Spiritus Tui Rore Sanctifica: Sources and Theological Import of the Metaphor of Dew in the First Epiclesis of the Second Eucharistic Prayer

Abstract

The Instruction Liturgiam Authenticam, published in 2001, requires that the translation of liturgical texts from the Latin typical editions be as faithful as possible to the original text, avoiding additions, subtractions, paraphrases or glosses. The rationale behind this requirement, as the document asserts, is the need to make manifest the objective character of the liturgy, transcending the interior dispositions of the faithful gathered to pray. This Instruction is a radical departure from its antecedent, Comme le prévoit published in 1969, which advocated a dynamic equivalence model of translation, emphasising clarity of thought and effectiveness of communication in the language of arrival, rather than a literal translation to the detriment of clarity and effective communication