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Views from the Choir Loft

Roman Missal 3.0 — Installment No. 3

Fr. David Friel · February 10, 2012

We take up today the third “highlight” I would like to present on the topic of the new Roman Missal in English: the orientation of the canon. (And I’m not talking about where to point the big gun!)

The Roman Canon, sometimes also called Eucharistic Prayer I, is one of several different canons the priest may choose to pray during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. There are four main options, plus several others, but the Roman Canon is the canon with the longest history in the Roman Rite. In fact, it has been prayed almost unchanged for roughly 1500 years.

By comparing the first words of Eucharistic Prayer I in the new and old English translations with the Latin original, a remarkable change becomes obvious. Let’s begin with the official Latin, employed from time immemorial:

Te igitur, clementissime Pater…

This line, in the English translation of the former Sacramentary, was rendered:

We come to you, Father…

Now, with the newly translated Roman Missal, the following begins the Canon:

To you, therefore, most merciful Father, we…

In Latin, the words of a sentence can be placed almost anywhere and still maintain sensibility. Thus, the placement of words is empowered as a manner of conveying meaning. It is not by mistake, then, that the very first word of the Roman Canon is Te (“You”), referring to God. That the prayer begins with Te tells us the orientation of the whole prayer: toward the Father.

Word placement commands power in English, too, although there is less freedom in its regard than there is in Latin. What we have been praying since 1973, noticeably, changes the initial focus from Te (God) to We (us). This translation fails to capture the fundamental orientation that is so clear in the Latin and instead, unfortunately, places undue emphasis upon the worshipping community.

The new English translation has masterfully restored the essential orientation of this prayer. In addition to reinstating the loving description of our Father as “most merciful,” the placement of the word “you” at the outset of this prayer faithfully accomplishes the same nuance realized by the Latin.

Guided by the tremendous fidelity of our new translation, may we all be led “toward the Father!”

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Every experienced choirmaster’s work is founded on the following three axioms: (1) Few boys have a really good natural voice; (2) No boy is able to control his voice and produce good tone without training; (3) Most boys have a good ear, and considerable imitative capacity. It is on the last of these axioms that the choirmaster must begin his work.”

— Sir Richard Runciman Terry (1912)

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