I guess I should say a thing or two about what I believe. It wouldn’t do for a conservative Anglican to be led astray by a liberal Catholic. Since I claim to be an orthodox Catholic, it might help to define that just a bit.
My library consists of books by the following authors (the order is by number of books in my book cases):
Josef Cardinal Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI
Hans Urs von Balthasar
Karol Wojtyla / Pope John Paul II
Henri de Lubac
Frank Sheed
St. John of the Cross
Mark Shea
St. Louis de Montfort
St. Francis de Sales
Scott Hahn
Karl Keating
These are the authors to which I refer when putting something on this site. If you can’t find enough orthodoxy to suit you in the pages of these books, well, I’m afraid I can’t help you.
I also believe that the language of prayer should be more formal than the language of everyday speech. The prayers you see on this site will be, when I get a chance to post them, in Traditional English. What is Traditional English, you ask? It’s the language of Donne and Shakespeare. The reason for this is simple: Lex orandi, lex credendi - As we pray, so we believe.
From Liturgicam Authenticam:
27. “...words or expressions are sometimes employed which differ somewhat from usual and everyday speech, it is often enough by virtue of this very fact, that the texts become truly memorable and capable of expressing heavenly realities."?
This guides all the translations you will find here. And, yes, I do many of the translations from Latin myself. Unfortunately, much of the English speaking Catholic world, does not put much stock in the language of prayer. Well, I’m doing my bit to help correct that.
Interesting thoughts on formality of prayer versus formality of everyday speech.
I would cautiously agree but not completely with your assessment. I think we can hope and pray that continued presence before the Lord in prayer and meditation upon Scripture can refine and reform our minds as well as our hearts, and so instruct us in a multiplicity of ways.
But primarily prayer should be the honest and heart-felt communion of redeemed sinner to Redeemer, laying bare the heart although he sees its brokenness and need long before we choose to swallow our pride and submit to Him who cares for us.
Just for full disclosure I am an evangelical Protestant but I do enjoy the perspective of my Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ.
I wish you all the best with this blog and the Lord's continued blessings upon you.
Ken,
Excellent point, and I should say that I don't think the formal type of prayer need be exclusive of the honest and heart-felt communion you mention. We Catholics have a vast quantity of prayers written by others, set to memory, and used at various times in life. It's wise to maintain a certain amount of caution when approaching rote prayer without thought. The idea is that the formality of the rote prayers will help avoid their falling into sterility and robbing the individual of the communion you mention. For me, at least, a lack of formality often leads to a simple recitation, and that's to be avoided at all costs - again, IMHO.
I believe one of the fruits of Liturgicam Authenticam will be a "Liturgical English". It is already manifesting itself in the translations being approved for the "Ordinary" of the Mass (after due pressure from Rome) For example the Latin Liturgical Greeting: Dominus Vobiscum (the Lord be with you)-the Latin response is: et cumm spiritu tuo-now translated in the watereddown and common "and also with you" In the future it will be the far more precise and "Liturgical English": "And with your spirit"
Perhaps those still seeking Thy's and Thou's will be somewhat disappointed but a formal and Liturgical English it will be-and it will influence other ENglish translations of prayers etc as well over time-watch and see :)
I believe one of the fruits of Liturgicam Authenticam will be a "Liturgical English". It is already manifesting itself in the translations being approved for the "Ordinary" of the Mass (after due pressure from Rome) For example the Latin Liturgical Greeting: Dominus Vobiscum (the Lord be with you)-the Latin response is: et cumm spiritu tuo-now translated in the watereddown and common "and also with you" In the future it will be the far more precise and "Liturgical English": "And with your spirit"
Perhaps those still seeking Thy's and Thou's will be somewhat disappointed but a formal and Liturgical English it will be-and it will influence other ENglish translations of prayers etc as well over time-watch and see :)
I like the Thees and thous. I find it jarring when praying a public rosary, for instance, and hearing "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women..."
I then have a strong urge to pray more loudly, in particular the pertinent parts "... the Lord is with THEE, blessed ART THOU amonGST women..."
As for prayer; I agree that we should be careful that our rote prayers don't become just words rattled off from memory. However, I think there is an advantage in having so many prayers written by others, in that they tend to be superior in word, theology and sentiment from anything the average person could ad lib.
Our Catholic prayers are a treasury of the best of the best that have been written by saints and popes and pious people through the ages which have stood the test of time, and I think God deserves that over my feeble and sloppy words.
Also, traditional prayers tend to have an effect on our minds and hearts, much like well known and loved songs, giving comfort and an ability to instantly lift our minds to God when we hear or pray them. They also connect us to other Catholics through time and space, in heaven and on earth.
BTW, Mark, congratulations on becoming not just a Catholic, but an orthodox one. We need all we can get.
hi! i'm in the middle of that horrible: "i want to swim, but golly it is way more complicated than i thought it would be" time. i am completely at peace with accepting fully the teachings of the RCC, I just didn't realize the CULTURAL change. it's like i'm preparing to move to another country and i'm trying to read up on all their customs so i don't stand out as an idiot on the first day. i pray only that He helps me not feel so awkward as i move ahead.
thanks for the blog!
"Thee" and "thou" are the second person singulars in English, and the Middle Ages were the familiar form; akin to French "tu" and the German du -- so the first English vernacular prayers were shockingly informal.
I notice that there is no mention of a Bible in your library. An oversight, perhaps?
Charles N,
Not quite an oversight. I kinda thought it went without saying. I think we have a total of six in my house; I have three, my wife has one, and each of my older daughters has one (the youngest is only 7 months old, so we haven't bought her one yet).
If you can recommend a good concordance that won't break the bank, I'd appreciate the info.
Mark:
That's the way I read the Bible omission too--sort of a "in addition to."
After all, a lib usually has a bible too. The NRSV....
As to a concordance, yikes. Depends on the version. Some major versions don't even have concordances (I'm not entirely clear on whether the NAB has one now). I have a RSV concordance (sans deuterocanonicals, alas) I picked up for a song at a library sale, but they're pretty hard to find.
You might want to give Bookfinder.com a try--used is not a bad way to go. I've had good service from Alibris and Abebooks.
Good blog, BTW--I'll be linking soon.
Thanks, Dale. I've got the NAB (little, and the big study version), and the KJV. I'm in search of the Duhy, but haven't found one I can afford.
Can't sepll righ now....baby kickingg keyboard.
I'll give bookfindr a try. Id forgotn ab out them.
Gotta gob. baby now doing more thna kicking keyboard!
Yes, the Bible. Books by Thomas Merton, another convert, like us, but more prolific.
The online bibles, such as Bible Gateway are far more useful than a paper concordance. There are also many translations online at StudyLight including the Douay-Rheims and the Latin Vulgate. Even the classic pictures are online.
Thanks, Henry. The links don't seem to work.
To be honest, I prefer the old fashioned kind of book to the online type. I can't read the online versions from the comfort of my hammock...
Hi Mark,
I guess it all depends on what is cheap, so let's say that a reasonable price (around $40)Douay can be found at
http://www.prayrosary.com/shoppingcart/douay.php3
they have two different ones if I remember right, one with notes and one without. Hope it helps. Have enjoyed your site. God bless
Either Cruden or Strong in the unabridged is typically a quarto volume or two, over a thousand lpages. A little hard going for the hammock. And a concordance isn't exactly intended for beach reading.
To try those links again, www.biblegateway.net and www.studylight.org - the picture link above works, but the full Gustav Dore illustrations are at www.gutenberg.org/files/8710/8710-h/8710-h.htm
StudyLight has a very nice multi-translation view, and translations both modern and pre-KJV - I'm becoming quite fond of Tyndale and Wycliffe for certain passages.
Remember, "you can't search dead trees".