I have been mostly smiling to myself for the last several months as I have read different things regarding the "preparation" of the laity for the new Roman Missal. I have been smiling, and mostly to myself, because of the obvious discomfort of those who have been doing most of the writing. It's quite evident that they are not happy about this. The new translation represents a big step backward for some, if not many. It's another blow to the revolution, their revolution.
In a booklet authored by a Fr. Turner for LTP, the author laments the passing of the old "Sacramentary" telling us that it "has served us well"..."helped entire communities make the jump from praying Mass in Latin to praying it in Enlgish"... "showed us how a good translation can enhance the prayer of individuals and of entire congregation"..."gave us a better understanding of the faith we share"...and "laid a foundation for vernacular worship upon which the Church is now building anew."
Never mind the fact that those "entire" congregations are now much smaller, that only 1/3 of Catholics believe in the Real Presence, and that the Vatican mandated the change more than ten years ago because the wayward translation was doing anything but laying a foundation.
The translations of 1970 and 1973 were seen and used as opportunities to further divorce the the English speaking church, particularly in the U.S., from Rome and any vestige of the "medieval" Church, especially as represented in the Traditional Mass.
That it has taken over a decade for the U.S. to respond to John Paul II's demand for a more authentic translation is indicative of the resistance to the giving up of the last rebel stronghold of the post Vatican II revolution, the Sacramentary that has given us fewer Catholics, less faithful Catholics, less knowledgable Catholics, less reverent Catholics, and less Catholic Catholics.
Lex orandi, lex credendi.
