New Translation Monday (Lord, I am not worthy)

As we mark the first week of Advent 2010, the English speaking Church looks towards the same week in 2011 which brings the debut of the new translation of the Roman Missal.  Last week, I started a catechesis on the more pertinent changes to the Ordinary.  This week I continue in the same vein, and I have also listed a link on the top right side bar that will host the past reflections as we make our way towards this monumental event one year from now.

The Gospel from this morning offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on the change in how the people will respond to the Ecce Agnus Dei following the Lamb of God.  Before visiting the text itself, both old and new, let us take a moment to read through today’s Gospel from Matthew:

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 

The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”  (Mt 8:5-11)

Following the Lamb of God, the current translation contains the following interchange:

Priest: This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Happy are those who are called  to his supper.

People: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

The Latin text actually reads:

Priest: Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi.  Beati qui ad cenam Agni vocati sunt.

People:  Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo et sanabitur anima mea.

The text of the people’s response comes from the Gospel passage above.  The centurion answers the Lord, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”  It is the only response humble enough to be fitting of Jesus’ invitation.  Truly, we are not worthy, yet through an act of sheer grace, our souls can be made suitable for the divine presence.

I have often pointed out to non-Catholics that much of the Mass finds it origin in Scripture.  This response to the Ecce Agnus Dei (“Behold the Lamb of God”) is a prime example of such a text.  While the current translation “points” to the Gospel passage, the new translation actually is the Gospel passage:

Priest: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world.  Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.

People: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.

This highlights one of the three reasons for improving the English translation of the Mass: greater fidelity to the Scriptural roots of the texts.  (The other two reasons are (1) a more proper rendering of the Latin and (2) the need for a more formal, aesthetically pleasing language for the liturgy.)  Once the new translation “sets in” with the people, when the Gospel passage in question is recited, their ears will immediately perk up as if to say, “Hey, I recognize that!  That is from Mass!”  (Of course the reality is the reverse, that the Mass text is from Scripture, but simply recognizing the connection is profound.)

For this particular passage, greater fidelity to Scripture is the main reason for the improvement.  However, a more accurate rendering of the Latin is also relevant.  Consider the priest’s part.  Even those untrained in Latin are able to recognize that the word ecce occurs twice in the first clause.  In the old translation, the second utterance of “behold” has disappeared.  The new translation has remedied this.

The second clause of the priest’s part contains two improvements.  First, the Latin beati can in some cases be rendered as “happy”, but to do so in today’s culture risks reducing the experience to mere emotion.  Beatitude is the noun that we are looking for rather than happiness, but the best rendering as an adjective is blessed.  This establishes continuity between this phrase and (1) referring to the beatified as “Blessed” (as in “Beata Kateri Tekakwitha, ora pro nobis) (2) the beatitudes (as in Beati, qui nunc esuritis, quia saturabimini), as well as many other parallel uses of beati.  The second change reflects not only a Scriptural reality, but a theological one as well.  Again, even those untrained in Latin will recognize the word Agnus in the phrase cenam Agni, which translates “supper of the Lamb.”  In the old translation, the word “Lamb” was mysteriously dropped from the phrase.  This is not only a mistranslation of the Latin, but also a failure to connect the Eucharist not with a generic meal (“supper”) but with the heavenly feast described in the Book of Revelation.  As many have pointed out, there is only one Mass.  Each time we are present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we are present (1) at the foot of Calvary, (2) at the Last Supper, (3) at every instance of the Mass throughout all of history (past and present), and (4) at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb that constitutes the Heavenly Liturgy.

Finally, in the second clause of the people’s response, the Latin word anima appears.  Translated “soul”, the improved translation restores the word in “and my soul shall be healed.”  While it is true that in one sense we are our soul (philosophically speaking we say that the soul is the form of, or what gives life to, the body), there is a particular need to emphasize the word in this passage.  There are several points during the Mass where venial sins are cleansed, but this is the last moment before receiving the Eucharistic Lord.  There is a connection that professing our unworthiness and pleading with the Lord to enter and heal our soul shares with receiving him.  On a personal note, for me this has also served as a reminder of the connection shared between the Sacrament of Penance and the Holy Eucharist.  Specifically mentioning the soul helps us to understand that we not only receive Christ into our bodies but also into our very being.