The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
How much longer must we wait before this apostolic greeting is restored to our Mass?
The Apostle Paul concludes his second letter to Timothy, whom he had left in charge of the church at Ephesus, with the words: "The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you"; and his letter to Philemon, who owned the house in Colossae where the local Christians used to meet, concludes with: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."
In his 'Homily on the Holy Pentecost', St John Crysostom (347 - 407 AD) wrote:
If the Holy Spirit were not in [your bishop],
you would not, recently, when he ascended this holy chair
and wished you all peace, have cried out with one accord, "And with your spirit."
You cry out to him like this, not only when he ascends his throne and when he speaks to you and prays for you, but
also when he stands at this holy altar to offer the sacrifice. He does not touch what lies on the altar before wishing
you the grace of our Lord, and before you have replied to him, "And with your spirit."
By this cry, you are reminded that he who stands at the altar does nothing of himself, and that the gifts that repose on it
are not the merits of a man; but that the grace of the Holy Spirit is present and, descending on all, accomplishes
this mysterious sacrifice. We indeed see a man, but it is God who acts through him. Nothing human takes place at
this holy altar.
The response "Et cum spiritu tuo" or, in Greek, "καὶ μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματός σου" (And with your spirit) is found in the Liturgies of both East and West, from the earliest days of the Church until the present time.
This response is made only to an ordained minister. When a priest or deacon greets us with "Dominus tecum" (The Lord be with you), we reply "Et cum spiritu tuo." In so doing, we recall the gift of the Holy Spirit he received at ordination; we ask that the Lord Jesus be with the Spirit, as the minister uses the charismatic gifts given to him in ordination. As John Chrysostom wrote: "We indeed see a man, but it is God who acts through him."
The current translation's "And also with you", is clearly imprecise and does not evoke the spiritual and mystical reality of what is taking place. This, alas, is by no means the only place where the current 'translation' is imprecise, departs from biblical and apostolic language and obscures the spiritual and mystical reality of what is taking place.
The new translation of the Mass restores this apostolic greeting and in all other respects is far more accurate, more scriptural and far more theologically sound that the one that we use at the moment. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has made texts of the new translation available on-line (Why have our Bishops not done the same?).
- Click here for more information about the new Missal, including links to sample texts and to the complete text of the Mass.
- Click here for a resource which uses video, text, graphics and music to help the user enrich their understanding and deepen their appreciation of the Eucharist.
- Click here to add your name to a petition asking for it to be implemented as soon as possible.
The Church in English-speaking nations has waited far too long for an accurate, faithful and theologically sound translation of the original Latin!
