A Tale of Two Translations: Rhetorical Style and the Post-Conciliar English Translations of the Mass

Abstract

John O’Malley’s study of the rhetorical style of Vatican II bears also on the question of post-conciliar vernacular translations of the liturgy. This article proposes a “hospitality” model of liturgical translation as consonant with the conciliar style. Of the key instructions on liturgical translation, Comme le prévoit (1969) and Liturgiam Authenticam (2001), the earlier is more consistent with a hospitality model. Analysis of selected collects in the English translations of the Mass based on these instructions, The Sacramentary (1974/1985) and the Roman Missal (2010), respectively, indicates that The Sacramentary translation is likewise better in representing the hospitable style of Vatican II called for in the present liturgical context.