COLLECT
Current
Father,through our observance of Lent,
help us to understand the meaning
of your Son’s death and resurrection,
and teach us to reflect it in our lives.
Forthcoming
Grant, almighty God,
through the yearly observances of holy Lent,
that we may grow in understanding
of the riches hidden in Christ
and by worthy conduct pursue their effects.
AFTER COMMUNION
Current
Father,
you increase our faith and hope,
you deepen our love in this communion.
Help us to live by your words
and to seek Christ, our bread of life,
who is Lord for ever and ever.
Forthcoming
Renewed now with heavenly bread,
by which faith is nourished, hope increased,
and charity strengthened,
we pray, O Lord,
that we may learn to hunger for Christ,
the true and living Bread,
and strive to live by every word
which proceeds from your mouth.
Through Christ our Lord.
Concéde nobis, omnípotens Deus,
ut, per ánnua quadragesimális exercítia sacraménti,
et ad intellegéndum Christi proficiámus arcánum,
et efféctus eius digna conversatióne sectémur.
2008
Grant us, almighty God,
through our yearly exercises in the holy Season of Lent,
to grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ
and to pursue their effects by a worthy way of life.
As an old (well, alright, ancient) Latin teacher, I cannot for the life of me figure out what Vox Clara had against the easily transposed word order of the Latin original, which would have solved their tortured syntax problems and saved the celebrant from unnecessary tongue-twisters. As in this Collect: "Concede nobis, omnipotens Deus" – "Grant us, almighty God" and almost always takes care of the rhythmic flow of the rest of the prayer.
Caelésti pane refécti,
quo fides álitur, spes provéhitur
et cáritas roborátur,
quaesumus, Dómine,
ut ipsum, qui est panis vivus et verus,
esuríre discámus,
et in omni verbo, quod procédit de ore tuo,
vívere valeámus.
2008
Refreshed with the Bread of heaven,
by which faith is nourished, hope raised up,
and charity strengthened,
we pray, O Lord,
that we may learn to hunger for him
who is the true and living Bread
and have strength to live by every word
that comes from your mouth.
"Refecti" is NOT "renewed" – ewww: RENEWED . . . why resort to that overused and underwhelming word, when the Latin is clearly the word from which "refectory" is derived. Even 2010's really overused "nourished" might have worked. And then there is that beautiful Latin construction: "ipsum, qui est panis vivus et verus" – exactly as 2008 renders it; "him who is the true and living Bread." Do they really have to insert "Christ" there as if we wouldn't know to whom the "him" refers? And, of course, "valeamus" rendered as "have strength" is not only more accurate but less Pelagian by the old throw back to 1970s ICEL: "strive".
A Monsignor who worked very closely with this whole process (pre-Vox Clara) told a group of priests the other day that it is the sense of a number of people in various authoritative positions that it will become apparent within 18 months or so (a liturgical year and a half), that, whilst the people's parts will stand the test of time (even with the unpleasant "peace to PEOPLE of good will" in the Gloria and the unwarranted three extra "I believes" in the Credo), the Orations and Prefaces will have to be revised in fairly short order (he suggested within 5 years), as the celebrants will find the awkward syntax difficult to declaim (to say nothing of the more than a few blatant mistranslations that have come to light). One publisher told him they have exchanged with ICEL and the BCDW over 200 errata already.
Maybe they should have considered "Homosapiens of Good Will!" I'm with you that hominibus should have been translated as "men." My wife and most sentient women I know have no problem with the term men or man. But I guess we have to take into account the easily offended.