What will happen with the translation into English of the Pater Noster in the forthcoming new missal?
The language of the present translation, while beautiful, might make little sense to a first-time hearer. Substituting 'Your' in place of 'Thy' helps a bit but that still leaves 'trespass(es)'.
The Anglican church has a number of modern English translations but then you get the problem of having more than one version of a prayer that Christians should know by heart.
Was this covered in an issue of M&L?
Pater Noster
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nazard
- Posts: 555
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- Parish / Diocese: Clifton
- Location: Muddiest Somerset
I don't know what the new translation of the Pater Noster will be, but if its not too late I would like to put in a plea to the translators not to change it.
I don't know where the present translation came from. It isn't the Douay and it isn't the King James. Some anglicans use it, but they can't tell me where it came from either. It is the text I learned as a little child, before english liturgy came about. As a child, and subsequently teaching my own children, I found that the "thy" gives no problem, you just tell the children its an old fashioned but extra friendly way of saying "you" to one person. "Trespasses" isn't that difficult either, it just means the harm we do. The difficult bit to get across is the "as" in "as we forgive those who trespass against us". The whole prayer hinges on this, as we accept our obligation to forgive if we would like to be forgiven.
For the sake of the many musical settings we have of this text, and the settings of the King James text, which also are generally usable with our words, would the translators please leave the Pater Noster alone and pay their attention to the real horrors such as the Gloria, Sanctus and memorial acclamations. If they are really bothered about the Pater Noster, they need to pay more attention to "Praeceptis salutaribus moniti..." which they utterly fouled up last time.
I don't know where the present translation came from. It isn't the Douay and it isn't the King James. Some anglicans use it, but they can't tell me where it came from either. It is the text I learned as a little child, before english liturgy came about. As a child, and subsequently teaching my own children, I found that the "thy" gives no problem, you just tell the children its an old fashioned but extra friendly way of saying "you" to one person. "Trespasses" isn't that difficult either, it just means the harm we do. The difficult bit to get across is the "as" in "as we forgive those who trespass against us". The whole prayer hinges on this, as we accept our obligation to forgive if we would like to be forgiven.
For the sake of the many musical settings we have of this text, and the settings of the King James text, which also are generally usable with our words, would the translators please leave the Pater Noster alone and pay their attention to the real horrors such as the Gloria, Sanctus and memorial acclamations. If they are really bothered about the Pater Noster, they need to pay more attention to "Praeceptis salutaribus moniti..." which they utterly fouled up last time.