John Ainslie wrote:Next Sunday you will hear this Collect:
Grant, almighty God,
through the yearly observances of holy Lent,
that we may grow in understanding
of the riches hidden in Christ
and by worthy conduct pursue their effects.
You may well wonder what you are supposed to be pursuing.
The Latin is certainly difficult to translate:
Concede nobis, omnipotens Deus,
ut, per annua quadragesimalis exercitia sacramenti,
et ad intellegendum Christi proficiamus arcanum,
et effectus eius digna conversatione sectemur.
ICEL were not much cleverer than the Vox Clara translation we've been landed with, either in 2008 or 1998. If you really want to know what this Collect means, go to the Glenstal-Headingley version in the Divine Office:
Through our annual Lenten observance, Lord,
deepen our understanding of the mystery of Christ
and make it a reality in the conduct of our lives.
Now that is crystal clear. Amen to that for all our readers this Lent. However, none of the versions deal properly with 'sacramenti' - Vox Clara's 'holy' is weak. I would have thought that that word was rather important...
If only they had translated the Latin
et ... et as "both ... and", all would have been clearer. Thus:
Grant, almighty God,
through the yearly observances of holy Lent,
both that we may grow in understanding
of the riches hidden in Christ
and that by worthy conduct we may pursue their effects.
Yet another example of the translators not following their own
Liturgiam authenticam rules.
But I agree that Glenstal-Headingley is superior.
ICEL 1998, for the record, has this:
Grant us, almighty God,
that through this yearly observance of Lent
we may enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ
and draw upon its power in the conduct of our lives.
which is not all bad. And here's the 1998 Alternative Opening Prayer for Year B:
God of the covenant,
as the forty days of deluge
swept away the world’s corruption
and watered new beginnings
of righteousness and life,
so in the saving flood of baptism
your people are washed clean and born again.
Throughout these forty days, we beg you,
unseal for us the wellspring of your grace,
cleanse our hearts of all that is not holy,
and cause your gift of new life to flourish once again.
Grant this through Christ, our liberator from sin,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
holy and mighty God for ever and ever.
)