Recently posted on the Homiletic & Pastoral Review site:
The new English translation of the Roman Missal is one of the most significant liturgical reforms in the life of the Church since the Second Vatican Council. Its effect is immediate and broad. This revision of liturgical language, likewise, intimately affects the religious experience of English speaking Catholics. And yet it is precisely this impact that affords the Church an unparalleled opportunity for authentic renewal.
One particular dimension deserving attention is the manner by which the Church receives the sacred words of the Liturgy. To simply enact the new legislation, to explain the principles guiding the method of translation, or to explain its correspondence to Christian dogma fails to exhaust the full potential of this liturgical change. This reform must be accompanied by a type of examination of conscience. Whether attitudes and integration with daily life receive new inspiration from the revised translation of the Roman Missal will serve as a “sign of the times,” a litmus test of the spirit of this generation.
The sacramentality of language
The celebration of the sacred liturgy in the vernacular was seen by the Second Vatican Council as an organic component of ecclesial renewal. While neither abrogating Latin, nor sanctioning unfettered use of the vernacular, the Council Fathers foresaw pastoral value behind wider application of the vernacular. It was noted that this “may frequently be of great advantage to the people” (Sacrosanctum Concilium §36). One aspect of this advantage is a fresh attention given to the sacramentality of language, by which I mean the capacity of language to communicate something about the mystery of God that is true, real, and meaningful.
Read the entire essay, written by Fr. Richard L. Schamber.
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