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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Liturgical Press Has An “Oops” Moment

Jeff Ostrowski · November 5, 2015

148 Composer Paul Inwood OR A NUMBER OF YEARS, Collegeville Liturgical Press has sponsored three blogs: (1) PRAYTELL; (2) ROCK & THEOLOGY; and (3) RAIDS ACROSS COLOR LINES. Their Rock blog was discontinued, but the others are still going strong. On 30 October 2015, PrayTell published an article about formal vs. dynamic equivalence. 1

The author, Paul Inwood, had begun to ponder the concept of translating from one language to another. Inwood quickly discovered what every good translator knows: we must translate ideas not individual words. For example, many languages ask (literally) “how many years have you” whereas we would ask, “How old are you?”  2

For a long time, the “progressive” camp has argued that dynamic equivalence is good and formal equivalence is bad. This silly view must be discarded. All good translations employ a mixture of both. Indeed, Liturgiam Authenticam says: “Any adaptation to the characteristics or the nature of the various vernacular languages is to be sober and discreet.”

Dynamic equivalence is not “liberal.” Formal equivalence is not “conservative.” Fr. Adrian Fortescue and Msgr. Ronald Knox—truly legendary priests—were famous for their use of dynamic equivalence, and occasionally went to great lengths avoiding cognates. (Translations by Knox can seem funky/dated because he sometimes went overboard with dynamic equivalence.)

Collegeville made a huge mistake by publishing this article.  Mr. Inwood was trying to say that dynamic equivalence does not distort the true meaning. Yet, this same Paul Inwood wrote:

Seventh-century theology, spirituality, and culture are very far from where most of the Church is now. The 1973 translation concealed this fact from us. If we had known what the prayers really said, we would not have wanted to pray them any longer. Now we are faced with that question 40 years later, and it is not any easier.

Dr. Peter Jeffery, a Benedictine Oblate of Collegeville, does not like LITURGIAM AUTHENTICAM, and is cited by Inwood. 3 However, I doubt Dr. Jeffery would be willing to question its fruits:

    * *  PDF • COMPARISON CHART A

    * *  PDF • COMPARISON CHART B

There will always be disputes about liturgical translation. One thing, however, is incontrovertible: the “grass roots revolution” against the new translation—something ardently & publicly hoped for by PrayTell over a period of years—did not occur. The fact that so many millions of Catholics in the USA, Canada, Britain, South Africa, Singapore, the Philippines, and so forth accepted this new translation was due in large part to the efforts of Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth, the wise and joyful executive director of ICEL. 4



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   The blog moderator, Fr. Anthony Ruff, is known for blocking most (not all) comments which advocate “conservative” views, and he’s certainly within his rights to ban opposing views. Unfortunately, PrayTell occasionally deletes entire articles—even those with numerous comments—if they are discovered to be inaccurate. For this reason, I provide a screenshot. The Collegeville blogs are listed at the bottom.

2   Mr. Inwood, however, seems not to realize that French is exceptional in this regard—especially regarding technology nomenclature—and may wish to google «Académie française».

3   I personally believe LITURGIAM AUTHENTICAM to be quite beautiful, especially passages such as: “If indeed, in the liturgical texts, words or expressions are sometimes employed which differ somewhat from usual and everyday speech, it is often enough by virtue of this very fact that the texts become truly memorable and capable of expressing heavenly realities.”

4   Needless to say, out of so many millions there will always be a few who complain.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Dynamic Equivalence, Formal Equivalence, Liturgiam Authenticam, Liturgical Press Oops Moment, Paul Inwood, Paul Inwood Composer, PrayTell Blog Last Updated: April 27, 2021

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“When we force a boy to be a mediocrity in a dozen subjects we destroy his standards, perhaps for life.”

— C. S. Lewis

Recent Posts

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  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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