Listen to the Word renders the presumed idea.


Ahead to Easter T


wo errors in the Latin text have been corrected in both English renderings by “corrective translation” that does not replicate the error but faithfully


Source: Composed for the Missale Romanum of 1970, the first part is adapted from the eighth-century Sacramentary of Angoulême, in which Christ hungers “not so much for food as for people’s health”.


Analysis of literary forms The scriptural basis is the temptation of Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13). The first confession and motor concern Christ’s fasting, the second two his overturning the lies of the serpent, which is amplified as people learn to overcome mal- ice. Finally a motor and purpose describe human life characterised by the Paschal Mystery.


First motor:The comma after quadra ginta


diebus, “for 40 days”, indicates that it goes with ieiunio, “with a fast [for 40 days]”. But punctuation can be incidental to Latin, and the phrase more easily describes the closer- at-hand participle abstinens, “abstaining [for 40 days]”, as indicated by both English texts. Thus, quadraginta diebus terrenis abstinens alimentis, “Who, abstaining from earthly foods for 40 days”, is given as, “By abstaining 40 long days from earthly food”. Second motor: The participial clause, omnes evertens antiqui serpentis insidias, “overturning all the deceits of the ancient ser- pent”, is given as, “by overturning all the snares of the ancient serpent”. Second confession: We confess faith in


Christ’s saving teaching [Qui …] et … docuit, “[who …] and … taught”, given as “[he …] and … taught”. Amplification: What Christ taught is given in the object sentence, fermentum malitiae nos [docuit] superare, “[taught] us to overcome the leaven of malice”, given as, “[taught] us to cast out the leaven of malice” (see 1 Corinthians 5:8). Motor: The participial phrase, paschale mysterium dignis mentibus celebrantes, “[we,] celebrating the Easter mystery with worthy hearts”, is given as, “celebrating worthily the Paschal Mystery, [we]”. Purpose: The two verbs dedicavit ... et ...


docuit, “[who] designated and taught”, narrate events during the life of Christ and cast the prayer as an historical account. The contem- poraneous infinitive superare, “to overcome”,


18 | THE TABLET | 12 March 2011


maintains the same historical perspective. The Latin text, ut … ad pascha demum per- petuum transeamus, inexplicably changes from the historical perspective to a present per- spective in the verb transeamus, “we may pass over”. The only way for this to occur is if the first two verbs are understood as touching on the present moment and describe the ongoing action of Christ throughout history unto the present, “he has been designating and teaching”, but clearly an historical perspective is intended by the reference to Christ’s 40 days fasting in the desert and to his teaching min- istry. Given the historical perspective of these two verbs, the subjunctive should be corrected to transiremus, “we might pass over”, as pre- sented by both English texts: “so that we … might finally pass over to the eternal Easter”, and, “so that … we might pass over at last to the eternal paschal feast”. The error lies in thinking that the second (misleadingly called the imperfect) subjunc- tive transiremus, “we might pass over”, is limited to the past, and so the prayer was made to switch to the present perspective to include us today. The truth is that both transeamus, “we may pass over”, and transiremus, “we might pass over”, are contemporaneous, subsequent, ongoing, unfinished, incomplete, future and eternal actions relative to the verbs on which they depend, transeamusbeginning in the pres- ent and continuing for eternity, transiremus beginning in the past and continuing for eter- nity including us today. The difference in


meaning here is that while transeamus refers specifically to us at the time of proclamation, transiremus refers to all of humanity ever since Christ, during his earthly ministry, taught us to overcome the leaven of malice, and we are included in that great sweep of humanity returning to its Creator.


Summary Only Christ abstains and fasts in this prayer, whereas humanity overcomes the malice, cele - brates mystery and passes over to the eternal Easter. He emptied himself so that human beings ever since might come to their full humanity and therein share in his divinity. This same expression of the divine-human exchange appears in Augustine’s commentary on Psalm 60:2-3 assigned to the office of read- ings this Sunday: “From you Christ always had flesh for himself, from himself health for you; from you death for himself, from himself life for you; from you insults for himself, from him- self honours for you; from you, therefore, temptation for himself, from himself victory for you” (Liturgia horarum, II, 70). Passing over to the perpetual Easter refers not sim- ply to one’s death, but characterises the way we live, unencumbered by lies, overcoming malice, celebrating the mystery of Christ at work in us.


■Daniel McCarthy OSB is a monk of St Benedict’s Abbey, Kansas, who writes and teaches on liturgy.


Roman Missal 2010 … Christ …


By abstaining 40 long days from earthly food,


he consecrated through his fast


the pattern of our Lenten observance and, by overturning all the snares of the ancient serpent,


taught us to cast out the leaven of malice, so that, celebrating worthily the Paschal Mystery, we might pass over at last to the eternal paschal feast. © International


Commission on English in the Liturgy.


The Ash Wednesday liturgy emphasises prayer, fasting and alms-giving, writes Daniel McCarthy. But on Sundays, even in Lent, primacy goes to the victory of the Resurrection


FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT, PREFACE ON THE TEMPTATION OF THE LORD


Missale Romanum2008 … Christum …


Qui quadraginta diebus, terrenis abstinens alimentis,


formam huius observantiae ieiunio dedicavit,


et, omnes evertens antiqui serpentis insidias, fermentum malitiae nos docuit superare, ut, paschale mysterium dignis mentibus celebrantes, ad pascha demum perpetuum transeamus.


Study text … Christ …


who, abstaining from earthly foods for 40 days, designated the form of this observance with a fast and, overturning all the deceits of the ancient serpent,


taught us to overcome the leaven of malice,


so that we, celebrating the Easter mystery with worthy hearts, might finally pass over to the eternal Easter.


Prepared in collaboration with Frs James Leachman OSB and Reginald Foster OCD.


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