Lex Credendi

One of the big complaints that Catholics who prefer the traditional Latin (Tridentine) Mass had regarding the Novus Ordo Missae (Mass of Paul VI, 1970) had more to do with the English translation of the official Latin text than the Latin text itself.  In Latin, as it was in the old Mass, the prayer of consecration said that the Blood of Christ was poured out “pro multis”, which means “for many”.  The Council of Trent had declared that “for all” was not to be used, and “for many” was to be retained in the prayer of consecration.  In the Latin original of the 1970 rubrics, it was.  However, the ICEL (International Committee on the English Liturgy) translated pro multis as “for all”.  (This was not the only error in translation – the 1970 rubrics had over 400 errors from some reports.)  It seems that with each consecutive GIRM (General Instruction on the Roman Missal) comes a new translation that is slightly better than the last.

The USCCB has released a new version of the Mass that has restored “for many” in the English translation.  It will likely be a few years before it is officially promulgated, but it’s a good sign that our bishops are becoming more concerned about the prayers of the Mass.

http://www.nccbuscc.org/liturgy/missalformation/index.shtml