The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1955-03-18
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or Ineonsidsrsts


neared new, or at any rate, an unfamiliar trans
lation of the prayer TO st. Joseph which recite
after Mass during this month of March. II is the
prayer familiar 10 most of TO thee. Bless
ed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction =
1t is truly beautiful prayer, and, of course the
clients of St Joseph say it on many other occasions
than the days of ST. Josephs particular month.
We glanced quickly to see whether the obsolescent
had been left out and were gratified TO find
the simple help taking the place of that verb. The
verb 10 Succor Tor if you arc British to Stlccou)
means to help; there is nothing wrong with il ex-
cept that it somehow suggests the we'll advertised
cry of Tex Guinan, Never give sucker chancet"
And that's an unsuitable suggestion to come from
prayer to St Joseph, or for that matter, from
any prayer.
Then we looked farther along in the text to see
what had been done with that very peculiar phrase
from the peril of His life" Alas, the phrase is
there unchanged, Now. ST Joseph rescued the
Child Jesus from the peril that is, the dange0 10
His life When ST. Joseph took the Child and His
Mother and fled into Egypt it was to avoid the
danger Of death not the danger of life Life is not
danger not peril but great and precious bless
ing.
We stoutly maintain, upon the best principles
OF grammar and rhetoric, that the peril OF anything
is the peril contained in it, ST Paul properly speaks
of the perils of robbers and the perils of waters
Waters of the stormy sea, and robbers the high
way we're threats dangers hazards to be faced. But
life and here in special the life of the Christ Child
not threat or danger or hazard That lie
was danger under threat. facing hazard. II was
the decree Of Herod that the peril; not the life
that il threatened.
A person who did not speak English we'll once
announced to congregation that well known and
beloved member of the parish in the hospital
f4.. r. f.tA IL Of
the sick man could hardly repress smile at this
announcement. For, manfestly, the sick man was
in danger of death, not of life He was in danger
to his ife he was racked by sickness that threat
ened his life That is point clear to all and sun
dry Now substitute the word peril for the word
danger in the odd sounding announcement and you
will have the very phrase that VIC commonly en-
counter in the prayer to ST Joseph. Surely, we
ought to change that phrase, and say from the
peril to His life" from the peril that threaten
ed His -lifeP
Translators Of prayers and Of other matters, are
not always fecitous in their choice of phrases Here
is line from translated and adapted) prayer
of ST. Aiphonsus After telling Our Lord that he
renounces his own will and affections and submits
them to divine direction, the petitioner says, "All
that ask of Thee is thy holy love, final persever-
ance, and the perfect accomplishment of thy will"
Read again that phrase, "All that ] ask Att?
Could man ask more? After such phrase as,
"All that | ask" one expects TO find such
words as "a crust of bread and drop of water "
But in the quoted (ransated) prayer, what is ask
ed for is the most tremendously important thing
in the whole world - Gods love; the gift of final
perseverance,
Chesteron hugely enjoyed the phrase attributed
lin English translaton) to ST Thomas Aquinas in
his to the voice that spoke while the saint
al prayer before erucifiX. The voice, as that
of the crucfed Lord said, Thou has written we'll
of Me, Thomas; what eward wilt thou have?" And
(according to the translator) ST Thomas said, NO
thing but thyself Lord" Nothing beyond trifl-
ing little reward consisting of Our Lord Himself!
But in the Latin FORM what ST, Thomas really said
was, mo other than Thyself, Lord" And that
makes and involves nothing ludicrous
There is a bit of incongruity in the Bible phrase
Gin translation which describes what the three
favored Apostles saw when, after the glorious yet
terrifying experience of the TRANSPORTATION, they
raised their eyes "and saw no one but only Jesus. "
The words actually seem to suggest that the I'm.
portnnt members of the transfigured three had dis
appeared, The fault lies in that tricky but only
If the word except be substituted for but only the
inconeruity is removed.
There is peculiar phrase too, in the old Gospel
translation of the story of the centurion whose child
servant Our Lord coming to heal. The cen
turon sent word 10 Christ not TO come Himself
because he, the centurion, was not worthy to have
Our Lord come into his house. He said, Il also am
subject TO authority" And then he went on
TO show that he had authority rather than that he
was subject TO it, telling how he could send one
servant to do this and another TO do that II is al
very we'll for the scholar the Latnist (maybe
he'd be the person. to tell us that the suoJcc
of authority is the man in whom authority resides
but that is not what the word means in modern
American ears most of uS understand a person
subject to authority TO he who is under author
ity, and not one who exercises authority.
Now that the rage for translationS of The
Scriptures has somewhat subsidized maybe the re
formers could do something about minor matters
such the LitanieS What to modern ears Il
meant by Mother most amable"? Amidble accord
ing to one dictionary definition means "good-na
turedy complasant". IL is word now suitable
for kindly old Uncle John who allows himself Il
be pushed around and never loses his temper o
makes complaint. And what about tho word slpee
which occurs IN 50 many prayers, such as the IN
vocation, Sweetest Heart of Jesus =? Certainly
the word Sloeet and the word speetest not an
longer accurate translatonS of dtlcis and ducisS
, mus.
And the word meal i'm the old maanino of foo