Its official, we are now blessed with the new English translation of the Roman Missal which went into effect this past weekend. By way of reporting, all went very well in my parish. The people seemed ready, they payed attention more than usual, and hit all changes well. Our priest had a tougher time of it. He caught himself falling back on old habits more than once, correcting himself by reading veeeeeerrrrrryyyyy slooooooowly. It made me smile.
But now a little confession. For the first time in years I actually said the “Lord, I am not worthy….” Actually, for the first time in years I actually said it in English. The translation of this particular line of the liturgy was so off, that I preferred to say it in the original Latin “Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea,” now properly rendered as “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
With all the poor translations in the mass, why is that this particular line brought out the closet sedevacantist in me?
Some history….
November 28, 2011 at 2:11 am
I had also been in the habit of saying the "Lord I am not worthy…" in English and then in Latin, usually thrice. It is much, much better now. But, I may keep saying it three times in Latin anyway!!
November 28, 2011 at 2:03 pm
For a good musical version of Non sum dignus, please see here ("Tantum Dic Verbo" is another line of the mass response, "Only say the word").
Gerry
Matthew 8:8
Domine (Deus),
Non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum,
Sed tantum dic verbo,
Et sanabitur anima mea.
Amen. Alleluia.
Lord (God),
I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof,
But only say the word,
And my soul will be healed.
Amen. Alleluia.
November 28, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Sedevacantist? Are you saying that Traditional Latin Mass enthusiasts are sedevacantists? I know you're joking, but that one's not getting by this Traditionalist. Keep up the good work. And long live the TLM!
November 30, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Wonderful post! (I say the Domine, Non Sum Dignus three times, in Latin, too! Nice to know that I'm not the odd duck at the party…)
Seriously: your reflection on the "slow down the gallop to the Holy Eucharist" gave me a great deal of spiritual material to ponder; thank you, sir! 🙂