Feast of Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen:
Abbess, Mystic, Prophet, Author, Musician (1098-1179)

Hildegard's feast has been set in the Roman Martryology for centuries but it is only now that she is being officially declared a saint AND Doctor of the Church. She will be the 35th individual declared Doctor of the Church and the fourth woman after St. Catherine of Siena, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Therese of Lisieux. We were given hints that Pope Benedict XVI  might make some proclamation of Hildegard when he spoke of her frequently in his talks in 2010-11. The early effort to officially canonize her suffered from neglect but she was canonized by acclamation in Europe, especially in Germany. It seems that the Pope will present her name and about 20 others to the upcoming Synod of Bishops in Rome. Also on the list are two Americans, Kateri Tekakwitha and Sister Mary Ann Cope of Molikai.

 

Research for revision of material for my presentation at Holy Cross Monastery on October 10 has brought a great discovery. A doctoral student at the University of Tennessee, Allison Elledge has written a number of very significant papers on Hildegard. She has made great use of new translations and her own linguistic skills. Her great success is to view Hildegard in her time and place rather than through the lens of our experience. She down plays the feminist but emphasizes the freedom of the prophet and the calls to reform issued by Hildegard in her texts, letters and sermons. There are a number of papers so just Google.

 

For other words about Hildegard search this blog. Use the search box in the side bar to the right.

Coming Soon to Your Parish

The New Roman Missal
Second Article in a Series

About one week ago each of the sisters in our contemplative community was given a CD recording of the new adaptation of The Heritage Mass musical setting for the parts of the Mass often sung by the congregation. The melodies we have been singing for over 30 years are very familiar to all church-going American Catholics. But the changes in wording of these prayers in the New Roman Missal, which goes into use on the First Sunday of Advent, require some tweaking of the original music. Old habits are hard to break. We had a week to listen to the music privately and attune our ears and vocal chords to the differences. Today we had our first practice session with a music teacher. We did well, I must say, even though we do not all read music! We even got to listen to the new Mass music by Dan Shutte. Now we have another CD to listen to so that it will become familiar before our next practice.

My last post introduced the topic of the New Roman Missal for use at Mass and presented some of the historical background. Here I would like to present some additional information and some thoughts to ponder. Most of the material is taken from talks given by Monsignor Richard E. Groncki, SJ and Sister Sandy DeMasi, SSJ from the Liturgy Office of the Diocese of Newark, New Jersey. They spoke at a recent meeting of the Metropolitan Association of Contemplative Communities.

Picking up on the translation history in my last post, it is necessary to say that there has been a history of effort toward liturgical renewal in the Church all through the 20^th century and now into the 21^st. There was a movement for renewal and liturgical adaptations made in each pontificate of the period. This began with the reforms of Pius X (1903-1914) which promoted the reception of First Eucharist at a younger age for children. Another reform with which some of us are familiar is the abolition of the all-night fast before receiving Holy Communion. And most memorable is the great shift into the vernacular which took place in the 1970s. It is a mistake therefore to think that the way things are now is how they always have been. One can imagine a cry from some quarters about allowing seven-year-olds to received Communion or about the sacrilege of ending the overnight fast. We can go back even further to a long period in the history of Church when receiving Communion daily or even weekly was not permitted. Saints we revere had to get special permission to do so.

What we will experience this Advent season will be another change in the continuum of constant change in our world, or families, our lives, and our Church. But we resist change with all our might. It makes us very uncomfortable and we find it arduous.

The text of the Mass that we are now using was approved in 1975 to take the place of the first English translation of 1970. Both of these translations were created as dynamic equivalency translations. Since this was the first time we would hear the words for the truths of our faith in English, it was thought that although literal translation was important it was also necessary that the words made sense. Thus attention was given to the catechetical dimension – the ability of the text to be a teacher of the faith.

The type of translation called for in the 3^rd typical edition of the Roman Missal in English to go into use on November 27, 2011 is referred to as formal equivalency translation. This translation sought word for word equivalency in meaning and an effort to retain the syntax (sentence structure) of the original Latin. It is marked by great deference to God, a high level of theology, adherence to scriptural references and less allowance for the celebrant to make on the spot changes.

Next time, we can consider the challenge presented in this change. We can consider how we might view this great shift in the liturgical setting as a challenge in our faith development. But more to the point, how we might use it as a vehicle for deepening our relationship with the One we come to meet with our brothers and sisters gathering for worship. Can we find the invitation here?

The Biggest Secret in the Catholic Church

The New Roman Missal
Coming

to Your Celebration
of Holy Mass
First Article in a Series

According to poll findings quoted in a recent national Catholic publication 77% of the Roman Catholics in the United States have no idea that when they come to Mass on November 27, 2011, the first Sunday of Advent, beginning of the Liturgical Year, all of the spoken parts of the Mass will have been changed, some in minor ways and some in major ways. At the very least, we will all be jarred out of our comfortable automatic response to the priest who says, “The Lord be with you.” We will no longer say, “And also with you,” but rather, “And with your spirit.” To be jarred out of sheer habitual response is not necessarily a bad thing. Much more thought provoking will be some unusual vocabulary, some unusual sentence constructions and, most importantly, changes in translation that will make us think more deeply and perhaps for the first time in a long time about just what it is we celebrate when we come together as the People of God and gathere around the table of the Lord for the Eucharistic Feast.

A bit of simple explanation for those to whom this is indeed big news. The words we say and hear at any Mass today are an English translation created in accord with the liturgical reforms instituted after the Second Vatican Council (1961-65). The translators were commissioned to produce an English version of the Latin Mass of the Missale Romanum. They were directed to translate for closest meaning into modern English the Latin in the Missale Romanum first promulgated in 1570 after the Council of Trent. In the four hundred intervening years minor changes  had been made in the Missale Romanum however the language of the Mass remained Latin and the rubrics of the Rite remained virtually the same from 1570 on.

There is a saying among those who carry out the arduous and thankless task of translation; “The translator is a traitor.” Unless you know two languages well enough to attempt translation, you cannot appreciate how difficult the process of translating for meaning as well as fluidity can be. Languages simply do not match and nuances of meaning often cannot be put into reasonable words in the second language, never mind the impossibility of idiomatic expressions that defy translation because they are so deeply rooted in only their particular culture. These days amazing translations of Russian literature into English are being done by a much lauded team of husband and wife, Larissa Volokhonsky and Richard Pevear. A great article about them appeared in The New Yorker Magazine. She is a native speaker of Russian with a huge command of the English language. He is a native English speaker with a corresponding command of Russian. Each translates the Russian work independently and then they hash out all of the puzzles in the ways their versions do not agree. It takes years.

Prayers for Vigil Mass for Christmas

For years there have been complaints about our current English translation of the Missale Romanum. So, as you will find out if you go the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), it was decided that a new translation be prepared, a translation closely faithful to the literal meaning of the original Latin and even to matching its sentence structure. There has been a great deal of back and forth about this New Roman Missal. But over a year ago it was announced that it would become the official translation for the Mass on the first Sunday of Advent this year. As a bit of trivia – the book the priest uses at the altar which contains all of these prayers has been called the “Sacramentary” since 1970. No longer will it be so. The book on the altar will be called the “Roman Missal”.

These changes have also had consequences for church musicians since the wording for the parts of the Mass commonly sung, that is the Gloria, the Holy, the Eucharistic Acclamation, and the Lamb of God, have been changed requiring adaptation to some Mass settings and composition of entirely new ones. We will have to learn them. Some parishes began this process weeks, if not months, ago. Here in our monastery we have been listening to an adapted Heritage Mass Setting on CDs.

More will follow here on this subject. Perhaps this explanation and the links provided will assist you in beginning your own transition to the new text and also promote a smoother process in the community with which you worship. That which we partake at the Eucharistic celebration, that which we remember so as to make Him present in this place and time goes far beyond mere words, whatever the language.