Gloria Part 2 About the Mass Series Vol 2- New Translation

ABOUT THE MASS SERIES VOL 2

THE MASS: ABOUT THE MASS ICON

Welcome to my new series called ' About the Mass Series Volume 2-New Translation'

I started this Series back in 2012 and now in 2019, restart the series.

 Why did I start the series in the first place? I had already written a series called About the Mass which explained in detail each element of the Mass.  So why Volume 2?  Let me explain.

In the English-speaking world from First Sunday of Advent 2010, the words said at Mass changed. In some parts, there were significant changes, whilst in others, it may be a word or two. What is important for us to remember is the Mass is the same.  We may wish to reflect on what the Mass is and why we attend Mass.  

I wish to take up this series again not only because it was incomplete but now that time has elapsed and we are used to the New translation for a number of years now, I think it is good to review these changes to make us more aware and more appreciative of the Mass. Understanding some of those changes and why they were made may deepen our knowledge about the Mass but more importantly, deepen our love for the Mass.

Here is the link to the first post of this new series ‘’About the Mass Volume 2- New Translation’’. ‘You may wish to review the 12 posts in this series before following along with its continuation IN 2019.

THE GLORIA

Last week, we discussed the Gloria in general terms to give an overview.  In today's post we talk more about the new translation and what that means for us as we recite/sing it at Mass.

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO

The first thing to notice about the Gloria New Translation is that it is longer than the previous one.

The revised translation changed '' his people on earth'' to ''people of good will'. Again, the guiding principle for all translations is to let the English express more literally the sentiments of the Latin original.  In this case, the previous text describes to whom the people belong ( his people on earth) whereas the new current version describes their quality ''of good will''.  Not only is this faithful to the original Latin prayer but it better connects with Luke 2:14. Those familiar with the Christmas story will in the opening line of the Gloria an echo of the angels announcing peace at the birth of Jesus.

The next segment We praise You, We bless You... This replaced a shorter text in the previous version.  This may seem excessive however that is the point.  At this point, we are meant to be overcome with awe in the presence of God.  We keep searching for words to describe the experience, and the result- word upon word- seems the best way to demonstrate the overwhelming experience of meeting God in prayer.

The words ''Only Begotten Son... Son of the Father'' represent a slight change from the previous version ''only Son of the Father''. The earlier version chose an economy of words to express the same dogma, that Jesus is the only Son of God.   You will notice too that there are more capital letters because they exist in the Latin original.  Fili Unigenite. This preserves the sanctity of this title of Jesus.

At the words ''you take away the sins of the world'' the phrases appear in a different order in the new translation, to imitate the order of the words in Latin.  A small change appears in this line.  Notice too that the word sin is now ''sins'' to  indicate and remind us that Jesus takes away both individual and communal sins. This change from the singular to plural now puts emphasis  on Jesus forgiving our personal sins as well as the sin of the world- communal.  Said/ sung each Sunday in Ordinary Time, this is a timely reminder that Jesus is willing to forgive us. We need to take that next step and attend Sacrament of Reconciliation to repent of our own personal sins. It is not enough to expect the graces of the Mass to absolve us from our mortal/venial sins.  So this is a both a reminder and an invitation to consider our own personal sins and know that Jesus wants to forgive us.

On the whole, the current translation ( new translation) for the Gloria reflects the long tradition of this hymn, while making it suitable for singing.  The recitation/ singing of the Gloria therefore:

1. Roots us in the scriptures, 
2. Gives us words to praise God, 
3. Helps us to reflect on the forgiving power of Jesus Christ.

Remembering these 3 key points will help us to enter into the Gloria more and to make it an occasion of prayer rather than race to see how quickly it can be said with the attitude of let's get it over with as quickly as possible.

When singing the Gloria, depending on the composition, there needs to be a descant line especially towards the end as this not only balances the beginning but it reminds us again of the angels giving the Christmas message. That echo of Christmas throughout the year is important. Christmas is not just a day or even a season. There are reminders all the year in the liturgy and with that reminder comes a reminder to us of our attitudes.

So as you can see, there is more to the Gloria than what we might think initially.  The other aspect to the Gloria is that we can use it as a whole or partly in our own prayer during the week.  When we want to praise God we may want to use the words of the Gloria  ''We praise You, We bless You...

When we want to think of our personal sins and God's willingness to forgive us we may wish to remember that Jesus came to save the world from their sins- communal as a world and every person individually.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Some questions to consider

1. What is our current attitude and understanding of the Gloria?   
2. How has my understanding changed by knowing more about it and why the text was changed?
3. How will I use this prayer in my own personal prayer life?
4. How does the absence of the Gloria in Lent and Advent affect me?