations of Catholics that came before us. It will hopefully also be a good incentive to start paying closer attention to the words that we say during the Mass. I caught myself slipping into the old wording on a several occasions today, which brought to my attention the fact that I've been cruising through those parts of the Mass on autopilot for a while now.
The old translation of the Mass is the one that I have been the most familiar with in all of my years as a Catholic. I have entered the Church in 1992, shortly after my family and I had become refugees in Croatia. In a matter of few short months I had gone on to the United States, and it is here that I have really become a Catholic. I've learned the words of the Mass just by attending it on a regular basis, and because of this personal experience this old translation will always have a very special place in my heart.