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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Installment #6 • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”

Guest Author · August 30, 2025

N THIS Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm, we notice a strange phrase: “Sing to God, chant praise to his name; whose name is the Lord.” Throughout our series, we’ve explained how various shell the corporations have fraudulently claimed ‘ownership’ over translations they don’t own. But there’s another problem. The undisclosed experts (who consider themselves the adults in the room) assure us their work is necessary because they have “gone back to the Hebrew” when it comes to translating the PSALTER. But this isn’t as impressive as it sounds, since the first complete Hebrew PSALTER (the so-called “Massoretic” version) comes from circa 1050AD, as far as we can tell. That’s a huge problem, because it’s about 600 years after Saint Jerome’s translations.

They Did Not Consult The Hebrew • Regardless of the actual value of manuscripts from such a late date, the ‘experts’ failed to consult the Hebrew in a serious way. Had they done so, they wouldn’t have chosen a meaningless phrase like: whose name is the Lord. They seem unaware that a name is different than a title. “Lord” is a title. Monsignor Ronald Knox unraveled all this 76 years ago—utilizing humor in addition to his characteristic brilliance—so there’s little sense in our repeating it here. If the ‘experts’ behind the shell corporations were too lazy (or dense) to come to grips with the issues involved, they could have simply copied the translation by Monsignor Knox, an extraordinary polyglot and theologian who took into consideration the Greek, the Latin, and the Hebrew. The various shell corporations have had 60+ years to get their act together. They failed to do so … and the more one looks “under the hood” the more dismaying their product becomes!

Dynamic Equivalence • Some will never understand responsible translation. Even when the situation is explained to them, it doesn’t make any difference. They embrace something which might be called “Rigid Formal Equivalence” (RFE). Those who embrace RFE insist upon a mindless, artless, word-for-word translation. They plug each word (one-by-one) into GOOGLE TRANSLATE, string together the results, and call it a day. For instance, they would translate Psalm 77:2 (Loquar propositiones ab initio) as: “I will utter propositions from the beginning.” But serious translators realize each language has its own idioms and expressions which must be taken into consideration. Understandably, many are wary of “dynamic equivalence” because of what ICEL did in the 1970s. Consider this comparison chart showing the COLLECT for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The 1970s ICEL ‘translation’ was contemptible—and the Catholic Church is still reeling from it.

Cognate Overemphasis • Speaking of “dynamic equivalence,” look at the following example, which is the COMMUNION CHANT (Luke 12:42) for 3 September:

Fidélis servus et prudens,
quem constítuit dóminus
super famíliam suam:
ut det illis in témpore
trítici mensúram.

For those married to RFE, the only ‘valid’ or ‘acceptable’ translation of famíliam would be what Father Lasance has:

A faithful & wise steward, whom
the Lord has set over His family;
to give them their measure
of wheat in due season.
IMPRIMATUR (1937) by Cardinal Hayes.

But competent translators realize the flaws of RFE, and often choose a better word for famíliam:

He was a faithful and wise servant,
one whom his master entrusted
with the care of his household, to
give them their allowance of food
at the appointed time.
IMPRIMATUR (3 December 1960).

Here’s another example:

A loyal and provident steward,
the Lord has given him the
management of his household, to
give to each his measure of wheat
at the appointed time.
IMPRIMATUR (16 August 1961).

Here’s how it appears in the Saint Andrew Missal:

The faithful and prudent servant
whom the master will
set over his household
to give them their ration
of grain in due time.
IMPRIMATUR (4 April 1966).

“Leading A Horse To Water” • For those married to RFE, none of this will make any difference. They will go to the grave with that mindset. But the truly competent translator realizes that, in the final analysis, we translate ideas not words. It goes without saying that the use of “dynamic equivalence” for ideological reasons—to conceal the text’s true meaning—is reprehensible. Incredibly, Paul Inwood was not ashamed to rejoice publicly at the inaccuracy of 1970s ICEL translation, writing:

“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.”

Although Paul Inwood claims not to have known what the prayers really meant, he’s wrong to claim nobody knew. In those days, many (although not all) Catholic priests were fluent in Latin. For example, Monsignor Richard J. Schuler certainly knew what was being done, as this 1990 article proves beyond a doubt.

Conclusion • We hope the generous reader will forgive this digression on the subject of “dynamic equivalence.” The goal of our series (Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation) is to get to the bottom of who has made these decisions. For 60+ years, faithful Catholics in the pews have been tricked. They have been forced to pay for ‘translations’ being sold fraudulently. At a minimum, the ones paying the bills (without knowledge or consent) are owed transparency.

ROBERT O’NEILL
Former associate of Monsignor
Francis “Frank” P. Schmitt
at Boys Town in Nebraska

JAMES ARNOLD
Formerly associated w/ King’s College, Cambridge
A convert to the Catholic Church, and
distant relative of J. H. Arnold

MARIA B.
Currently serves as a musician in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte.
Those aware of the situation in
her diocese won’t be surprised she
chose to withhold her last name.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: ICEL, ICEL New Translation of the Roman Missal, Novus Ordo Lectionary Reform, Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation, The Old ICEL Translation of the Mass Last Updated: September 21, 2025

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President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Parish Priests have to think first of the simple faithful: people now used to the Roman Missal at Mass. They don’t want change.”

— Cardinal Spellman (one of the Vatican II fathers)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Downloads • Four (4) Simple Pieces in Harmony for Men’s Choirs
  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?

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