Wording of the Concecration
            QUESTION from Jane on December 31, 2003

I am a convert to the Catholic faith so you must forgive me if I am asking something that has already been fully explained at the time the rite of the Mass was changed into the venacular and simplified but I am aware that one of the criticisms of the ultra-traditionalists is that the rite was not just simplified but changed in a way that directly contradicted previous teaching on the matter. In particular they mention the words of concecration over the chalice. Now I have an old Roman Missal in which the English translation is given in parallel columns to the Latin and this says: "For this is the chalice of my blood, of the new and everlasting Covenant, a Mystery of Faith. It shall be shed for you and many others, so that sins may be forgiven." Whereas the current wording is: "This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all men so that sins may be forgiven." Now I can understand "A Mystery of Faith" being removed since they are not the words of Christ at the Last Supper. However, if we are meant to be sticking to Christ's words as recorded in the Bible, then the words "everlasting" should be removed as well and the last sentence is incorrect in the modern version since Jesus most definitely says "for you and for many", not "for you and for all". Again, you could argue this is because the Church teaches that Christ died for all men but the Catechism of the Council of Trent explains that the reason the words "for you and for many" are used is that whilst the value of his Passion it applied to all men, the fruit did not apply to all but to the many from both Jews and Gentiles who are of the elect. "With reason, therefore, were the words "for all" not used, as in this place the fruits of the Passion are alone spoken of, and to the elect only did His Passion bring the fruit of salvation." The Catechism also explains the reason why the words "Mystery of Faith" and "everlasting" are included and that whilst they are not taken directly from scripture, they have been preserved in the Church from Apostolic tradition and that all the words should be retained for the reasons given. How far back one can prove these words were used I am not enough of an expert to know. However, I have a book with a Eucharistic Prayer taken from an old Irish Missal of the 8th/9th century in which all the words are present and also a Eucharistic Prayer from the Gallican church of around the same period whilst not having "Mystery of Faith", certainly has the words "everlasting". Both use the words "for many". So even if they do not trace to the Apostolic age, they were certainly in use as part of the liturgy in the Western Church for some 700 years before the Council of Trent (and the Reformation) took place and, by the same token, had been in use some 1200 years before our modern rite replaced it. I do not suggest, as the ultra-traditionalists do, that because the wording has been changed the modern Mass is no longer valid. However, I would like to know why the modern wording was altered to such an extent and in particular how the change from "many" to "all" was justified in the light of the Council of Trent teaching on that very issue. I have consulted the modern Catechism but so far as I can tell it gives no definitive explanation for this (although being a rather large book it is possible I have missed it).