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This week we take up another pair of prayers recited by the priest during the Preparation of the Gifts. These two are almost always recited in silence, so it is entirely possible the faithful will have never heard them. The Missale Romanum itself directs that the priest dicit secreto (“says in secret”).
The first prayer is a plea on the part of the priest that the gifts being offered (the bread and wine) be found acceptable to God. The current translation reads:
“Lord God, we ask you to receive us and be pleased with the sacrifice we offer you with humble and contrite hearts.”
The new translation is:
“With humble spirit and contrite heart may we be accepted by you, O Lord, and may our sacrifice in your sight this day be pleasing to you, Lord God.”
Before discussing the differences, let us look briefly at the Latin:
In spíritu humilitátis et in ánimo contríto suscipiámur a te, Dómine; et sic fiat sacrifícium nostrum in conspéctu tuo hódie, ut pláceat tibi, Dómine Deus.
One thing you will notice is that the Latin begins with the phrase “In [With] humble spirit and in [with] contrite hearts.” I have made the point before that Latin word order is often different than English, so translation requires re-ordering the text. For instance, Latin verbs almost always come at the end of phrases, whereas in English they occur in between the subject and object. In fact, in this very phrase we reorder the adjective-noun paris, for the Latin spiritu humilitatis would sound odd if translated as “spirit humble” rather than “humble spirit.” However, if a change in word order is not necessary, then I say let it be. Such is the case in keeping the first clause of the Latin first in the English translation. Therefore, the new translation is better in this regard. Besides, there is something said to leading the prayer off with a recognition of our humility. You will also note that the new translation maintains both nouns: “spirit” (spiritu) and “heart” (animo). Animo (which is a form of animus) can means “spirit,” “soul,” or “heart.” Thus, the current translation is not necessarily wrong for collapsing spiritu and animo to “spirit,” but if the Latin contains two different words, it seems more logical to use two different English words in the translation. Further, the current translation incorrectly uses the plural (“hearts”), whereas both nouns in the Latin (spiritu and animo) are singular. This has been corrected in the new translation.
The plea involved in this prayer is actually two-fold. We are asking, as we always do, that both the gifts we offer and our very selves be found acceptable by God. The Latin separates these two requests, and the phrase “with humble spirit and contrite heart” is clearly tied to the plea that we may be found acceptable. The reordering in the current translation mistakenly applies the phrase to both requests.
The rest of this phrase is translated beautifully in the new version. Suscipiamur can mean “may we be taken up/acknowledged/caught up/received/accepted/borne/begotten.” Thus, a literal rendering of the phrase is precisely what we get in the new translation: In [With] spíritu humilitátis [humble spirit] et in [and with] ánimo contríto [contrite heart] suscipiámur [may we be accepted] a te [to you], Dómine [O Lord].
The beauty of the second phrase is simply lost in the current translation. Fiat is the same word used by Mary at the annunciation: Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum (“Let it be done unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). For this reason, Mary’s humble self surrender is often referred to as her “Fiat”. The “it” in the case of Mary’s acceptance is the conception of the Son of God, but in this prayer, the “it” is “our sacrifice” (sacrificium nostrum).
The new translation is virtually spot on. The only thing I would criticize it the dropping of the word sic. Sic means “thus” or “so.” I would have rather seen the translation as:
“With humble spirit and contrite heart may we be accepted by you, O Lord; thus, may our sacrifice in your sight this day be pleasing to you, Lord God.”
Not only does the Latin contain the word sic, but it seems to emphasize that our request that the sacrifice we offer be found pleasing to God in some way depends on the plea that we ourselves be found pleasing to Him.
The second prayer is said by the priest as he washes his hands. Currently the priest says,
“Lord, wash away my iniquity; cleanse me from my sin.”
In the new translation he will instead say,
“Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”
There is only a slight difference, mostly in word order. The new translation, as we have come to expect, is much closer to the Latin word order:
Lava me [Wash me], Dómine [O Lord], ab [from] iniquitáte [iniquity] mea [my], et [and] a [from] peccáto [sin] meo [my] munda [cleanse] me [me].
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