Gaudete Sunday

Rejoice! It is Gaudete Sunday.

Oh.. how I miss the EF...

(The pics above are from: Te Deum laudamus)

I think both the Novus Ordo and the Extraordinary Form are both beautiful in their own respect. One of the reasons that I like the Tridentine Mass though is that because the Mass is said in Latin, the translation into English in most missals is quite literal. The Novus Missals and the ICEL translation for what is said at mass is a more vernacularized [I made up that word] translation. Father Z does a good job of showing how the translations differ and what is "lost in translation."

What is really hard for me to be in an area that doesn't have a Tridentine Mass is days like today, Gaudete Sunday, where there is a beautiful meaning to the day that has been lost since the new Mass has developed. Here are the readings in both forms (Taken from Fr. Z's blog):

COLLECT – (2002MR)
Deus, qui conspicis populum tuum nativitatis dominicae
festivitatem fideliter exspectare, praesta, quaesumus,
ut valeamus ad tantae salutis gaudia pervenire,
et ea votis sollemnibus alacri laetitia celebrare.

LITERAL TRANSLATION:
O God, who attentively do watch Your people
look forward faithfully to the feast of the Lord’s birth,
grant, we entreat,
that we may be able to attain the to joys of so great a salvation
and celebrate them with eager jubilation in solemn festive rites.

ICEL (1973 translation of the 1970MR):
Lord God,
may we, your people,
who look forward to the birthday of Christ
experience the joy of salvation
and celebrate that feast with love and thanksgiving.

Clearly there is a big difference between the two. Fr. Z. explains that the ICEL version lacks the "impact" of the latin and literal translation. I think that he is right, the ICEL seems to be looking to Christmas and beyond and out of Advent. The literal/latin translation does a much better job of setting the scene of Advent. It is a prayer about where we are currently within Advent. At this point we are in penitential mindset, but it turns to jubilation this week because we sense the great coming of Christ on Christmas. It isn't simply a "looking beyond."

So as we head to Mass today let us be jubilant, while penitent. Let us be eager for Christmas, but let us also celebrate our faith in a way that is solemn and appropriate. Our mission in Advent is to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord!

Note:
Gaudete is translated loosely to Rejoice! It comes from the first chant of the Mass in the Tridentine form. It is one of two days which priestly vestments may be Rose [not pink] in color. The pictures above are representative of this.