A translation of
the missal was prepared and received the approval of the eleven
English-speaking conferences of the world. This translation was rejected by the
Congregation for Divine Worship. As a result, instead of the 1998 translation
of this Sunday’s Prayer over the Gifts:
O God,
you provide us
with gifts
to be offered
to your name
and you
accept them as a sign of our loving service.
In your mercy
grant that the offering you enable us to make
may obtain
for us an enduring reward.
We have this
2010 translation:
O God,
who provide gifts
to be offered to your name
and count our
oblations as signs
of our desire
to serve you with devotion,
we ask of
your mercy
that what you
grant as the source of merit
may also help
us to attain merit’s reward.
Remember this
is a prayer to be prayed aloud and heard by a congregation.
One element
that marks the 2010 translation is the frequent use of “merit.” One of the
meanings which the Merriam-Webster dictionary provides for “merit” is: a
spiritual credit held to be earned by performance of righteous acts and to
ensure future benefits. In light of the theological battles of the 16th
century that led up to the Council of Trent, I puzzle over the repeated use of
this work in our liturgical prayer.
Note also the dropping of "you" before "who provide." In English one would expect "who provides" after "O God".
