Bishop Trautman is once again expressing his firmly held belief in the stupidity of the common man. Namely, you.
“Ineffable.”
The word worries Erie Catholic Bishop Donald W. Trautman. He doubts that “John and Mary Catholic,” sitting in their church pew, would understand it.
That’s why Trautman will try to tell other U.S. bishops that such words shouldn’t be in a new English translation of the Roman Missal…
Trautman said the draft includes words such as “ineffable” that would not be in the ordinary vocabulary of people.
“This should be the prayer of the people,” Trautman said. “I’m not for having street language. … We should certainly have elevated tone, but words like that are just beyond the common comprehension.”
Ineffable is not in the ordinary vocabulary of people. Perhaps. But I ask you, so what? Do you think that phrases such as “hallowed be Thy Name” or “fruit of thy womb” are phrases that routinely glide from the gob? Yet I suspect that most people easily understand them. Why do these champions of the common man pay such little respect to those whom they feign to esteem? Besides, this is the liturgy we are talking about. Why is prosaic a virtue? Why is the lowest common denominator the ideal?
Anyway, in honor of Bishop Trautman recycling his worn-out worry for us dummies, I thought I would recycle something I wrote last year, albeit slightly tweaked. This is my version of the Bishop Trautman (of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Lowest Common Denominator) approved common man Hail Mary.
Hey Mary, jam-packed with grace.
The big Guy is with you.
You really rock compared to other women.
And awesome is the product of your uterus. Jesus.
You are, like, a really good person, actually.
So like Mary, God’s mommy, ask God to look the other way at our bads.
Now, or when a my old lady and the doctor pull the plug on me. Peace out!
Hope you dummies could follow along. But alas, you were probably distracted by something shiny before you could finish it anyway.
June 13, 2008 at 7:55 am
Ack, wouldn’t you know it’d be one of the few words that give us comfort. “Ineffable.” Not even the Hitchens’ and Wiccans have appropriated it for their non-god/goddesses. It is an adjective reserved solely to God, and mysteriously beautifully so, and it seems maybe the whole world knows that. Like “Paraclete”.. one can substitute “Advocate” or “Comforter” for it, but one’s whole being sits up straighter at “Paraclete.” Some words are sacred. Some phrases, too, like, “Thou art Peter..” The Church should never fix what ain’t broke.
Carol
June 13, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Amen Carol.
June 13, 2008 at 1:47 pm
“glide from the gob?”
The linguistic police have been informed of your constant alliteration and you will be brought up on charges unless you cease and desist. Please!
June 13, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Indubitably indescribable prose!
June 13, 2008 at 3:01 pm
It’s called a dictionary, everybody should have one and use it for those words that they don’t understand. Doing so will lead to a broader vocabulary, greater linguistic skills and an appreciation for classic authors such as Shakespeare.
I’ve used a few over the years, maybe it’s why I always score as having the reading ability of a college graduate although I only went as far as high school.
But then again, being a college graduate these days is nothing to brag about either.
June 13, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Loved the “Yo’ Mary”
Our pastor at St Judes is very good at explaining the meanings of words used by the Church but not used in everyday jargon.
I guess I just assumed that was part of the job.
cbs
June 13, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Then Elizabeth was all like, “Why is the baby-mamma of my Lord comin’ around here anyhow?”
And Mary was like, “My heart just digs God, and I am psyched! Check it out, He saw that I was bummed, and now this! They’ll be talking about it for years! For He’s awesome and all, and does neat stuff, and when it’s my bad He says ‘It’s all good.’ Plus, He’s hella tough and people don’t screw around with Him, even cops and stuff – but get this, He’s totally not full of Himself, I’ve heard He runs a soup kitchen or a food bank or something. And He’s nice to minimum-wage guys and old people, and talks with them, not just to be polite either, but because He’s cool.”
And then the Lord consumed me and my entire blog with fire. You may want to keep your distance for a little while, just in case.
June 13, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Well, the good bishop found a word I didn’t know offhand. So what did I do? I clicked on m-w.com and looked it up. There are things called “dictionaries” where you can look up words you don’t know. When you do, you know them. You get the benefit of a wider vocabulary, and the benefit of a more accurate translation of God’s word. A win/win if you ask me.
June 13, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Like “Paraclete”.. one can substitute “Advocate” or “Comforter” for it, but one’s whole being sits up straighter at “Paraclete.”
When I was little I was sure that father had gotten it wrong. I knew the Holy Spirit was a dove, not a parakeet. 🙂
June 13, 2008 at 9:20 pm
These bishops who are ‘blocking’ the ‘Proposed Text’ are doing this for political reasons.
Are you telling me that the average Catholic can’t look up words in a dictionary? That we can’t derive meaning from the context? How condescending!
We should be offering up to our Lord our very best – not the common banal mediocrity that we do today. These translations are hardly perfect but they are much, much better than what we have today.
This debate has been stalling progress for years – and these bishops wish to stall further?
This is not about language – this is power struggle with Rome. It’s their pride and liberal-progressive insensibilities that are the problem here.
Move forward and quit stalling already!
Satis! Roma Locuta est! Procedite et finite!
Mark
P.S. Screaming in Latin makes me feel better. 🙂
June 13, 2008 at 11:34 pm
The funniest moment in Mass is the Post-Communion prayer.
Or in the words of Fr. Z “God you are big, help us be big like you”
The faster we can get rid of these so called tranlations, the better.
Even in the days before the Latin Mass unified the West, when the Mass was offered in the vernacular, the language that was used was eleveated. Hence the difference between Classical and Church Latin.
If there’s a word I don’t know, I’ll look it up.
The ICEL needs to be canned and replaced with Fr. Z
June 14, 2008 at 4:06 am
The reworked Ave Maria, even if done in jest, borders dangerously on sacrilege. It is a highly imprudent joke at best. Not amused; not impressed…
June 14, 2008 at 4:35 am
Dear Christopher,
I wish you well in your search for a website more suitable to your delicate sensibilities. Or perhaps you could start your own.
May I humbly suggest something like
http://www.humorless-catholic.com or
http://www.not-amused.com
Best of luck!
June 15, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Bishop Trautman’s email address can be found here:
http://www.eriercd.org/contact3.asp?alpha=T
June 17, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Perhaps Bishop Trautman has a point: American Catholics have a difficult time comprehending the word “marriage.” Perhaps we should work on that word first and then move on to ineffable.