ok, there's a lot of irritation (my own) floating around this blog, BUT, that's what the blog is for, right?
so usually like OCP, and I actually use "Today's Liturgy" to help me a LOT with music planning.
up until the current issue, I have really appreciated the summaries of the readings, and sometimes the music suggestions.
until now.
I am SURE there is a completely different person who has started writing the summaries. some of them are making me want to gag.
here's a few examples:
"Amos, God's prophet, rejected the individualistic, consumerist values of lazy greedy and unjust people who ignore the rights of the poor. Their life of ease will be ended." (Amos 6:1a, 4-7)
consumerist? individualistic? where in the Bible are those words located? I think my main problem with this kind of translating, is that because (I think) I know the Bible pretty well, and when I hear a verse that is more of a shortened Living Bible translation than anything, I can't even connect which verse it is!
That would be in the case with a summary like this, "Jesus taught a lesson about the power of persistent prayer by telling the story of a pushy widow who wore down a corrupt judge by continually demanding her rights. The judge issued a settlement in her favor, lest she do him in." Luke 18:1-8.
hm. Dumbed-down texts. sound familiar?
7 comments:
I too despise "paraphrases", because they invariably either get the text wrong or have the WEIRDEST ways of putting things. The Message Bible is a good example: "Shall they say, 'GOD is out to lunch?'"
I much prefer the Gregorian Missal's summaries. It's only a sentence or a couple words, but if you know the readings, you'll know what they're talking about. I remember in one of those magazines, in the "Our Father" reading they said "Jesus has a new prayer," probably just so they wouldn't have to use a male pronoun!
-Gavin
I suspect Gavin knows this, but just in case someone else gets the wrong impression, the English translations of the Latin texts in the Gregorian Missal are fairly poor - or at least, quite far from being literal.
I think I share Mara’s appraisal of OCP. They do some nice things, like leaving in thee/thou, and I find myself quite liking their solo instrument accompaniments, but YAKK, they also publish Spirit & Song and this kind of drivel.
Cantor, I find them to be at least better than ICEL. Sometimes, when ICEL is just horrible, I use the Gregorian Missal's translations.
Anonymous,
I think ICEL did actually do the Gregorian Missal’s translations....? At least, Fr. Anthony Ruff more or less implied as much in an email conversation I had with him recently.
are we talking about "summaries" or "translations?"
Translations, e.g.:
http://www.ceciliaschola.org/img/vovete.gif
It seems the person interpreting Amos saw it as some sort of anti-American prophecy (aren't Americans always accused of being greedy, individualistic, and consumerist?)meant to condemn the excesses of capitalism. Whether or not we do possess those vices, it is certain that that is not the exact thing Amos was prophesying about. This interpretation could have been written by a liberation theologian.
Boniface
unamsanctamcatholicam.blogspot.com
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