Using the Name "Yahweh" in Mass?

[Fiyero3305]

I sing in the choir at my school’s chapel and yesterday we sang “Sing a New Song” as our entrance hymn, the first verse of which begins “Yahweh’s people dance for joy”. Before we began though, the cantor told us that we were no longer supposed to say “Yahweh” in mass and we just skipped the first verse entirely. I tried to ask why but wasn’t able to get a clear answer.

Is this a new rule? If so, why are we no longer to use the name?

Also, I apologize if there’s already a thread discussing this, I didn’t see one in the recent pages.

 

[benedictgal]

I sing in the choir at my school’s chapel and yesterday we sang “Sing a New Song” as our entrance hymn, the first verse of which begins “Yahweh’s people dance for joy”. Before we began though, the cantor told us that we were no longer supposed to say “Yahweh” in mass and we just skipped the first verse entirely. I tried to ask why but wasn’t able to get a clear answer.

Is this a new rule? If so, why are we no longer to use the name?

Also, I apologize if there’s already a thread discussing this, I didn’t see one in the recent pages.

This has been the rule since 2001, but OCP, the publisher of the song you sang, seems to ingore mandates. Here is what Liturgiam Authenticam, the authoritative document on liturgical translations, says:

c) in accordance with immemorial tradition, which indeed is already evident in the above-mentioned “Septuagint” version, the name of almighty God expressed by the Hebrew tetragrammaton (YHWH) and rendered in Latin by the word Dominus, is to be rendered into any given vernacular by a word equivalent in meaning.

Seven years after the promulgation of the LA, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments wrote, in a letter to the USCCB (to further clarify the point so as to not leave any lingering doubts) that:

1. In liturgical celebrations, in songs and prayers the name of God in the form of the tetragrammaton YHWH is neither to be used or pronounced.

1. For the translation of the biblical text in modern languages, intended for the liturgical usage of the Church, what is already prescribed by n. 41 of the Instruction Liturgiam authenticam is to be followed; that is, the divine tetragrammaton is to be rendered by the equivalent of Adonai/Kyrios; “Lord,” Signore, Seigneur, Herr, Señor, etc.

1. In translating, in the liturgical context, texts in which are present, one after the other, either the Hebrew term Adonai or the tetragrammaton YHWH, Adonai is to be translated “Lord” and the [word] “God” is to be used for the tetragrammaton YHWH, similar to what happens in the Greek translation of the Septuagint and in the Latin translation of the Vulgate.

In other words, the term Dominus, which is Latin for Lord, should be used.

 

[Scottgun]

Well, putting aside my conviction that Schutte hymns should be banned with extreme prejudice in general, I’d go with benedictgal’s assertion, but I would have to ask if that applies to choir music.

Edit: Nevermind, I read the extended quote. No Yahweh it is.

 

[Fiyero3305]

Thank you, benedictgal, but doesn’t YHWH mean “I am, who am”, and not Lord and make Dominus an incorrect translation? Or is it not meant to actually be a translation but just meant to keep in accordance with the use of Latin as the language of the Church?

And to be clear, I honestly am not trying to be impetuous, I’d just really like to fully understand all of our reasoning for why we practice mass the way we do.

 

[tweetymom]

Thank you, benedictgal, but doesn’t YHWH mean “I am, who am”, and not Lord and make Dominus an incorrect translation? Or is it not meant to actually be a translation but just meant to keep in accordance with the use of Latin as the language of the Church?

And to be clear, I honestly am not trying to be impetuous, I’d just really like to fully understand all of our reasoning for why we practice mass the way we do.

We got a letter from our Bishop stating that the Pope said that Yahweh could no longer be used in Church and our Missles have all been changed.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

This has been the rule since 2001, but OCP, the publisher of the song you sang, seems to ingore mandates.

said hymnals for 2009 had already been printed, so the affected hymns would not include the new wording for at least another year.

 

[dashso40]

I’m glad we don’t use the word yahweh anymore…I never really felt comfortable with that particular word…

 

[Evan]

Thank you, benedictgal, but doesn’t YHWH mean “I am, who am”, and not Lord and make Dominus an incorrect translation? Or is it not meant to actually be a translation but just meant to keep in accordance with the use of Latin as the language of the Church?

And to be clear, I honestly am not trying to be impetuous, I’d just really like to fully understand all of our reasoning for why we practice mass the way we do.

Nobody really knows how to pronounce YHWH but it does seem to be derived from the verb ‘to be’. In the Septuagent, which is a greek translation of the hebrew, it is rendered as Kyrios, Lord (and Dominus in Latin). The hebrew people did not say it, they substituted Adonai: Lord. So the spoken hebrew, the written greek and latin all agree, the word in English should be Lord.

 

[Fiyero3305]

Thank you for the clarification.

 

[benedictgal]

said hymnals for 2009 had already been printed, so the affected hymns would not include the new wording for at least another year.

Liturgiam Authenticam has been around for eight years. This hardly excuses OCP from this.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

Liturgiam Authenticam has been around for eight years. This hardly excuses OCP from this.

Given that no one enforced it until the past year, its hard to blame them for not following it.

 

[benedictgal]

Given that no one enforced it until the past year, its hard to blame them for not following it.

OCP is notorious for not following the rules. Let me give you an example. I have planned vairous liturgies for the Cathedral and the diocese. When looking at the OCP Spanish-language arsenal, I have found versions of the Gloria that are paraphrased to the point that they are unrecognizable. The same holds true for the Agnus Dei. In fact, Bernadette Ferrel’s version of the Agnus Dei had to be moved to the “hymns” section because it was a very bad paraphrase.

When I brought these deficiencies to the OCP editorial staff, they were rather flippant in their response and were upset that I complained to the USCCB. I have also brought these to the attention of OCP’s home archdiocese. Even the archdiocesan staff did not know how bad the Spanish translation of the Gloria was mangled. They were also unaware of the hatchet job that OCP had done to the Exultet. I have since followed up with a letter to Bishop Seratelli, the chair of the USCCB Committee on Worship.

The OCP editors claim to read the liturgical documents. But, in my experience with them, I have found it not to be entirely the case at all. That is why what they keep doing is inexcusable.

 

[SMHW]

I’m not excusing OCP but in the case of Liturgiam Authenticam I think the US bishops themselves had been very lax in getting the word out to ANYONE who should care about what’s in it.

I wonder how many bishops actually read it until recently.

 

[benedictgal]

I’m not excusing OCP but in the case of Liturgiam Authenticam I think the US bishops themselves had been very lax in getting the word out to ANYONE who should care about what’s in it.

I wonder how many bishops actually read it until recently.

I could buy that excuse 20 years ago. However, in this age of the internet, the documents are out there for everyone to read. OCP prides itself on being “on the cutting edge” of things. If they are so “in the know”, they should have kept up with the documents.

 

[CatholicZ09]

Well, if you choose to sing “Sing A New Song” with the current OCP 2009 Missals, then use “Shout with Gladness…” instead of “Yahweh’s people…” on the first verse. This is how it’s going to be printed in the 2010 Missals.

Also, “You Are Near” by Dan Schutte was also affected. In stead of saying “Yahweh, I know you are near…” You should sing “O Lord I know you are near…” this is how it’s going to be printed in the 2010 Missals.

 

[tweetymom]

I’m glad we don’t use the word yahweh anymore…I never really felt comfortable with that particular word…

Why?

 

[jlhargus]

OCP is notorious for not following the rules. Let me give you an example. I have planned vairous liturgies for the Cathedral and the diocese. When looking at the OCP Spanish-language arsenal, I have found versions of the Gloria that are paraphrased to the point that they are unrecognizable. The same holds true for the Agnus Dei. In fact, Bernadette Ferrel’s version of the Agnus Dei had to be moved to the “hymns” section because it was a very bad paraphrase.

When I brought these deficiencies to the OCP editorial staff, they were rather flippant in their response and were upset that I complained to the USCCB. I have also brought these to the attention of OCP’s home archdiocese. Even the archdiocesan staff did not know how bad the Spanish translation of the Gloria was mangled. They were also unaware of the hatchet job that OCP had done to the Exultet. I have since followed up with a letter to Bishop Seratelli, the chair of the USCCB Committee on Worship.

The OCP editors claim to read the liturgical documents. But, in my experience with them, I have found it not to be entirely the case at all. That is why what they keep doing is inexcusable.

Thank you for bringing these deficiencies to OCP and USCCB.

 

[Digitonomy]

This has been the rule since 2001, but OCP, the publisher of the song you sang, seems to ingore mandates. Here is what Liturgiam Authenticam, the authoritative document on liturgical translations, says:

c) in accordance with immemorial tradition, which indeed is already evident in the above-mentioned “Septuagint” version, the name of almighty God expressed by the Hebrew tetragrammaton (YHWH) and rendered in Latin by the word Dominus, is to be rendered into any given vernacular by a word equivalent in meaning.

It’s easy to armchair quarterback after the 2008 CDW clarification of Liturgiam Authenticam. However, subsection c) that you quoted was part of a paragraph discussing translation of liturgical texts, specifically Psalms and readings. I’m not aware of any evidence that it was widely understood prior to 2008 as extending to hymns.

If OCP had inside knowledge, not shared by most in the field, that the Yahweh prohibition extended to hymns, then it would be fair to accuse them of ignoring such a mandate.

 

[benedictgal]

It’s easy to armchair quarterback after the 2008 CDW clarification of Liturgiam Authenticam. However, subsection c) that you quoted was part of a paragraph discussing translation of liturgical texts, specifically Psalms and readings. I’m not aware of any evidence that it was widely understood prior to 2008 as extending to hymns.

If OCP had inside knowledge, not shared by most in the field, that the Yahweh prohibition extended to hymns, then it would be fair to accuse them of ignoring such a mandate.

Not necessarily, Digitonomy. The document has been out for eight years now. It is also online for everyone to read. Liturgical texts include those which are to be sung. This does also not excuse OCP from completely disregarding even RS which notes that the texts of the parts of the Mass should not be changed.

Perhaps it should interest you to know that back in 2006, the USCCB sent the Holy See a directory of songs (which the Holy See has yet to approve). Chances are that songs containing the Holy Name of God were included in the mix. This is what probably raised the Holy See’s interest as to why LA was not properly enforced.

 

[Digitonomy]

Not necessarily, Digitonomy. The document has been out for eight years now. It is also online for everyone to read.

Since I wasn’t disputing those points, I’m not sure how they’re relevant. My point was that liturgical hymns are not explicitly included in the “Yahweh” prohibition, and it’s not obvious from the document that people should second-guess the plain text. As a result, few if any at the time interpreted it that way.

benedictgal:

Liturgical texts include those which are to be sung.

Indeed, although LA distinguishes between sung texts and liturgical hymns.

benedictgal:

This does also not excuse OCP from completely disregarding even RS which notes that the texts of the parts of the Mass should not be changed.

Since any composer can introduce a new hymn, with proper local approval, I don’t think that choice of hymnody for a particular mass constitutes changing the parts of the mass under RS.

benedictgal:

Perhaps it should interest you to know that back in 2006, the USCCB sent the Holy See a directory of songs (which the Holy See has yet to approve).

That does surprise me. I thought some here were finding fault with the USCCB for failing to do this. Perhaps I’m confusing more than one directory of songs.