My co-blogger Mike's previous post about a reprinting of the Latin Liturgy of the Hours led to some discussion in the comments about the long awaited revision/retranslation of the American English edition.
Obviously this is something we are all waiting for with great longing, or great curiosity, or perhaps great trepidation, depending on one's perceptions on the abilities of the U.S. Bishops' committee on Divine Worship and ICEL --that is, International Commission on English in the Liturgy.
This blog was probably the first source to break the story about the proposed revision in this post and in this one. But that was back in 2012. Progress since then has been slow but steady. If you want more details on this from the only reliable source, then go to this page from the USCCB website for a complete rundown. I'm so glad that Mike noted this pages in those comments the other day. It gives the reader a good sense of why this process is so slow. Some parts of the LOTH (in the United States) are taken from the New American Bible, while the psalms are the Revised Grail Psalms, the work of the monks of Conception Abbey in Missouri. Then there's the antiphons, Intercessions,hymns and concluding prayers, which are the work of ICEL, translating texts that come from the Vatican publishing house. So we are talking about four different entities, four different copyright holders.
You have to be a serious breviary nerd to read the entire piece, but it should answer all your questions. Unless, of course, you are from the UK. If any Brits, Aussies, Canadians, or Kiwis out there know how, if at all, the Commonwealth bishops are coordinating with the USA on this,or just doing a new translation of their own, please share the news!
As I keep telling people, the Bishops and these other entities are share this trait in common with the Lord: to their eyes, "a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone, or like a watch in the night."(Psalm 90:4) So the rest of us just have to be patient.
Obviously this is something we are all waiting for with great longing, or great curiosity, or perhaps great trepidation, depending on one's perceptions on the abilities of the U.S. Bishops' committee on Divine Worship and ICEL --that is, International Commission on English in the Liturgy.
This blog was probably the first source to break the story about the proposed revision in this post and in this one. But that was back in 2012. Progress since then has been slow but steady. If you want more details on this from the only reliable source, then go to this page from the USCCB website for a complete rundown. I'm so glad that Mike noted this pages in those comments the other day. It gives the reader a good sense of why this process is so slow. Some parts of the LOTH (in the United States) are taken from the New American Bible, while the psalms are the Revised Grail Psalms, the work of the monks of Conception Abbey in Missouri. Then there's the antiphons, Intercessions,hymns and concluding prayers, which are the work of ICEL, translating texts that come from the Vatican publishing house. So we are talking about four different entities, four different copyright holders.
You have to be a serious breviary nerd to read the entire piece, but it should answer all your questions. Unless, of course, you are from the UK. If any Brits, Aussies, Canadians, or Kiwis out there know how, if at all, the Commonwealth bishops are coordinating with the USA on this,or just doing a new translation of their own, please share the news!
As I keep telling people, the Bishops and these other entities are share this trait in common with the Lord: to their eyes, "a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone, or like a watch in the night."(Psalm 90:4) So the rest of us just have to be patient.
