Pentecost, by Juan Bautista Maíno, 1615-20
Lost in Translation #54The great feast of Pentecost is upon us. Last year, I commented on the sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus here and here and here and here. This year, I focus on the rich diction of the three Mass orations for the feast.
Collect
Deus, qui hodierna die corda fidelium Sancti Spíritus illustratióne docuisti: da nobis in eódem Spíritu recta sápere, et de ejus semper consolatióne gaudére. Per Dóminum... in unitáte ejusdem Spíritus Sancti.
Which I translate as:
O God, who on this day didst teach the hearts of the faithful by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, grant us by the same Spirit to understand what is right and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through our Lord... in the unity of the same Holy Ghost.
Illustratio is usually translated as “light,” but that is not quite right, for this noun is not a thing but an activity. The Holy Spirit is on the go, enlightening the hearts of Christ’s disciples. We want that same Spirit to be actively working on us, and in two specific ways: to understand what is right and to rejoice in His consolation.
The double petition may be inspired by John 14, 16-17, when Jesus calls the Holy Spirit both “Comforter” (Paraclete) and “Spirit of Truth.” But leaving it at that is not so simple. If there is any word in the Latin liturgical tradition that justifies a series like Lost in Translation, it is sapere. Although I have translated it as “understand,” sapio/sapere can also mean:
- to taste
- to have a taste for, to savor
- to resemble
- to be well acquainted with the true value of things, to be wise (hence the Latin word for wisdom, sapientia)
When translating, one has to make a choice. Blessed Ildefonso Schuster favors the meaning of savoring: he translates recta sapere as “to relish what is right”, and writes that the first petition is to “have that desire for the things of God which denotes a certain spiritual wellbeing, and is the result of the interior life maintained by the Paraclete in our souls.” Seen in this light, the Collect ties into the schooling of love that we have been exploring (see here and here and here). Pius Parsch, on the other hand, claims that the Collect “begs God for right understanding.” Both, of course, are right. Recta sapere is wonderfully polyvalent, asking for much in only two words.
Secret
Múnera quáesumus, Dómine, obláta sanctífica: et corda nostra Sancti Spíritus illustratióne emunda. Per Dóminum... in unitáte ejusdem Spíritus Sancti.
Which I translate as:
Sanctify, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gifts offered, and purify our hearts by the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Through our Lord... in the unity of the same Holy Ghost.
The Collect understandably associates the illuminating activity of the Holy Spirit with teaching, for “shedding light” on a subject allows one to learn a subject. In the Secret, on the other hand, the illumination of the Holy Spirit cleanses hearts rather than instructs them. Whereas mundo, which appears in the Postcommunion below, means to clean, emundo, which is used here, means to clean thoroughly. Further, in the Vulgate emundo has the additional meaning of cleansing from sin or purifying. (See Hebr. 9, 14)
But can light purify? It can if it is sunlight. Heliotherapy, the treatment of disease with sunshine, was practiced by the ancient Greeks in the Old World and by the Incans in the New. Depending on who you talk to, sunbathing can rid the body of insomnia, depression, auto immune problems, vitamin D deficiency, obesity, and tuberculosis. By analogy we pray that the radiation of the Holy Spirit will have a similar effect on our spiritual diseases.
Postcommunion
Sancti Spíritus, Dómine, corda nostra mundet infusio: et sui roris íntima aspersióne foecundet. Per Dóminum... in unitáte ejusdem Spíritus Sancti.
Which I translate as:
May the outpouring of the Holy Spirit clean our hearts, O Lord, and by the inward sprinkling of His own dew may they be made fruitful. Through our Lord... in the unity of the same Holy Ghost.
Whereas the Collect and Secret characterize the Holy Spirit in terms of light, the Postcommunion describes the Holy Spirit in terms of water. Both images have Scriptural precedents (for the latter, see 1 Cor. 12, 13). In fact, the biblical description of the Holy Spirit in liquid and even alcoholic terms is the reason why hard liquor is called “spirits.”
The first petition--that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit clean our hearts--uses an imagery of gushing, while the second--that the sprinkling of His dew fecundate our hearts--uses an imagery of misting. It is an intelligent pairing. The best way to clean a tree (assuming you would ever want to do such a thing) is to blast the hose on it; the best way to water a tree is to put the hose on a trickle. A heavy rain washes away debris while a gentle rain best nourishes the plants and fills the aquifer below. And the Latin word ros, which I have translated as “dew,” can also refer to a light rain.
Finally, both waterings are internal. Infusio, which I have translated as “outpouring,” literally means “pouring into.” The petition is evocative of Romans 5, 5, “the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to us.” Here, however, we ask for more than the infused virtue of charity; we ask for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit Himself. Similarly, we ask for the “inward sprinkling” not of His dew, but of “His own dew,” that is, His very self. Intima, which I have translated as “inward,” can also mean “most intimate.” Seen in this light, the second petition is almost risque, beautifully affirming the feminine receptivity of every believer’s heart, male or female. May God plant the seed in our hearts and make it grow.
Notes
[1] Ildefonso Schuster, The Sacramentary, vol. 2, trans. Arthur Levelis-Marke (Burns, Oates & Washbourne, 1925), 390.
[2] Pius Parsch, The Church’s Year of Grace, vol. 3 (Liturgical Press, 1954), 212.
