The US bishops are calling on all clergy and lay ecclesial ministers to help parish assemblies learn the new ritual texts and to support the catechesis that will be needed before, during, and after the transition. The article below was prepared by OCP and Today's Liturgy (See original article at The Creed) for use in parishes as part of that catechetical effort.

 

Some of the most significant changes to the people's parts in the Order of Mass are found in the Profession of Faith (the Nicene Creed). Changes to this text fall into two categories: preservation of the syntax of the original text and preservation of expressions of faith that contain Catholic doctrine.

"I" instead of "We"

• The first change is the translation of credo as "I" instead of "We" in the opening phrase in order to maintain the person and number indicated in the Latin text. While the Profession of Faith is a communal liturgical act, each individual in the liturgical assembly professes his or her own faith, which is joined to the profession of the whole assembly.

Expressions of Faith

• The second change concerns the translation of particular expressions of faith such as unigenitus, consubstantialis, and incarnatus. The theological terminology has been preserved, in accord with Liturgiam Authenticam, in the translation to English: "Only Begotten," "consubstantial," and "incarnate."

Why has "one in being with the Father" been changed to "consubstantial with the Father"?

The new translation is more in keeping with the ancient Latin text of the Creed and is a more accurate translation.

The bishops at the Council of Nicea (AD 325), in order to ensure that Jesus was professed as the eternal Son of God, equal to the Father, stated that he is "the Son of God, begotten from the Father, the only-begotten, that is from the substance of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, the same substance (homoousion) with the Father." The Creed of the Council of Constantinople (AD 381), which is professed at all Sunday Masses and Solemnities within the Catholic Church, similarly stated: "We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same substance (homoousion) with the Father."

When these two ancient creeds were translated into Latin, the term homoousion was rendered as consubstantialem, that is, "the same substance of the Father." Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Latin consubstantialem was rendered as "consubstantial" within the English translation of the Creed. Many theologians and the Holy See thought that the term "consubstantial" was more in keeping with the Latin tradition and a more literal and accurate translation than the more recent "one in being."

This is in keeping with the mind of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as expressed in the 2001 instruction Liturgiam Authenticam. It stated: "Certain expressions that belong to the heritage of the whole or of a great part of the ancient Church, as well as others that have become part of the general human patrimony, are to be respected by a translation that is as literal as possible" (56).