Three strikes or one with the new translation?

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Pug said:
Since the translation of the confiteor is changing, are we returning to three strikes of the breast, or are we staying with one? If one, which “fault” gets the strike? Please provide a document or something if you can. I’d like to know before next week. Our diocese chose not to provide instruction on gestures for the confiteor, only instructions on the words.
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I’m trying to picture whether or not I would care about this, if I were God, or if I might have bigger fish to fry.
 
DaveBj said:
I’m trying to picture whether or not I would care about this, if I were God, or if I might have bigger fish to fry.
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That kind of thinking lands us with all sorts of nasty stuff.
 
I agree that 3 seems more natural.

I don’t have any documentation, but when we received training in the new translation from the Diocese, the Canonist who was teaching us said one strike at the beginning and hold until the end.
 
Let’s have a situation for the one-strikers: when do you strike?
 
As a person who grew up pre-Vat II, we did 3 strikes for the confeitor and that is what I fall back to very easily. The word “fault” is the trigger for each strike.
 
DaveBj said:
I’m trying to picture whether or not I would care about this, if I were God, or if I might have bigger fish to fry.
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I’m trying to picture why you’re posting in this thread if you really don’t care :rolleyes:

We’re simply have a discussion.

And BTW, God does care about the liturgy.
 
TheMc said:
I’m trying to picture why you’re posting in this thread if you really don’t care :rolleyes:

We’re simply have a discussion.

And BTW, God does care about the liturgy.
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He has just as much right as you do to participate in this discussion and to offer his thoughts and reservations.
BTW, our pew materials specify Three strikes.
 
zab said:
He has just as much right as you do to participate in this discussion and to offer his thoughts and reservations.
BTW, our pew materials specify Three strikes.
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Except that he’s not participating. He’s coming in and slapping us around for doing so. If he wants to participate, so be it, but if he doesn’t, he shouldn’t
 
DaveBj said:
I’m trying to picture whether or not I would care about this, if I were God, or if I might have bigger fish to fry.
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God will look on like an indulgent parent, I’m sure. 😃 But so long as we are all performing in the children’s school play, I’d like to make a small attempt to get my lines right. I’m content to do whatever, on account of not knowing my lines, but I would prefer to make a minimal moral effort to know them before I do that. CAF is *the *place to get answers like that with zero effort on my part. Plus I get to talk to my buddies at the same time. I am fond of the confiteor. :o
 
Batfink said:
I agree that 3 seems more natural.

I don’t have any documentation, but when we received training in the new translation from the Diocese, the Canonist who was teaching us said one strike at the beginning and hold until the end.
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Interesting info. 🙂 That does cover all three faults nicely. I hadn’t thought of doing that.
 
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa is back. With the 1970 translation, the breast beating came with the “in what I have done and in what I have failed to do” and you had to choose your moment depending on you were an active or passive sinner. Now we can go back to the traditional symbol of penitence. Once or three times is up to you, but you need to consider your motivation. Neither God nor your fellow worshippers will be impressed by ostentation.
 
YoungTradCath said:
Let’s have a situation for the one-strikers: when do you strike?
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We’ve been instructed by our priest to strike once with the first sentence, holding your fist against your chest till the end, “through my fault (strike), through my fault, through my most grievious fault.”.

His instruction has created mild grumbling from the older Cradle Catholics in my parish. As youngsters, they had been instructed to strike 3 times, and thought the custom would be revived. 😦
 
I’ve always done 3, even when the translation used 1. Because (as a priest I was talking to one time said) the striking of the chest is related to the 'mea culpa’s. The fact the we compressed 3 in the translation to 1, did not change the number of culpa’s expressed in the original.

Similar to ‘and also with you’ was supposed to express the concept of ‘et cum spiritu tuo’. The translation is supposed to translate, not just the words, but the concepts behind them.

If 3 was right in Latin, it would be right in English even if we said it only once. The idea of total fault.

3 is an ancient way of saying ‘Most’ (holy holy holy Lord= holiest Lord)

Fault fault fault = I am completely and total the one to whom fault should be assigned for my failing (The devil did not make me do it).

3 strikes= I am totally sorry.
 
asia53 said:
We’ve been instructed by our priest to strike once with the first sentence, holding your fist against your chest till the end, “through my fault (strike), through my fault, through my most grievious fault.”.

His instruction has created mild grumbling from the older Cradle Catholics in my parish. As youngsters, they had been instructed to strike 3 times, and thought the custom would be revived. 😦
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😃 Unless it comes directly from the Vatican, I’m gonna strike 3 times and no one can stop me! LOL
 
I am trying to figure this out. As I am saying through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievious fault: Will I be looking around to see if my neighbor is striking his or her breast 1, 2 or 3 times?

Surely, there are a few things that we can decide for ourselves. Do we need to have a priest hold our hands on this one?
 
HelenRose said:
I am trying to figure this out. As I am saying through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievious fault: Will I be looking around to see if my neighbor is striking his or her breast 1, 2 or 3 times?

Surely, there are a few things that we can decide for ourselves. Do we need to have a priest hold our hands on this one?
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He’s not “holding our hands”. He’s been doing a series of lectures on the new translation of the Mass, last one was tonight. We’re reading, “Mystical Body, Mystical Voice: Encountering Christ in the Words of the Mass”, Christopher Carstens and Douglas Martis, We’ve been going over the entire Mass and all the changes. Since the Confiteor is part of the changes, striking your breast came up.

CITH, and holding hands during the Our Father came up—people asked about these. Father gave us his opinion, told us to make up our own minds.
 
asia53 said:
We’ve been instructed by our priest to strike once with the first sentence, holding your fist against your chest till the end, “through my fault (strike), through my fault, through my most grievious fault.”.

His instruction has created mild grumbling from the older Cradle Catholics in my parish. As youngsters, they had been instructed to strike 3 times, and thought the custom would be revived. 😦
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Until there is a definitive statement from someone with proper ecclesiastic authority over me, I am going to strike thrice.
 
MarkThompson said:
In 1978, the official ruling was given: only one strike is required.
It does not seem, therefore, that anyone has to strike his breast three times in pronouncing those words in Latin or in another language, even if mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa is said. It suffices that there be a striking of the breast. It is obvious also that only one gesture suffices in those languages in which the words for showing one’s fault have been rendered in a more simple manner, as, for example, in English, « I have sinned through my own fault », or in French, « Oui, j’ai vraiment peche ».
You may read the original in Latin and English here.
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Definitive statement by competent ecclesiastical authority - so how come so many are ignoring this post?
 
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