Since the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Mass is celebrated in the vernacular.
Before the mid 1960s, the faithful ‘attended’ Mass, listened to prayers in Latin spoken by the celebrant with the back to the congregation and depended on the altar servers to ring the bells during the most holy part of Mass.

When the church leaders decided to make Mass more accessible, the congregation was invited to fully participate in the celebration rather than ‘attending’ and watching from the distance – but how can you participate if you can’t understand the words that are to be spoken?
The translation of the words of the Eucharistic Prayer became very important. However, it is often forgotten that the discussion on translations started much earlier.
The Letters of St Paul were written in around the year 50 after the death of Jesus. The Gospels followed in the 70s, 80s and 90s. They were written one or two generations after Jesus’ death. No accurate recording of his words. We rely on oral tradition written down much later, and so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the wording is slightly different in each writing.
As the Scriptures spread beyond the Holy Land, then today’s Turkey, Greece and Rome, the Hebrew, Latin and Greek translations were used.

Fr Kevin Waldie sm, a Biblical scholar and knowledgeable in Latin and Greek, has spent many years of his life analysing words and translations in the Scriptures.
One of the lessons learned is certainly that we don’t have an original recording of Jesus’ words. The focus therefore needs to be on the meaning of the words in a specific context (historical, social and cultural).
We all know that we explain the same situation differently to someone who is a close friend, someone who is from the same culture or to someone who we meet when we are abroad. This is what we need to keep in mind when we read the Scriptures.

In his presentation for Titipounamu Study & Joy, Waldie brought the audience closer to the words of the Institution of the Eucharist.
The Eucharistic Prayer at Mass is often considered the summit of our belief as Catholics. It is here that the words and the actions meet. It is our moment of ‘thanksgiving’. The Greek word ‘eucharistia’ is made up of the words ‘eu’ (good) and ‘charis’ (grace).
The wording of the special prayer of thanksgiving and consecration is based on the Scriptures, but whenever words are translated from one language to another, there is an element of interpretation. Giving thanks, blessing and ‘eucharistia’ are connected. These words are used by St Paul as well as in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke.

When we look at the Scriptures, we realise that there are similarities and differences which lead us to the question: what is the essence – what do the words mean and why were they chosen?
The Institution of the Last Supper is described in four parts of the New Testament: 1 Cor 11:23-26, Lk 22:14-20, Mk 14:22:25 and Mt 26:26-29.
One of the examples for similarities and differences is the expression “do this in remembrance of me”. This phrase is only used in Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians and in the Gospel according to Luke. However, the term ‘kingdom’ is only used in the Gospel according to Mark and Matthew.

In Exodus, Moses tells his people that he himself wrote down the words he heard God uttering. These words include the quote: ‘This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you, in all these words.’ St Paul, an educated member of the Jewish community who would have read Exodus and would have remembered these words when he wrote his Letter to the Corinthians.
We hear the words at Mass, and we are invited to understand them. No word is chosen by coincidence. Hence, the celebrants are not authorised to simply change the words of the Eucharistic Prayer. As it states in the Church document  Redemptionis Sacramentum (Chapter II.112]: “Mass is celebrated either in Latin or in another language, provided that liturgical texts are used which have been approved according to the norm of law.”

The words in the Liturgy stay the same, even if the spoken languages keep developing. The challenge is to remind us why the words were chosen, in which context – and why it is relevant not to change them. When we participate at a Catholic Mass in any country, we can rely on hearing and saying the same words.

BM