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How did the Roman Missal originate?

In the early Christian Church, many of the prayers that were said at Eucharist were memorized and handed down by word of mouth. Eventually the prayers were collected and written down in books known as sacramentaries (book of sacraments). Scripture readings were recorded in other books and the Psalms were written in a book called the Psalter. Throughout the ages, as these manuscripts were passed down, modifications and additions were made. Eventually, all the chants, prayers, instructions and scriptures were organized into one book. It was written in Latin and as the texts contained in it continued to evolve over the next five centuries it became quite large. After the Second Vatican Council, the Mass was translated into many different languages (the vernacular).

Prayer before the Sign of Peace
A Walk through the New Mass
Former: New:
Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles:
I leave you peace, My peace I give you.
Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church,
Lord Jesus Christ,
who said to your Apostles,
Peace I leave you, my peace I give you,
look not on our sins,
but on the faith of your Church,

To some, the syntax of the new version may sound strange. In the new translation, when the Latin has a subordinate clause, this structure has usually been preserved, whereas the earlier English version tended to turn subordinate clauses into independent ones, often so that they fell more easily on the ear. A survey done by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy during the 1980s indicated, however, that many people wished to see a more formal style of liturgical language with a greater accuracy in rendering the content of the original Latin.

The well-known words ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you’ come from John 14:27.

The prayer continues:

and grant us the peace and unity of
your kingdom
where you live for ever and ever
and graciously grant her peace and unity
in accordance with your will.
Who live and reign for ever and ever.

The words ‘grant us’ have been changed here to ‘grant her’ – the Church, This is because the prayer is for the whole of the Church, not just for ‘us’.

The image of the kingdom (now being removed) was imported into the 1973 English version without being present in the Latin. The word ‘where’ is also being removed because it is seen as implying that Christ’s Kingdom is spatial – a view not favoured by Scripture scholars, who often prefer the noun ‘reign’ to translate the Greek basileia.

Based on the DVD ‘Become One Body, One Spirit, in Christ’.

©2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

 

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