The New Translation Part 3: And With Your Spirit

This is the third installment a series of short articles I wrote/adapted/edited for my parish bulletin. I will publish the others as they they appear.

---

The new Mass translation is coming in Advent! Back in 2000, Blessed Pope John Paul II issued the third edition of the Roman Missal, the ritual text for the celebration of the Mass. After more than ten years of consultation and work, the new English translation is finally ready.

The most common dialogue in the Mass is the greeting: Dominus vobiscum / et cum spiritu tuo. Since 1970, this has been translated as: The Lord be with you. / And also with you. In the new translation, it has been revised to: The Lord be with you. / And with your spirit.

Original Latin Text	1970 Translation	2010 Translation
Dominus vobiscum et cum spiritu tuo.	The Lord be with you. And also with you.	The Lord be with you. And with your spirit.

Why the Change?
This phrase is found in the earliest days of the Church. Even Saint Paul uses it in his letters to Philemon and Timothy. Saint Hippolytus mentions its use in the liturgy around 215 A.D.

The 2001 Vatican instruction Liturgiam authenticam says there are “certain expressions that belong to the heritage of the whole or of a great part of the ancient Church …” Therefore, et cum spiritu tuo is “to be respected by a translation that is as literal as possible.”

It’s pretty clear that the new translation is more literal. When the first translations were done, English was the only major language that did not translate the word spiritu. Compare the Italian (E con il tuo spirito), French (Et avec votre esprit), Spanish (Y con tu espíritu) and German (Und mit deinem Geiste) versions.

What Do We Mean When We Respond “And With Your Spirit”?
Et cum spiritu tuo is only addressed to an ordained minister. Spiritu refers to the gift of the spirit the priest received at ordination. In our response, we assure the priest of the same divine assistance of God’s spirit and, more specifically, help for him to use the charismatic gifts given to him in ordination.

Next time: The Penitential Act.

(Based on Roman Missal Formational Materials provided by the Secretariat for the Liturgy of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2010)