Missale Romanum 1962
Simili modo, postquam coenatum est, accipens et hunc praeclarum Calicem in sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas: item tibi gratias agens, benedixit, deditque discipulis suis, dicens: Accipite, et bibite ex eo omnes.
HIC EST ENIM CALIX SANGUINIS MEI, NOVI ET AETERNI TESTAMENTI: MYSTERIUM FIDEI: QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDETUR IN REMISSIONEM PECCATORUM.
Haec quotiescumque feceritis, in mei memoriam facietis.
In like manner, when supper was done, taking also this goodly chalice into His holy and venerable hands, again giving thanks to Thee, He blessed it and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take ye all and drink of this:
FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT: THE MYSTERY OF FAITH, WHICH SHALL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR MANY UNTO THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.
As often as you shall do these things, in memory of Me shall you do them.1
Alternate Translations:
In like manner, after supper, taking also this excellent chalice into His holy and venerable hands: and giving thanks to Thee, He blessed, and gave to His disciples, saying: Take, and drink ye all of it: For this is the Chalice of My Blood, of the new and eternal testament: the mystery of faith: which will be shed for you, and for many, unto the remission of sins. As often as you do these things, ye shall do them in remembrance of Me.2
In like manner, after He had supped, taking also into His holy and venerable hands this goodly chalice again giving thanks to Thee, He blessed it, and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take ye, and drink ye all of this: For this is the Chalice of My Blood, of the new and everlasting testament, the mystery of faith, which for you and for many shall be shed unto the remission of sins. As often as ye shall do these things, ye shall do them in memory of Me. 3
Missale Romanum 1970
Simili modo, postquam cenatum est, accipens et hunc praeclarum calicem in sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas, item tibi gratias agens benedixit, deditque discipulis suis, dicens:
Accipite et bibite ex eo omnes: hic est enim calix Sanguinis mei novi et aeterni testamenti, qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum. Hoc facite in meam commemorationem.
Mysterium fidei.
All:
A. Mortem tuam annuntiamus, Domine, et tuam resurrectionem confitemur, donec venias.
B. (Not an option in Latin)
C. Quotiescumque manducamus panem hunc et calicem bibimus, motem tuam annuntiamus, Domine, donec venias.
D. Salvatur mundi, salva nos, qui per crucem et resurrectionem tuam liberasti nos.
When supper was ended, he took the cup. Again he gave you thanks and praise, gave the cup to his disciples, and said: Take this all of you and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.
Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
All:
A. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
B. Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.
C. When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.
D. Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world. 4
Mozarabic ( Missale Mixtum from Patrologia Latina Volume 85): 5
HIC EST: CALIX : NOVI : TESTAMENTI : IN : MEO : SANGUINE : QUI : PRO : VOBIS : ET : PRO : MULTIS : EFFUNDETUR : IN : REMISSIONEM : PECCATOREM.
This is the Chalice of My Blood, of the New Testament, which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins.
Divine Liturgy of St. Basil: 6
P: He tasted, and gave it also to his own holy disciples and saintly apostles saying "Take, drink of it all of you. For this is my Blood for the new covenant which shall be shed for you and many, to be given for the remission of sins. Do this in remembrance of Me."
C: This is also true. Amen.
Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom:7
P: Drink of this all, THIS IS MY BLOOD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.
C: Amen.
Syriac Antiochean Maronite Liturgy (Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles): 8
Ho-no den ee-tow dmo deel dee-ya-tee-qee hda-to dah-lo-fy-koon wah-lof sa-gee-yeh meh-teh-shed ou-meh-tee-heb lhoo-so-yo dhow-beh wal-ha-yeh dal-o’-lam ‘ol-meen.
This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed and handed over to you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
De Sacramentis: 9
Hic est enim sanguis meus.
For this is My Blood.
In the prayer over the Chalice, the prayer of consecration has been changed (as also in the prayer over the bread) but this by not an addition but a relocation of the phrase: mystery of faith (mysterium fidei). This phrase is not found in the context of the words of consecration in other liturgical Rites that are conceded to be also valid. "[T]he mystery of faith . . . indicates the unsearchable depth and obscurity of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. That the God-Man did shed His Blood for us on the Cross, and that He again sheds it for us in a mystical manner on the altar – is an adorable divine achievement which includes in itself that sum of the most unheard-of wonders, all of which can be acknowledged and believed as true only in the light and the power of faith."10
His Holiness Pope Paul VI wrote in his Encyclical Mysterium Fidei that, "The Mystery of Faith, that is, the ineffable gift of the Eucharist that the Catholic Church received from Christ, her Spouse, as a pledge of His immense love, is something that she has always devoutly guarded as her most precious treasure . . ." The words therefore refer to and encapsulate what has taken place on the Altar. It is the greatest mystery that transcends time to bring the people of God to the foot of the Cross and the act of our redemption. It transcends the purely physical world wherein heaven and earth become one and we are brought into the presence of the Most High God, Jesus Christ.
In the ICEL translation the phrase moved out of the consecratory formula is placed within the context of proclamation (Let us proclaim the mystery of faith). Some might mistake the proclamation that follows as being the mystery of faith, but the proclamation is a response to the mystery of faith that has already taken place, the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. It follows on St. Paul’s exhortation in his first letter to the Corinthians that "as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes." 1 Cor 11:26 In our acclamation which follows the consecration we profess by our words and through our deeds (that of sacramental or spiritual reception) that we believe with St. Paul that the death of our Lord on the Cross has just been made present to us.
The consecratory formula is “this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven.” The words ‘for all’ are used in the vernacular instead of the literal translation of ‘for many’. There are those who see in this an insertion of a heretical teaching into the holy liturgical rite of the Catholic Church. Without getting into a drawn out discussion on sacramental theology, it suffices to put forth the explanation that because the sacrifice of the Altar is the self-same sacrifice of the Cross, we cannot consider it a heretical proposition that the Eucharistic sacrifice is offered objectively for the salvation of the world (i.e. all men). (See Does For All Invalidate the Consecration?, The "Pro Multis" Question (9/21/03))
I refer the reader to check this Zenit file, which addresses this particular issue from the linguistic and scriptural point of view. The fact of the matter is that the Catholic Church has always taught the objective redemption of all as found in her liturgical rites: for our salvation and the salvation of all, that is on this day...(pro nostra omniumque salute pateretur, hoc est, hodie) is inserted into the Qui pridie on Holy Thursday.11 In addition to this text, the offertory prayer of the Chalice offers the Chalice with the express intention of being ‘for our salvation and that of the whole world’ (pro nostra et totius mundi salute). If these examples do not suffice to convince the inquirer to the truth that this is the constant teaching of the Church, perhaps the problem is not theological but attitudinal.
LITERAL TRANSLATION:
The Mystery of Faith!
R. 1: We proclaim your death, O Lord, and we profess belief in your resurrection until at length you come!
R. 2: As often as we eat this bread and drink this chalice, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until at length you come!
R. 3: Save us, O Savior of the world, who freed us through your Cross and resurrection!12
In the case of these prayers, I don't see a substantial difference between the translations. The first is a looser translation that seems to convey the general meaning of the Latin text. The second is a literal translation that is more accurate to the authoritative Latin text. I prefer the second for several reasons. The language is more dignified. My experience at English vernacular celebrations of the Byzantine Divine Liturgy has completely debunked (at least for me) the excuse that a literal translation is not as easily proclaimed. Many of the invocations in the Byzantine tradition are quite formal and hence in my opinion are far better used for proclamation of the sacred mysteries. In following more closely the original Latin the unity of our profession of faith in the various approved vernacular languages will be more clearly demonstrated. It is with great hope that I await the fruition of the decrees of Liturgiam Authenticam, wherein our liturgy will be returned in many points to agreement with the original texts.
The acclamations which follow have an eschatalogical dimension. They speak our faith in the return of the Lord at the end times. Within this same context St. Paul acclaims that in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, our Paschal feast, we proclaim these same beliefs by keeping the feast. The 1970 Missale Romanum makes this aspect of our participation explicit.
With the prayer Simili Modo, we must overcome several objections to validity. We have shown above that there is no heresy involved in the for many/for all alteration. Further, that the removal of the phrase mystery of faith does not invalidate the consecration because it is also not present in valid Eastern anaphora in the context of the words of institution. The Church has approved the formulas for use in the original Latin text and in the approved vernacular translations therefore we are sure of their efficacy.
Simili modo, postquam coenatum est, accipens et hunc praeclarum Calicem in sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas: item tibi gratias agens, benedixit, deditque discipulis suis, dicens: Accipite, et bibite ex eo omnes.
HIC EST ENIM CALIX SANGUINIS MEI, NOVI ET AETERNI TESTAMENTI: MYSTERIUM FIDEI: QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDETUR IN REMISSIONEM PECCATORUM.
Haec quotiescumque feceritis, in mei memoriam facietis.
In like manner, when supper was done, taking also this goodly chalice into His holy and venerable hands, again giving thanks to Thee, He blessed it and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take ye all and drink of this:
FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT: THE MYSTERY OF FAITH, WHICH SHALL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR MANY UNTO THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.
As often as you shall do these things, in memory of Me shall you do them.1
Alternate Translations:
In like manner, after supper, taking also this excellent chalice into His holy and venerable hands: and giving thanks to Thee, He blessed, and gave to His disciples, saying: Take, and drink ye all of it: For this is the Chalice of My Blood, of the new and eternal testament: the mystery of faith: which will be shed for you, and for many, unto the remission of sins. As often as you do these things, ye shall do them in remembrance of Me.2
In like manner, after He had supped, taking also into His holy and venerable hands this goodly chalice again giving thanks to Thee, He blessed it, and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take ye, and drink ye all of this: For this is the Chalice of My Blood, of the new and everlasting testament, the mystery of faith, which for you and for many shall be shed unto the remission of sins. As often as ye shall do these things, ye shall do them in memory of Me. 3
Missale Romanum 1970
Simili modo, postquam cenatum est, accipens et hunc praeclarum calicem in sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas, item tibi gratias agens benedixit, deditque discipulis suis, dicens:
Accipite et bibite ex eo omnes: hic est enim calix Sanguinis mei novi et aeterni testamenti, qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum. Hoc facite in meam commemorationem.
Mysterium fidei.
All:
A. Mortem tuam annuntiamus, Domine, et tuam resurrectionem confitemur, donec venias.
B. (Not an option in Latin)
C. Quotiescumque manducamus panem hunc et calicem bibimus, motem tuam annuntiamus, Domine, donec venias.
D. Salvatur mundi, salva nos, qui per crucem et resurrectionem tuam liberasti nos.
When supper was ended, he took the cup. Again he gave you thanks and praise, gave the cup to his disciples, and said: Take this all of you and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.
Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
All:
A. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
B. Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.
C. When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.
D. Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world. 4
Mozarabic ( Missale Mixtum from Patrologia Latina Volume 85): 5
HIC EST: CALIX : NOVI : TESTAMENTI : IN : MEO : SANGUINE : QUI : PRO : VOBIS : ET : PRO : MULTIS : EFFUNDETUR : IN : REMISSIONEM : PECCATOREM.
This is the Chalice of My Blood, of the New Testament, which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins.
Divine Liturgy of St. Basil: 6
P: He tasted, and gave it also to his own holy disciples and saintly apostles saying "Take, drink of it all of you. For this is my Blood for the new covenant which shall be shed for you and many, to be given for the remission of sins. Do this in remembrance of Me."
C: This is also true. Amen.
Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom:7
P: Drink of this all, THIS IS MY BLOOD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.
C: Amen.
Syriac Antiochean Maronite Liturgy (Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles): 8
Ho-no den ee-tow dmo deel dee-ya-tee-qee hda-to dah-lo-fy-koon wah-lof sa-gee-yeh meh-teh-shed ou-meh-tee-heb lhoo-so-yo dhow-beh wal-ha-yeh dal-o’-lam ‘ol-meen.
This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed and handed over to you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
De Sacramentis: 9
Hic est enim sanguis meus.
For this is My Blood.
In the prayer over the Chalice, the prayer of consecration has been changed (as also in the prayer over the bread) but this by not an addition but a relocation of the phrase: mystery of faith (mysterium fidei). This phrase is not found in the context of the words of consecration in other liturgical Rites that are conceded to be also valid. "[T]he mystery of faith . . . indicates the unsearchable depth and obscurity of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. That the God-Man did shed His Blood for us on the Cross, and that He again sheds it for us in a mystical manner on the altar – is an adorable divine achievement which includes in itself that sum of the most unheard-of wonders, all of which can be acknowledged and believed as true only in the light and the power of faith."10
His Holiness Pope Paul VI wrote in his Encyclical Mysterium Fidei that, "The Mystery of Faith, that is, the ineffable gift of the Eucharist that the Catholic Church received from Christ, her Spouse, as a pledge of His immense love, is something that she has always devoutly guarded as her most precious treasure . . ." The words therefore refer to and encapsulate what has taken place on the Altar. It is the greatest mystery that transcends time to bring the people of God to the foot of the Cross and the act of our redemption. It transcends the purely physical world wherein heaven and earth become one and we are brought into the presence of the Most High God, Jesus Christ.
In the ICEL translation the phrase moved out of the consecratory formula is placed within the context of proclamation (Let us proclaim the mystery of faith). Some might mistake the proclamation that follows as being the mystery of faith, but the proclamation is a response to the mystery of faith that has already taken place, the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. It follows on St. Paul’s exhortation in his first letter to the Corinthians that "as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes." 1 Cor 11:26 In our acclamation which follows the consecration we profess by our words and through our deeds (that of sacramental or spiritual reception) that we believe with St. Paul that the death of our Lord on the Cross has just been made present to us.
The consecratory formula is “this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven.” The words ‘for all’ are used in the vernacular instead of the literal translation of ‘for many’. There are those who see in this an insertion of a heretical teaching into the holy liturgical rite of the Catholic Church. Without getting into a drawn out discussion on sacramental theology, it suffices to put forth the explanation that because the sacrifice of the Altar is the self-same sacrifice of the Cross, we cannot consider it a heretical proposition that the Eucharistic sacrifice is offered objectively for the salvation of the world (i.e. all men). (See Does For All Invalidate the Consecration?, The "Pro Multis" Question (9/21/03))
I refer the reader to check this Zenit file, which addresses this particular issue from the linguistic and scriptural point of view. The fact of the matter is that the Catholic Church has always taught the objective redemption of all as found in her liturgical rites: for our salvation and the salvation of all, that is on this day...(pro nostra omniumque salute pateretur, hoc est, hodie) is inserted into the Qui pridie on Holy Thursday.11 In addition to this text, the offertory prayer of the Chalice offers the Chalice with the express intention of being ‘for our salvation and that of the whole world’ (pro nostra et totius mundi salute). If these examples do not suffice to convince the inquirer to the truth that this is the constant teaching of the Church, perhaps the problem is not theological but attitudinal.
LITERAL TRANSLATION:
The Mystery of Faith!
R. 1: We proclaim your death, O Lord, and we profess belief in your resurrection until at length you come!
R. 2: As often as we eat this bread and drink this chalice, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until at length you come!
R. 3: Save us, O Savior of the world, who freed us through your Cross and resurrection!12
In the case of these prayers, I don't see a substantial difference between the translations. The first is a looser translation that seems to convey the general meaning of the Latin text. The second is a literal translation that is more accurate to the authoritative Latin text. I prefer the second for several reasons. The language is more dignified. My experience at English vernacular celebrations of the Byzantine Divine Liturgy has completely debunked (at least for me) the excuse that a literal translation is not as easily proclaimed. Many of the invocations in the Byzantine tradition are quite formal and hence in my opinion are far better used for proclamation of the sacred mysteries. In following more closely the original Latin the unity of our profession of faith in the various approved vernacular languages will be more clearly demonstrated. It is with great hope that I await the fruition of the decrees of Liturgiam Authenticam, wherein our liturgy will be returned in many points to agreement with the original texts.
The acclamations which follow have an eschatalogical dimension. They speak our faith in the return of the Lord at the end times. Within this same context St. Paul acclaims that in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, our Paschal feast, we proclaim these same beliefs by keeping the feast. The 1970 Missale Romanum makes this aspect of our participation explicit.
With the prayer Simili Modo, we must overcome several objections to validity. We have shown above that there is no heresy involved in the for many/for all alteration. Further, that the removal of the phrase mystery of faith does not invalidate the consecration because it is also not present in valid Eastern anaphora in the context of the words of institution. The Church has approved the formulas for use in the original Latin text and in the approved vernacular translations therefore we are sure of their efficacy.
1 My Sunday Missal, Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph F. Stedman Director of the Confraternity of the Precious Blood, Confraternity of the Precious Blood, 1961.
2 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Litugically and Ascetically Explained, Rev. Dr. Nicholas Gihr, 1877 1st edition, 1897 6th edition, translated from German ©1902, printed 1924, page 638.
3 The New Roman Missal, Rev F. X. Lasance, Christian Book Club of America, 1993 “Faithful reprint of the 1945 Copyright edition of the Fr. Lasance New Roman Missal with appendix and changes of feasts promulgated under the pontificate of His Holiness Pope Pius XII, page 783.
4 Daily Roman Missal, Rev. James Socias, Midwest Theological Forum, 2003, pages 755-756.
5 Since the Middle Ages the Gregorian-Carolingian Roman Rite formula has been used. Text given as taken from Patrologia Latina Volume 85. Mozarabic Missale Mixtum
6 Divine Liturgy of St. Basil
7 Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
8 Syriac Antiochean Maronite Liturgy; select The Twelve Apostles from the Anaphora drop down box.
9 De Sacramentis, St. Ambrose.
10 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Litugically and Ascetically Explained, Rev. Dr. Nicholas Gihr, 1877 1st edition, 1897 6th edition, translated from German ©1902, printed 1924, page 641.
11 Missale Romanum editio princeps, pg. 238 Libreria Editrice Vatticana, Citta del Vaticano, 1998. Fr Lasance, The New Roman Missal, pg 453.
12 The translation is provided by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf with permission. His scholarly articles appear in the Wanderer and at his website What Do The Prayers Really Say? I highly encourage anyone interested to peruse either his site or his articles in the Wanderer.
Update:
Oct. 12, 2005: Added link - Does For All Invalidate the Consecration?
Oct. 14, 2005: Added link - The "Pro Multis" Question from rerum-novarum.blogspot.com
