Changing the words in prayers

[on_the_hill]

Over Christmas the topic of prayer came up, and a couple older relatives in my wife’s family made the offhand remark that when they say prayers they change the wording they don’t like.

These are fairly ‘conservative’ people, and it surprised me that they’d do this so casually.

I suppose you can change words to whatever you want, but don’t you run the risk of changing the meaning or intent of the prayer?

I didn’t want to get into a long discussion about it. But, as one example, the words “fruit of thy womb” seem odd, so they might change it to “baby in your womb.”

 

[normbetland]

I believe that the example you give does change the value of the prayer from a catechetical standpoint as the term “fruit” really emphasizes the motherhood of Mary and the fact that Jesus’s flesh comes from Mary’s despite his miraculous conception, whereas “baby” doesn’t necessarily mean that any part of Jesus comes from Mary’s flesh.

But the question is about changing words and I guess it comes down to this: in private, non-liturgical prayer (that is not the Liturgy of the Hours or the Mass), we can pray whatever words we want in order to help us as individuals enter the mystery of God. If changing the terms in the Hail Mary or only praying half of an Our Father or making up a prayer entirely moves their soul deeper into the reality of Christ, that is a good thing.

 

[gh4]

It seems to me in the example you gave, baby in thy womb sounds like it means that Mary is still with child. Fruit of thy womb means more of ‘what was in thy womb’ or kind of like blessed is what came from your womb, not meaning that it’s in there right now…

I went to a retreat where the leader of the retreat said “fruit of thy wound” and when I asked about it, others said ‘well Mary was wounded.’ But babies don’t grow in a wound, they grow in a womb or a uterus, not a wound, and Mary was not wounded when she became pregnant.

I supposed if it’s a private devotion it is what it is, but I wouldn’t do what they are doing.

 

[chevalier]

Be aware that those fixed phrases and collocations often reflect Elisabethan English, mediaeval Latin usage or something even older (e.g. a carry-over from ancient Greek). (E.g. Latin fructus suggests a natural, just consequence, as in the fruit of your labour.)

There are also different perceptions as to whether scriptures and prayers should follow normal language or something made elaborate and possibly artificial in the process.

This said, “fruit of Thy womb” is pretty fixed, and when speaking the phrase we are aware it goes back centuries before and is not the same as a zealous layman using old-fashioned language to intimidate others to acquiesce to his theological ideas.

Personally, I dislike changes to prayers anyway (as much as, on the other hand, I prefer naturalcy in language). The problem with private changes to prayers is that official wordings have the tradition of the Church behind them, while individually made changes reflect private experience, are particularly fallible, and they may cause distress to fellow believers whose own experience and views of certain things are legitimately different.

Which is not say any bad word about people’s intentions!